Warwick District Council to Bill Government for LGR Costs

Warwick District Council will ask the Government to repay everything that local government reorganisation has cost it so far. Full council agreed the motion on Wednesday 30 September. At the same meeting it agreed a second motion asking ministers to cut the housing numbers set for the South Warwickshire Local Plan.

Both outcomes are in the council’s summary of decisions for the meeting, published on its committee papers site. The summary does not give the votes or the debate. Those will appear in the formal minutes, which are not out yet.

The reorganisation bill

The Government paused its reorganisation programme on 7 September, as we reported in our story on the Warwickshire decision.

Under the motion as agreed, the council will:

• have the chief executive and the finance chief work out the full cost of reorganisation to the council so far, plus any one-off costs caused by the Government’s decision
• have the leader write to the Secretary of State and the district’s MPs, saying local taxpayers should not pay for the pause
• ask the Government to repay all costs the council has incurred as a direct result of the process
• ask for clear answers on reorganisation before councils spend any more on it
• ask for enough time and resources for the boundary commission to draw wards, if a new council does go ahead, and a new timetable as soon as possible

The council’s motion says “every pound unnecessarily spent on Local Government Reorganisation is a pound which can not be spent on the services residents rely on.”

No cost figure has been published yet. The motion only directs officers to work one out.

Housing numbers: the wording changed

The housing motion was proposed by Councillor Boad and seconded by Councillor Milton. The version agreed on the night is not the one printed in the agenda. The summary of decisions does not say how or why the wording changed.

So the agreed motion is softer on the Green Belt, from eliminating building to reducing it. It is also wider, because it now covers other greenfield land as well. It still asks the leader and chief executive to write to ministers and local MPs asking for the numbers to be reduced.

A motion is a request, not a change to the plan. The housing figure comes from the Government’s standard method, and the plan itself still has to go through public examination. Our Leamington planning news page tracks the big sites the plan proposes.

The rest of the meeting

• Fees for large information requests. Council approved Cabinet’s recommendation to charge for big requests under the Environmental Information Regulations. As set out in our preview, the first 3.5 hours of work stay free, and the charge after that is £38.62 an hour.
• Pay gap report. Council approved the Employment Committee’s recommendations on the staff gender and ethnicity pay gap report.
• Committee seats. Councillor Payne was removed from the Employment Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and as a named substitute on five others. Councillor B Gifford takes the Employment Committee seat and Councillor R Dickson the scrutiny seat.

What it means for you

• Nothing changes yet. Neither motion changes a service, a bill or a planning decision. Both lead to letters to the Government.
• Watch for the cost figure. The cost of reorganisation to the council should come back to councillors. We will report it when it is published.
• Environmental information requests that take more than 3.5 hours of officer time can now be charged. Most requests take less than that, the council says.
• Council tax. Our council tax bands page has this year’s charges.

Sources: Warwick District Council, Council summary of decisions, 30 September 2026; Council agenda and updated public document pack for 30 September 2026.