Deadline passes for Kent's councils to submit local government reorganisation plans

George Walker has been speaking to some of Kent's big political movers and shakers to break down what they mean for you.

Transcript

00:00Recognise these? Well, by 2028 they won't exist. That's because local government reorganisation

00:05is coming to Kent, replacing the current hodgepodge of councils. It's part of a national

00:09devolution agenda, with the government funding proposals moving Kent to over three or four

00:12sets of unitary authorities, which deliver all services. However, for Medway Council,

00:17that simply wasn't enough choice, and instead they've chosen to refund their own proposal

00:21for the boundaries of Kent. Option 4D, as it's called, is expected to cost £135.9 million

00:27to implement, and to take between 8 and 15 years to pay off for the new councils. And

00:33it's not just squiggly lines on a map. This proposal redraws the boundaries of Kent, from

00:38Folkestone and Hive in the south, to Dartford in the north. I spoke to council leader Vince

00:42Maple about why he thinks these changes need to be made. What we need to remember is we're

00:47dealing with maps when it comes to the districts, boroughs and the unitary, in most cases from

00:52more than 50 years ago. The government's been really clear about its desire to have devolution,

00:56and for us to get devolution powers, we've got to have local government structures which are fit

01:02for purpose for that particular reason. Our model, 4D, is absolutely that. Here in Maidstone,

01:08at Kent County Council, they've also funded their own reorganisation proposal. They're looking at

01:12what's called Option 1A, a single unitary council for the entirety of Kent, with three so-called

01:17area committees sitting underneath it, for everyone in Kent. They say this will cost the council £99.4

01:23million to implement, and will pay it off in about three years' time.

01:26I'm extremely worried by reform-run KCC's proposal for one mega council for Kent, which

01:32will hoover up all the powers of 14 councils and make decision-making remote from people.

01:39But reform, with no support from any of the other councils in Kent, have spent £1,000 to £200,000 of

01:45public money building up a case for their one single mega council, which everyone expects

01:51to be rejected. I mean, even reform-do, there was that recorded meeting where the leader of

01:56the council called it putting a spoke in a wheel. It's not a serious proposal.

02:01George Walker, KMTV.