Farewell to county’s councils
Friday 3rd April 2009, 7:58AM BST.
LETTER: This week we have said farewell to both the district and county councils which have provided the structure of local government in Shropshire for the past 35 years.
I was a district councillor for five-and-a-half years in south Shropshire, so saw for myself how the structure of local government worked to serve people, for better or worse, with all its idiosyncrasies.
I also saw how dedicated councillors, council officers and council staff were. I wish them all well for the future.
Most of those within the county council and Bridgnorth and South Shropshire district councils have secu- red good roles within the new Shropshire Council, or have taken early retirement.
Shropshire is better prepared for the new council structure than any other area moving to new unitary authorities.
This is thanks to the meticulous planning and hard work by the leadership – councillors and officers – of those councils which have ceased to exist.
The Government has arranged for two months of co-opted councillors until the new Shropshire Council takes office from 5 June.
We need to make the best of this new structure. Today is a moment to reflect on the achievements of the councils we have lost, which have by and large served us well.
Philip Dunne MP
Ludlow
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
good riddance to shropshire county council
they are so beaurocratic and old fashioned hoperfully having to deliver the distrcits front line services will awaken this dinosaur
Report abuse
more spin and rebranding
Report abuse
could somebody take ludlow town council away as it is apparently a non stop laughing stock of and a disgrace to the county
Report abuse
all the town councils are now redundant surely, we dont need all these parishes either, lets just have one council for the west midlands, with one councillor from each council that will be most effecient on cost and so keep taxes lower
Report abuse
horah less beurocracy
Report abuse
One gravy train departs as another arrives at the platform – cannot believe this will result in less beaurocracy, waste nor improved services. Lets see in 12 months how our council taxes have come down!
Report abuse
Nice to know that:
(Quote)
“Most of those within the county council and Bridgnorth and South Shropshire district councils have secu- red good roles within the new Shropshire Council, or have taken early retirement.
Any other “privately owned company” merger would probably have seen redundancies, with poor payout, and no early retirement!
Must be nice to have a job in the Public sector!!
Report abuse
town and parish councils remain, county and district councils swallowed up by unitary councils i think. south shropshire council as an example is no more.
Report abuse
AN AFFRONT TO LOCALISM, TO LOCAL IDENTITY AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY – BIG IS NOT ALWAYS BEST
Report abuse