High Peak deserves the best possible deal from Council changes

Local government is changing across the country, and we must make sure that High Peak gets the best possible deal.

The Government’s proposals will see smaller district councils, like High Peak Borough Council, and larger county councils, like Derbyshire County Council, disappear with new single tier councils created to replace them, known as Unitaries.

Derbyshire Conservatives have already submitted a proposal to Government that would see a single mega council based in Matlock for all of Derbyshire. They were one of the first counties to submit a proposal without any notice or consultation. By doing so they are trying to force Derbyshire into the first tranche of single tier councils in the hope that no one will have time to stop them or fully develop alternatives.

I am open-minded about all options except the Derbyshire Conservatives proposals for a mega council based in Matlock. It would stretch from the Leicestershire borders all the way up to Tintwistle in Glossopdale. It would cover about 800,000 people. It is too vast, too remote, and High Peak would inevitably lose out.

I want the best possible deal for the whole of High Peak. For too long we have been the poor relations in Derbyshire. We have never been a priority in Matlock and always the first place targeted by cuts. You only need look at the state of our roads, the appalling SEND provision, their proposals to close our care homes, our adult day centres, and sell off of our community centres.

I am pleased that Labour-led High Peak are looking at all options before making any submission.

The recommended size for any new unitary council is around half a million. High Peak has about 90,000 residents, so we will need to merge with neighbouring areas to form a new unitary.

One possible option would be a northern Derbyshire council, based in Chesterfield, covering Bolsover, North East Derbyshire and Derbyshire Dales. I know High Peak Borough Council will look seriously at that option.

To our north and west we share borders with Tameside and Stockport. Both of which are in Greater Manchester. There is a strong case from an economic and public services perspective for exploring a merger with one of these councils too.

It would have the advantage that we could be part of a smaller council because the Greater Manchester model is based on 200,000 to 300,000 population sizes, which would give us greater influence to get investment into our villages and towns.

When you look at key economic indicators, like travel to work areas, all of High Peak points towards the North West and Greater Manchester rather than the East Midlands and Derby and Nottingham.

All our trains, whether from Buxton, New Mills, Chapel, Whaley Bridge, Glossop or across the Hope Valley, where I live, all go into Greater Manchester. No trains or major transport routes go south towards Derby or Nottingham.

More people use the hospitals in Greater Manchester, like Stepping Hill and Tameside, than they do at Chesterfield in Derbyshire.

Many of our young people, if they do not go to college in High Peak, cross the border into Greater Manchester. Indeed, one of main election promises was to deliver fairer fares for High Peak’s students because they could not access the free bus pass students in their class from Greater Manchester can.

My sole objective is getting the best possible deal for High Peak, not just for today but for our children and grandchildren. I am Derbyshire born and bred and whatever happens with this local government reorganisation I will still be proud to live in Derbyshire. This will not change our sense of place or belonging to our local communities. This is about getting the right option for how we are governed locally and regionally to deliver the best possible future for our towns and villages in terms of jobs, investment and better public services.

I am very keen to hear local people’s views. I am running a survey so that I can feed into this process both locally and nationally: www.jon4highpeak.com/LocalGovChanges