Broxtowe leader tables borough referendum on local government reorganisation
A Broxtowe leader has tabled a borough-wide referendum on the looming reshaping of Nottinghamshire councils with fears parts of the borough could be absorbed by the city.
The incoming local government reorganisation plans by the government were discussed in Broxtowe Borough Council’s cabinet meeting on July 1.
The Labour Government plans aim to give more powers back to local areas by creating more “strategic authorities” and new combined councils.
In practice it means merging together district and borough councils with larger councils, with this meaning all seven of Nottinghamshire’s district and boroughs could disappear by 2027 or 2028.
Nottinghamshire council leaders saw three reorganisation options in March 2025. It was expected all leaders could find agreement on one option by July 2025 ahead of full-scale plans being submitted to the government by November 2025.
Option one saw a new unitary authority combining Nottingham, Broxtowe and Gedling with a new unitary authority for the rest of the county and option two saw Nottingham, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe combining with a new unitary authority for the rest of Nottinghamshire.
Option three sees Nottingham remaining as an existing unitary authority with a new “county-only” unitary authority for the rest of Nottinghamshire.
Speaking previously to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council leader Milan Radulovic (Brox Alliance) said he would not back any option that does not support the “needs of services and communities” and called the government’s timescales “ridiculous and unworkable”.
Speaking in the meeting, Coun Radulovic tabled a potential referendum for Broxtowe’s residents on what they would like to see in reorganisation plans.
He said: “What we can do is look at the timescale [of plans] and, if necessary, carry out our own public consultation… my intention is to send that out to every tenant and resident in Broxtowe and give them the opportunity to respond.”
Echoing this, deputy leader, Coun Greg Marshall (Brox Alliance) said: “[There’s] nothing [in the reorganisation plans that looks at] needs-based assessments, nothing about service needs [among councils].
“If that means a mailing and participatory level of democracy with every household – I would support that.
“If that means, in real terms, a referendum for the people of Broxtowe about whether we should be entering into a local government review or carving up certain elements of our district… then I would support that.”
Yesterday’s council documents noted a “further complexity” in government timescales, whereby Rushcliffe Borough Council and Nottingham City Council are looking to put forward different reshaping options to government.
The report said “concern is mounting” around the difficulty in finding a single reorganisation option all authorities can agree on, stating “very little time” is left for any conclusions to be drawn for July’s full council meeting.
Coun Philip Owen (Con) said “under no circumstances” should Broxtowe merge with Nottingham city.
Coun Teresa Cullen (Brox Alliance) said reorganisation plans “will not save money”.
She said: “If [reorganisation] is going to go ahead it should be thought about carefully over a number of years until we’ve explored every option and we know what we’re getting right.
“If other local authorities in Nottinghamshire are putting forward their own proposals, I’d like to ask the leader why we can’t put forward our own proposal?”
Coun Steve Carr (Ind) also questioned the government’s timescales and motives.
He said: “Nowhere near is it going to be within the timelines the government thinks it’s going to be in – this council owns its own housing stock.
“We’re not going just turn over, lie on our backs and have our tummy tickled to say ‘we’re going to give all that housing stock to a new authority’ – why should we? It belongs to the people of Broxtowe.”
Council chief executive Ruth Hyde told the meeting the government is conducting a separate general funding review for local government but called the separation “nonsensical”.
She added: “None of this will save money because all local authorities currently are fundamentally unviable and the disaggregation of social services – which takes 75 per cent of the current budget – will add costs, not reduce it.”
The cabinet approved the decision to create a sub group of all group leaders to develop any proposals that relate to any public engagement that may happen between scheduled cabinet meetings.
Zulfiqar Darr, council deputy chief executive, confirmed £360,000 of funding will be given to Nottinghamshire to manage the next part of the reshaping developments, but could not confirm how much Broxtowe would receive.