Unitary Council proceedings to be delayed

Proposals to develop one or more unitary councils in Norfolk will not now proceed to the original timetable following a Judicial Review hearing in the High Court in London this morning.

The government’s Boundary Committee was expected to make proposals to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by 31 December but in the High Court this morning lawyers for the Secretary of State and the Boundary Committee indicated that they were about to discuss an extension of the consultation period.

Mr Justice Cranston said the Boundary Committee had not given enough time for consultation and that the timing issue was “crucial”.  He expressed confidence that his comments about the length of time given to consultation would be properly considered by the Boundary Committee and the Secretary of State. “I am sure the judgement will be taken into account,” he said.

Mr Justice Cranston found in favour of the Boundary Committee on other aspects of the Judicial Review but Breckland District Council, along with King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council and South Norfolk District Council were granted permission to appeal against the finding.

Tim Leader, the deputy chief executive of Breckland Council, said “the inevitable consequence of today’s hearing is that the Secretary of State will not now be able to receive the Boundary Committee’s advice on local government reorganisation in Norfolk in December, as originally planned.  We will now be writing to the Boundary Committee to clarify how long the extended consultation period will be.”

“Our decision to take legal action has today been vindicated.  Our desire throughout this legal process was simply to ensure that the people who will pay for any reorganisation of local government in Norfolk would have a proper say on what that reorganisation might be,” he said.