This week, Cllr Katrina Wood, the leader of Wycombe District Council, writes exclusively for Bucks Free Press readers:

On Monday this week the Secretary of State, Sajid Javid, announced in parliament that he is “minded to” implement Buckinghamshire County Council’s proposal to replace the existing five councils in Bucks with one single council which would cover all of Buckinghamshire.

What is on the cards would be a massive change in the way local services are delivered to local people. But is it the best way forward for Bucks?

Along with all the other district councils in Buckinghamshire, we don’t believe that this decision is in the best interest of our local residents.

From our discussions with local businesses, community groups, parish councils and various other stakeholders we don’t believe local people do either.

Based on the poll which has been running in the Bucks Free Press this week, and on the comments being left on the Bucks Free Press website, your readers don’t seem to support this option either.

The ‘minded to’ decision announced this week is not set in stone and, as the process allows, we will be making the strongest possible representations to the Secretary of State that this decision is not the right one.

We believe that a single unitary isn’t the best for Bucks. It fails to recognise the fundamental economic and demographic differences between the communities in the north and south of the county. 

We think that a ‘one size fits all’ approach in Bucks will mean lost opportunities, less effective services and significantly less local decision making by and for local people. 

We also have serious doubts about the savings the single unitary model claims it could deliver.

The decision isn’t a done deal. There is now a period until 25 May 2018 for local people to make further representations to the Secretary of State by emailing sajid.javid.mp@parliament.uk.

If you have a view, now is your chance to tell the man in charge of this decision what you think is the best for Bucks.

  • For those looking for Colin Baker’s column, please see next week’s edition.