Councils row over boundary changes proposed in local government reorganisation plans

The borough council is proposing that a number of West Berkshire wards - Tilehurst, Theale, Pangbourne and Purley-on-Thames - move into an expanded Reading borough.

However, West Berkshire’s leader has hit out at the plans, describing them as a "land grab".

The disagreement comes as councils in other areas have voiced disagreements about plans, including in Hampshire and East Sussex.

According to Reading, its proposals are in response to West Berkshire's recently announced intentions to merge with South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse councils to create a "Ridgeway Council".

Reading said it believes that moving parts of the greater Reading urban area into a larger, mainly rural new Ridgeway Council is at odds with the Government’s criteria for local government reorganisation.

Reading's leader, Cllr Liz Terry, said "there is no doubt" that many residents on the western fringes of Reading look to the town for work, transport connections, higher education, or shopping.

"In that respect, these are already suburbs of Reading and clearly fall within its economic catchment area," she added.

“It isn’t clear where the new ‘Ridgeway’ council will be based, but I doubt people will want to travel into Oxfordshire to a location potentially 20 plus miles away, when Reading town centre is no more than six miles away with an excellent bus service."

Responding to the proposal, West Berkshire's leader, Cllr Jeff Brooks, said the local authority "strongly refute[s] this unhelpful and unsolicited attempted land grab from Reading".

He added that research conducted by the council had revealed that the majority of council residents in the east "see these communities not as extensions of Reading, but as thriving parts of West Berkshire".

He also claimed that a Ridgeway Council would provide more resilience,  joined-up service delivery, and cost savings "without dismantling our current civic structures or impacting on local identity".

Local authorities in Hampshire are also at loggerheads over reorganisation plans, with 12 councils banding together to issue a statement against Hampshire County Council's proposal for three large unitary councils across the county. 

The joint letter said the plans risk "creating remote, oversized councils, cut off from the places and people they serve".

It was signed by Eastleigh Borough Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council, Isle of Wight Council, New Forest District Council, Portsmouth City Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, Southampton City Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council.

The 12 authorities have launched a survey on reorganisation and have said they are considering backing proposals to establish four new councils on the mainland, while keeping Isle of Wight Council as it is.

"We believe this model would allow for councils that are big enough to deliver well, but local enough to understand our communities and their needs," the survey said.

In East Sussex, Lewes District Council and Brighton and Hove City Council are also failing to see eye to eye.

Lewes' leader, Cllr Zoe Nicholson, claimed that Brighton and Hove's proposals - involving taking over parts of the district - followed "zero consultation with Lewes District Council and no consultation with our residents to see if they want to become part of a Brighton dumping ground".

She added: "The fact is, Brighton has a housing crisis and they plan to solve it by building tens of thousands of houses in Lewes district. I will stand up for our residents and fight this every step of the way."

Adam Carey