Plans involve town and A50

'ENLARGED' UNITARY AUTHORITY SET TO INCLUDE EAST STAFFS

- By PHIL CORRIGAN Local Democracy Reporter

COUNCIL leaders are set to back new plans for an 'enlarged' North Staffordshire unitary authority which include parts of East Staffordshire.

The government has called on councils to come up with proposals for replacing the current two-tier system of counties and districts with a single layer of unitaries.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC), led by a minority Labour administration, has yet to formally support an option, with some elected members firmly opposed to the area becoming part of a 'Greater Stoke-onTrent'.

But now a crossparty subcommittee has recommended a proposal which would see the Moorlands become part of a North Staffordshire Council, along with Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and parts of Stafford and East Staffordshire boroughs.

This builds on the North Staffordshire model supported by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, but extends it to include Uttoxeter, Stone, and nearby villages.

The rest of Staffordshire would be combined into a Southern and Mid Staffordshire Council.

According to an options appraisal, replacing Staffordshire's 10 existing councils with two unitaries could save up to £18.8 million a year, but the transition could cost up to £27.8 million. Council leader Mike Gledhill believes that bringing another 58,000 residents into the North Staffordshire authority, along with much of the A50 growth corridor, will help make it more financially viable.