In an update for residents and businesses, Nottinghamshire County Council leader Cllr Mick Barton talks about Local Government Reform and winter plans for road repairs.
Cllr Barton said:
‘So, within the last week, we have been told that LGR (Local Government Reorganisation) is going to be paused.
‘Since I was elected in May 2025, one of the first things I was asked to do was to put together an option for LGR.
‘Within six months, we constructed a solid option which met all the Government’s criteria, along with the financial position and deliverability of the new authority.
‘The previous administration had 10 years to deal with LGR and came up with nothing.
‘A couple of months ago, the then minister told us which option they had chosen, which was Bii (the Nottingham City option).
‘Following the announcement, I wrote a letter to the minister to ask why he had come to this decision, which went against all his legislation.
‘It looked like it had been made for political gain. I had no response to my letter asking for his reasoning behind their choice; that is when I chose to go forward with a judicial review.
‘A few weeks ago, they asked for more time to respond, but since then, the new Secretary of State has paused the LGR process.
‘Fourteen Reform UK authorities have submitted judicial reviews to the Government, and I believe this to be one of the main reasons why the process has been paused.
‘That said, I am carrying on with my judicial review of the Government based on the feeling that they have not followed the correct criteria so far.
‘I have some fantastic news regarding the maintenance of the roads.
‘As you know, we have put record investment into the road infrastructure.
‘Contrary to various statements, we put nearly half of the money in ourselves to have a big impact on improving highways maintenance.
‘We are well on the way to completing more than 550 miles of road resurfacing and surface dressing.
‘We have rebuilt more than 60 junctions, filled in over 200,000 potholes and improved many footpaths and walkways.
‘As you know, we have brought in two JCBs and the good news is that, as they are working brilliantly, we have now decided to keep them for the long term.
‘Our two new Road Master mastic boilers have had a massive impact on maintaining the roads quickly and efficiently too.
‘The biggest news is our new 12-month repair programme, which has never been delivered before.
‘With our new winter programme, we will fix and maintain the roads with a minimum of seven teams, rising to 10 teams if needed.
‘The scale of what we are doing under our administration has never been seen before in this county, and we are breaking national records.
‘No county council of our size in the country is achieving the results we are achieving on the highways.
‘Please be patient because, when the summer ends and we get to the autumn and winter, the programme will continue.
‘If anyone has any queries or questions, please do not hesitate to get back to me by emailing Leader2025@Nottsccgov.uk.
