By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Tewkesbury civic chiefs feel “insulted” that their borough name was excluded from plans to split Gloucestershire into two council areas.
Cheltenham Borough and Cotswold District chiefs are submitting a proposal to create two unitary authorities in the county as part of the Government’s reorganisation of local councils.
Their plan proposes one council in the west named Gloucester, Forest and the Stroud Valleys Council on the current footprint of the city, Stroud district and the Forest of Dean.
And another in the east named Cheltenham and the Cotswolds Council made up of the current footprint of Cheltenham, Tewkesbury Borough and Cotswold District.
Under the plans, Gloucestershire County Council would be dissolved, and the services currently delivered by them would be divided across the two new councils.
But the omission of the name Tewkesbury from the eastern council has been seen as an insult to the borough.
Councillors said it was disingenuous that they excluded the name Tewkesbury considering all the amount of new housing their borough has had to accommodate on behalf of the spa town.
Councillor Mike Sztymiak (Independent, Tewkesbury and Twyning) told the Tewkesbury Borough Council meeting on March 18 that he was very disappointed about it.
“I do feel it’s a bit of an insult to us in Tewkesbury Borough,” he said.
“It deems in their document that the name of the council, the single unitary involving Cheltenham, Cotswolds and Tewkesbury will just be called Cheltenham and Cotswolds.
“To ignore Tewkesbury in that name and yet to incorporate us… it does us a disservice and is a bit insulting to our public.”
He felt the Cheltenham and Cotswold proposal for two authorities had “inflated the financial case and the benefits to the public”.
“I don’t think it will be realised,” he said.
“In reality when compared to a single unitary authority for Gloucestershire.
“They are going to have to go some to justify this, aren’t they?”
And Councillor David Gray (C, Winchcombe) said “it is a bit disingenuous that they missed us off their particular name considering how much of their housing that we have taken over the last few years, continue to take and are likely to continue to take for perfectly sensible reasons.”
Councillor Hilarie Bowman (G, Tewkesbury East) said the county currently shares services between east and west and questioned why that should stop.
And Councillor Paul McLain (C, Highnam with Haw Bridge) said he feared if two councils were created the county could be split between two different strategic authorities.
“That, to me, makes it more of a nonsense. But then… that’s Cheltenham for you.”
Councillor Ian Yates (LD, Churchdown Brookfield with Hucclecote) said keeping the county together is a better option than splitting into two. “As a county we work better together,” he said.