South Northamptonshire Council the latest to back unitary authority proposals

Councillors met at The Forum in Towcester yesterday evening, and replicated almost all the other local councils by backing the local government reorganisation proposals.

Legally only one council was required to support the scheme in order for it to be submitted to central government, and with six councils having already backed it prior to the meeting the vote last night was effectively meaningless.

But much has been made by councillors across the county this week of what they perceive as the ‘cost’ of not getting on board and helping to shape the proposals, which will see all eight current councils abolished..

South Northamptonshire was no different, with the Conservative leader of the council Ian McCord saying: “We either vote to go along with the almost inevitable conclusion of two new unitaries, in so doing stand a good chance of positively influencing the future services our residents receive, or else, we vote to shout angrily at the tide demanding that it stops coming in.”

But independent councillor Steven Hollowell said: "If the county council had been a unitary authority in the first place it would not have prevented this mess."

Councillors eventually voted in favour with 28 councillors voting for the proposal, six against and two abstaining.

Daventry District Council also backed the proposals last night, while Corby Borough Council became the only one of the eight councils to reject the proposals.