Today, we have received a letter from the Minister for Local Government informing us that our joint proposal with Reigate & Banstead for Local Government Reorganisation will not move forward to the consultation phase. We are disappointed by this decision.

We are also perplexed. This decision is not based upon the merits of the proposal. Instead, the decision would largely seem to be based upon a reading of the legislation, which we do not share. Whilst criteria are also mentioned, our ability to meet these were at least in part due to the design of the LGR process, and this does not seem to have been fully taken into account.

This decision denies this town and this council the opportunity to consider this proposal alongside those emerging from West Sussex and to then take a view on what we believe is in the best interests of the town. We will now need to look in detail at the decision and carefully consider our next steps.

We remain committed to working with our colleagues across West Sussex to develop other options ahead of engaging with residents and stakeholders this summer. We will also continue to work with Reigate & Banstead and others to find other avenues to restate the economic and public service reform arguments that were at the heart of our proposal. Quite simply these have not received the proper consideration they deserved. We remain committed to providing the very best public services for Crawley and will continue to deliver these for our residents.

You can read the letter from the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution below.