Councillors call for Gedling’s rural villages to be spared from merger with Nottingham in council shake-up
Two councillors are calling for Gedling’s rural villages to be spared from being included in a proposed merger of the borough’s council with Nottingham in the biggest local government shake-up in more than 50 years.
Conservative Gedling Borough Councillors for the Trent Valley ward, Cllr Mike Adams and Cllr Sam Smith have written to the Rt Hon Alison McGovern MP, Minister for Local Government, urging the Government to rule out any proposal that would see Burton Joyce, Stoke Bardolph, Gedling, or Rivendell transferred into Nottingham City as part of the ongoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process.
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In their letter, the Councillors stress that these villages are rural, Green Belt communities with identities, service needs, and demographic profiles fundamentally different from those of the urban city environment.
“Forcing these villages into Nottingham City would be totally unacceptable and a direct betrayal of our residents’ clear wishes,” Cllr Sam Smith and Cllr Mike Adams state.
The letter highlights three major concerns:
- Green Belt Protection & Rural Character – The Trent Valley villages sit within some of the county’s most sensitive Green Belt, and the councillors argue that Nottingham City’s development pressures are incompatible with the area’s long-standing rural preservation needs.
- Mismatch in Service Provision – Residents rely on rural transport, flood resilience, village-focused policing, and infrastructure suited to countryside communities—needs they fear would be sidelined under a city-led authority.
- Nottingham City Council’s Financial Instability – With two Section 114 notices, deep budget deficits, and major financial failures, including the £38m loss on Robin Hood Energy, the councillors warn that rural villages should not be forced to subsidise the City’s financial problems.
The councillors have call on the Minister to reject any proposal that would alter the boundaries in a way that subsumes Trent Valley communities into the City, and to ensure that any LGR plans across Nottinghamshire include local consent, transparency, and protections for rural identity.
Cllr Adams and Cllr Smith concluded: “Our towns and villages are not Nottingham suburbs, and they must never be treated that way.”
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