'Disappointment' as SMDC backs 'super council' plan

COUNCIL leaders have criticised another local authority for supporting plans for a North Staffordshire 'super council'.

- Phil Corrigan

Local authorities across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have been told by the government to come up with proposals for overhauling the area's councils into unitary authorities.

Leaders at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) have backed proposals for a North Staffordshire unitary, which would see a single council covering Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and the Moorlands, along with Stone and Uttoxeter. But their counterparts at Newcastle Borough Council have hit out at the decision, which they claim would not be supported by Moorlands residents.

The borough council's Conservative leadership are opposed to the principle of local government reorganisation, and are firmly against any 'merger' with Stoke-on-Trent.

In response to the government's instructions, the borough council is exploring a number of other options, including a unitary authority for Newcastle on its own, and a potential merger with the Moorlands.