'New option' being explored for larger city boundary
BBCA "new option" for an expanded boundary for Nottingham is being explored, a council leader has claimed.
The government announced last year it wanted to merge some local authorities in an attempt to streamline services, and three potential options for Nottinghamshire were published in March.
Broxtowe Borough Council leader Milan Radulovic, however, told a public meeting on Tuesday that a fresh proposal was being looked into which would see the city of Nottingham combine with some of the surrounding suburbs rather than entire boroughs.
"I'm sure you're all aware of the city's new option which is an enlarged city taking in West Bridgford, Beeston, Hucknall, Arnold and Carlton," he said.
The city council says these areas have not been officially proposed and no decisions have been made.
A council spokesperson said: "Nottingham is a significantly under-bounded local authority, covering a population of 328,000 at the centre of a built-up area of well over 750,000 (and a wider county population of 1.17m).
"We are responsible for delivering the services expected in a core city, but many of the people who work in the city, and use council services, currently live in the suburbs, meaning they can't vote in city elections, and pay council tax elsewhere. We need to address that imbalance through LGR [local government reorganisation]."
Government guidance states existing district boundaries should be considered the "building blocks" for proposals, but more complex boundary changes have not been ruled out.
Ministers have also said any new authorities should have a population of 500,000 or more.
City councillors have previously complained that the authority raises relatively little through council tax because about 80% of the city's properties are in bands A and B.
Leader Neghat Khan has previously endorsed the so-called "Nottingham +2" model, where the city would combine with any two of Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council, and Rushcliffe Borough Council.
The BBC understands the latest suggestion to cut across existing boundaries was dubbed the "wiggly line option" at a recent meeting.
One source said it was "all about getting Band D properties into Nottingham".
The government has set a deadline of 28 November for councils to submit final plans.
There have been calls for the plans to be paused, however, and some councillors have suggested the proposals should be put to a local referendum.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Radulovic said: "We seem to be in a difficult situation at the moment on forming any sort of consensus across Nottinghamshire".
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