Is a super council really

A new super council covering east Kent is increasingly looking like it will become a reality. sits down with two men at the heart of the discussion

By the time you next walk into a polling booth to elect your local councillors, you may well find that you will be voting them into a very different political and administrative body than the one we have today.

Moves are afoot to explore the merging of five district councils in east Kent into one supercouncil overseeing services for more than 700,000 people – and spanning an area from Whitstable in the north to Broadstairs in the east and Dungeness in the south.

If the five authorities concerned – Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet – press ahead with the idea, then it could become a reality by the time of the 2019 local elections.

This is far from fanciful thinking, according to Canterbury’s chief executive Colin Carmichael.

He said: “The reality is that councils are being asked to find savings – with Canterbury needing to save about £7m by 2019.

“But the big question comes after 2019 when there is likely be the need to find more savings.

“The thing that really costs the most money is the bureaucracy and administration.”

At present there are five councils, five chief executives and five sets of administrators. These would be reduced to one of each in a centralised administrative structure.

It represents far greater integration than the shared service system which now operates, in which the councils administer a major service such as housing jointly.

“Shared services is piecemeal stuff alongside the proposed east Kent council,” said Mr Carmichael.

“Shared services save some money but we will save a lot more money if we just merge into one council.

“There is a compelling financial case for it. This trend is happening everywhere and you can see it in education in Canterbury where Canterbury College is now in a partnership with East Kent College under one management team.”

Mr Carmichael met the Kentish Gazette in his Military Road office on Monday.

Alongside him was Cllr Simon Cook, the authority’s Conservative leader since May last year.

Both men are keen to stress that an east Kent council is far from a fait accompli.

Cllr Cook said: “We need to think about it carefully. The idea is not being considered in a rush, but there needs to be a sensible pace to it.”

Consultants are preparing a report on the potential merger, which should be ready by December.

If it suggests or recommends the super council