Amber Valley is at risk of being divided between new councils, raising concerns about local representation and community identity.
Amber Valley: There’s a lot of chatter about splitting councils in Derbyshire. It could mean Amber Valley gets caught between North and South Derbyshire, or even Nottinghamshire. This week, local councillors met to discuss these changes.
Being in the middle of Derbyshire, Amber Valley might end up in a new northern or southern council. Or it could be part of a council that crosses into Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire County Council wants to keep things as they are, but that might not fly with the government.
There’s a report saying the county leader wants a unitary council, but it might not meet the government’s rules. They need to keep Derby City Council as it is, which complicates things. The government has no upper limit on council sizes, so they could go for a whole county unitary or split into two councils.
For Amber Valley, this could mean more than one option. If they go for two councils, Amber Valley could be in either a northern or southern unitary council. But time is tight. They need to submit proposals by March 2025, which doesn’t leave much room for talking to residents.
Cllr Ben Bellamy was surprised by how fast things are moving. He thinks the timeline is unrealistic and worries about losing local representation. Bigger councils might mean professional councillors with big salaries, which he believes isn’t the way to go.
He wants councillors to be regular folks who know their communities. Cllr David Taylor thinks combining waste services could simplify things, but others are worried about losing local democracy. Cllr Fay Atkinson is concerned about costs and where the money will come from.
Cllr Lian Pizzey from the Green Party noted that this year marks 50 years of Amber Valley Borough Council, and it feels like they might lose it. The timeline is tight, and it’s hard to see how this will all work out.
Overall, the current proposal from the county council needs the government to make exceptions, especially since Derby’s population is below the required threshold for new councils. Cllr Chris Emmas-Williams was also caught off guard by the proposal, which seems to have been made without consulting district leaders.
It’s a lot to unpack, and everyone is trying to figure out what this means for their communities.
