Councillors have approved plans to form a new South Warwickshire Council by merging Warwick and Stratford District Councils.

At separate votes at each council tonight (December 13) members voted in favour of the new 'super council' which could be formed as soon as April 2024.

Each council will now write to the Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to approve the plans.

Warwick District Council approved the motion with 23 votes for and 12 against, compared to 26 for and three against at Stratford-Upon-Avon District Council.

Speaking to the full WDC meeting ahead of tonight's vote council leader Cllr Andrew Day said: "If we are going to face the real challenges we cannot sit on our hands, the bigger risk here is to do nothing.

"We need to lead, we need to say what we want for our communities. The point is we can't wait for all the detail, we can't wait until every risk is weighed and measured, we have to step up and we have to do so in concert with our town and parish councils.

"We could be a much stronger community if we are ready to take that risk."

But councillors raised serious concerns about the impact of the merger on local democracy and questioned figures about the savings the merger could bring.

Cllr Alix Dearing said: "I appreciate the financial pressures, I see how the Stratford link could be positive, and I am happy with how the first stages of cooperative workings have begun.

"But I still don't understand what the financial advantages are of a political merger over an administrative merger. It is not clear where the savings will come from or how large they will be. And it should not be at this breakneck pace - measure twice and cut once."

Cllr Will Roberts added: "Moving democracy further away from residents, both geographically and with reduced representation is a hard pill to swallow.

"Local government should be as close as possible to the public, so a merger that could see a reduction by as much as 25 per cent in councillors is something very hard to vote for."

However Cllr Liam Bartlett said councillors had focused too much on the risks and not on the benefits of the merger.

He said: "We have an opportunity here to forge a partnership that can look forward to new ambitions. We in this room will decide how that new council is formed and we will be able to play a part in that.

"Presence is exactly what this proposal offers. It gives us a far greater presence with those larger organisations and stakeholders whilst also delivering a great presence at a local level through careful devolution.

"This is an example of how bigger can be better and this proposed merger is not about weakening our services but safeguarding them for the future."

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