Bid for Greater Ipswich unitary council to take 'rightful place' in East Anglia wins unanimous support

A bid to turn a town into a unitary authority and take its 'rightful place' in East Anglia has won unanimous support from leaders.

As part of the Government's devolution priority programme, which Suffolk is now a part of, the county council must provide unitary council proposals by March 21.

Yesterday, councillors in Ipswich unanimously agreed to support calls for a new Greater Ipswich unitary authority to be created.

Cllr Neil MacDonald, the borough council's leader, said: "Moving power and funding from central to local government will enable decision-making and resources to be managed more locally — in Ipswich, instead of in Westminster.

"This re-organisation is the biggest change to councils for at least 50 years when the current council boundaries were created. It is important that we get this right, as this is likely to be in place for the next 50 years.

The Government's plans could see a new 'Mayor of East Anglia' elected to represent Suffolk and Norfolk by May next year.

Feeding into the East Anglian mayoral authority would be smaller unitaries with potentially re-drawn boundaries — Greater Ipswich would be one of these.

Cllr MacDonald said the changes could bring more power and financing to make 'big ideas' happen, pointing to the Mayor of Greater Manchester as an example.

He added: "The new unitaries will each have a place on the combined authority with the Mayor and will be able to champion their areas for a slice of the devolved money — Ipswich, as the county town of Suffolk, needs its own place at the Mayor’s table.

"Whatever the changes, I will be straining every sinew to ensure that Ipswich is at the heart of a unitary council and takes its rightful place at the heart of East Anglia."

Cllr Ian Fisher, the Conservative Group's leader, said although the programme was being 'rushed and very last minute', it still presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ipswich.

He added: "The system is crying out for change and the public deserves far better value for money for the ever-reducing services they are being forced to pay ever-increasing amounts of tax for.

"A single Suffolk unitary does not offer the most effective way to deliver services – and we all need to remember that is what we are here to do.

"We play the cards we are dealt and now is the time to play those cards well."

On the Liberal Democrats' side, Cllr Oliver Holmes, the group's leader, said a Greater Ipswich authority would 'serve people best', adding the town sometimes felt like the county council's 'wedding guest it doesn't want to invite but feels it has to'.

Quoting Jane Austen, he said: "It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”

Several councillors participated in the evening's debate, with some showing confidence the change could give the town some agency over its challenges.

Cllr Tracy Grant said it would stop people from falling through the cracks due to different authorities having different responsibilities, while Cllr Colin Smart added barriers to the northern bypass could be lifted.

After the debate, councillors agreed to create a reference group to determine how to better address devolution and local government reorganisation.

The group will be made up of six Labour members, two Conservatives and one Liberal Democrat.