National government is proposing significant changes to how councils operate. Here in Gloucestershire the six district councils for Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Gloucester, The Forest of Dean and Cotswolds and larger Gloucestershire County Council will be combined to create either one or two 'unitary authorities1'.
At GWT, we believe that a single unitary authority for Gloucestershire will be the most effective and efficient way to work with communities and partnership organisations to deliver county-wide benefits for nature and people.
A single unitary authority will provide better opportunities for coordination at a landscape scale, such as developing county-wide strategies for river catchments and green infrastructure.
This will help when using Gloucestershire’s new Local Nature Recovery Strategy to drive forward initiatives at the landscape scale and will also ensure that protections for species and habitats are better integrated into planning decisions.
However, through the transition to the new unitary authority approach, it will be important to ensure that the distinctive character of the county’s communities, wildlife and places is prioritised.
Retaining existing specialist resource in the new authority, including ecologists, planners and climate officers, will be vital for ensuring that important local knowledge is retained and enhanced, or we risk losing much of Gloucestershire’s natural heritage as part of this administrative reform.
Why a single unitary?
At GWT, our ambition is to halt and reverse wildlife declines in the county by 2030, in line with the country’s international commitments for nature. A single unitary authority for Gloucestershire will enable better join-up across existing administrative borders, allowing for bigger thinking and more efficient and effective use of limited resources.
The ecological benefits of a single unitary authority for Gloucestershire are clear:
- One clear framework: Having unified standards for Green Infrastructure, Biodiversity Net Gain, and the Local Nature Recovery Strategy will promote consistency and greater impact across the county.
- Joined-up delivery across landscapes: Catchments, corridors and towns treated as connected systems (e.g., Severn floodplain restoration, urban cooling/greening, resilient streets and verges).
- Faster decisions, fewer gaps: Pooling ecological and green infrastructure resources within the council will allow project delivery to take place faster and more efficiently.
- Better value for money: Less duplication across districts will allow funding from central government to be allocated on bigger, county-wide programmes that stack benefits for people and wildlife.
- Accountability and evidence: One monitoring framework will enable progress to be more visible, comparable and tied to duties under the Environment Act.