Top brass at Warwickshire's six biggest councils will meet on Valentine's Day to discuss plans for local government reform – but political splits appear to be widening.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council hosted a two-and-a-half-hour debate on the matter on Monday, during which it was revealed that leader and chief executives of Warwickshire's county, district and borough councils would gather on Friday for private talks. 

That will be followed by another public debate at Warwickshire County Council on Tuesday (February 18, 10am) after the back-up date for the recently-passed budget was suggested as an opportunity for all councillors to thrash out ideas.

Stratford's debate had its pinch points, toing and froing over the wording of the district's motion.

While it was voted through unanimously, Conservative councillors remained concerned by the Liberal Democrats in charge leaning heavily towards an option to split Warwickshire in two – unitary councils for the north and south.

Warwickshire County Council leader Cllr Izzi Seccombe attended the debate and fielded questions on her proposal to abolish all six current county, district and borough councils to create one new single unitary authority to deliver all services.

Counties in two-tier areas were invited by the government to come up with plans before Christmas and while Cllr Seccombe's request to be part of the first wave was turned down, outline proposals for what the area wants its local government to look like from April 2028 need to be in by March 21 this year with details to follow by November 28, 2025.

Cllr Seccombe reiterated her case for a county-wide plan in her opening statement, citing the national government's wish for new councils to cover areas with a population of 500,000 or more and align themselves with current economic and health geography. 

"There is scope to go below that 500,000, however, there have to be exceptional circumstances, not just because we think it is a better fit," she said.

"Within Warwickshire we have adult social care, children's social care, special educational needs and home-to-school transport which are enormously expensive services. 

"Around 70 per cent of the county council's expenditure is taken up by them, they are significant services and if we started to separate our council, we would have to look at the capacity (of any new bodies) to sustain (financial) shock. I pose those questions to you." 

If there was to be a north-south split, it would lead to Warwick and Stratford coming together as was planned just a few years ago. 

Current Warwick district leader Cllr Ian Davison highlighted his authority's progress, including "looking to commission work to fairly assess the pros and cons of a Warwickshire-wide unitary compared with separate north and south unitaries".

He added: "All of you know that Warwickshire is a strange shape.

"There is a big Coventry-sized hole in the middle and that means if we are a unitary, it would only make sense in economic terms if Coventry came into the same strategic authority as us – either in an expanded West Midlands Combined Authority or a different authority.

"A lot of the debate today is about which unitary is best but my view is that you cannot make that decision without a view on which strategic authority or authorities are best."

Once external voices were heard, the debate passed over to Stratford's district councillors with the Lib Dems advocating two unitaries and the Tories arguing that it wouldn't happen.

Conservative group leader Cllr Sarah Whalley-Hoggins had already asked councillors to be "careful about referring to the south Warwickshire unitary". 

She said: "By repeatedly doing so, and it has happened three or four times, it implies that decisions have already been made behind closed doors.

"I thought we were supposed to be looking at this with an open mind. We should be referring to it as Stratford district's unitary (options), rather than south Warwickshire, otherwise we are giving the message that deals have been done and I know that isn't the case."

Deputy leader Cllr George Cowcher later referred back to that and made clear his political group's preference.

"We stand very united with our colleagues in Warwick in looking for a south Warwickshire entity," he said.

"We were very concerned by the county council going with just one option, very different from other counties around us.

"We believe Warwickshire has a number of options, and two in particular that we need to really test and get the evidence for. Time is short, but we have to work hard to get that.

"That is to look at a unified Warwickshire and potentially two unitaries. We believe there are exceptional circumstances in this county, which is why we should have a unitary of less than 500,000."

He also touched on the shape of bigger strategic authorities in the future.

"The West Midlands Combined Authority is not an attractive proposition for us either – a Labour government, a Labour combined authority, do you think Warwickshire is ever going to get very much out of that arrangement? I think we need to work more with other authorities that have much more in common with us." 

Cllr Whalley-Hoggins jumped back in. 

"You have repeatedly referred to a south Warwickshire solution, that is not what we are agreeing to," she said.

"It is not a part of the notice of motion, we are signing up to look at all avenues.

"I am unhappy that right at the very end, your summing up has basically announced that we are looking at south Warwickshire, not a solution for Stratford district. This is really important."