Will coronavirus pandemic see Peterborough and Cambridgeshire councils merge once again?

Nowhere has that been more evident than in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, where the city and county councils have teamed up seamlessly across all sectors.

This has been helped by the fact that both councils are led by the same chief executive in Gillian Beasley, while senior management is also shared other than the post of chief financial officer.

Lead officers in public health, education, growth and communities are the same in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, and even the communications teams have now merged which helps to make sure the same coronavirus messages are being put out across the county.

The joint effort has won praise from politicians, but there are nagging concerns that once life returns to normal (and planning has begun for this), Peterborough could once again become part of the county council, whether that be officially or in all-but-name.

The worries over a ‘backdoor merger’ have been raised following comments from Mrs Beasley that local authorities will have to adapt to a new way of working post-pandemic, and with councils struggling financially even before the crisis there could be a push to deepen ties in order to cut costs.

One of the most vocal opponents of a merger is leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Peterborough City Council Cllr Nick Sandford, who remembers when Peterborough was previously part of Cambridgeshire, before splitting in 1998 to become a unitary authority.

Cllr Sandford praised the joint response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying: “I think they have done a really good job in the circumstances.”

But he argued that any potential merger should be put before councillors.

“For those that have been on the council before the split from Cambridgeshire it became evident we were getting quite a raw deal,” he said.

“If the agenda is to merge us back into Cambridgeshire we as councillors need to have a debate about it to see if that’s where we want to go.

“I envisage we will carry on merging more and more with joint functions until somebody says ‘we are doing everything joint with Cambridgeshire, why do we have separate councils?’

“It was originally just our chief executive (we were sharing). We need clarity on what the intentions are and we need to talk about the implications.”

Mrs Beasley held the top job in Peterborough when she agreed back in 2015 to become the first chief executive to share the role between unitary and county authorities.

The one year trial became a permanent arrangement the following year, with her salary being split.

Peterborough also lost sovereignty with the creation of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority back in 2017, with the mayoral body becoming the lead transport authority in the county.

Its powers, which include adult education funding, are likely to grow going forward.

However, combined authority deputy mayor, and leader of Peterborough City Council, Cllr John Holdich has been adamant for years that Peterborough will never give up its sovereignty.

He told the Peterborough Telegraph that while he was “in awe” of the joint work being done to tackle the coronavirus crisis, the current situation has a single focus where money is no objective and there is little political interference.

“The future of local government needs objective thought, not blinkered idealism,” he said. “There is not enough money in the current system to carry on as it is - we owe it to the electorate and ourselves to come up with an affordable alternative which gives the public sustainable services.

“It is a long held view of mine that Cambridgeshire should have two unitary authorities - the debate is what and who.

“A grown up conservation needs to take place with an open mind and, of course, a debate with the people that matter, with the public and an objective media. Those who are stuck in yesterday are doing the city a disservice.”

The council leader said some services, such as health, could be handed over to the combined authority to run.

He also insisted he did not want a return to the pre-1998 days, adding: “What we’ve got at moment is the best of both worlds - sharing officers and keeping our autonomy. Before, the county council had its own policies which didn’t suit us. Our challenges are different.”

He also noted that any decision was likely to be driven by money.

Leader of the city council’s Labour group Cllr Shaz Nawaz is another to have raised concerns that a close working relationship could eventually see Peterborough become “the poor cousin of Cambridge”.

“I welcome joined-up thinking and working. However, what I and other councillors are not in favour of is Peterborough losing it’s autonomy. We are a unitary authority and we do not want to lose that independence,” he said.

“I hope the shared working partnership will not evolve into where we were pre-1998. My fear is that the steps currently being taken may lead us to a place where Peterborough once again loses its sovereignty and becomes part of a bigger council.