Uttlesford residents ‘forced to pay’ for council reform

Uttlesford deputy council leader Neil Hargreaves insists that millions of pounds that "should be used"on improving roads and social care will instead be splashed on shutting down all councils in a major shake-up of local government.

The new Labour Government is looking to abolish all 15 Essex councils and replace them with around five larger authorities that will run everything from bin collections to child social care. 

Neil Hargreaves (Image: Theodore Hargreaves) Residents for Uttlesford, which runs Uttlesford District Council, says residents were let down and promised 40 new hospitals but now services will suffer even more with almost £3million being taken away from services in Uttlesford for the local government reform.

Cllr Hargreaves, who is both deputy council leader and councillor for finance, said: "Our budget for 2025/26 includes having to set aside a reserve of £2.75 million to pay our share of the cost of local government reorganisation.

"Essex County Council has already been paying the inevitable consultancy fees, and the vast scale of physical moves, data conversions and personnel changes will be ongoing and expensive.

"This change was not in the Labour manifesto; no one voted for it, and the government have produced no business case. 

"Our £3 million and all the other millions to be spent by our fellow councils will not go on better social care or fixing potholes. It will instead be spent on moving things about.

"The Labour Party correctly criticised the Conservatives for announcing unfunded promises such as the ’40 new hospitals’.

"But at least voters wanted those. This is unfunded, and council taxpayers, with the elections to be cancelled, have no say and are being forced to pay for it.

"Officers tell me this year’s annual government funding announcement has been the most chaotic they have ever witnessed.

"It has compounded the financial damage from reorganisation by imposing further cuts and failing, just as the Conservatives did, to provide any long-term funding plan.

"In summary, the last Westminster lot were poor, but so far the new ones are worse. Let us hope they get better."

No details have been revealed yet about the exact plans in Essex, but it’s expected the changes will remove the existing district, county and unitary councils in the county.

Petrina Lees, leader of Uttlesford District Council (Image: LDRS) It is also expected that next year’s county council elections will be cancelled after Thurrock Council, Southend Council, and Essex County Councils agree to postpone the elections.

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The proposed changes have been highly controversial with members of various political parties.

Council leader Petrina Lees added: "Our Blueprint project has made excellent progress in generating £2.5 million of continuing savings.

"However, the latest government cuts have wiped out all of those and more. We are recruiting a manager to run the next phase of Blueprint, but with the funding for that switched onto local government reorganisation, it looks like our new officer will be spending on the government’s reorganisation instead of addressing the intended next phase of council savings."