Cameron vows to reverse Norwich and Exeter unitary decisions

David Cameron has said a Conservative government would reverse the decision to hand unitary status to Norwich and Exeter city councils, the Norwich Evening News has reported.

The Tory leader made his comments during a visit to Sprowston Community High School. Cameron said: “It can be done. It’s something which the government rushed through. We’ve taken necessary advice and know it can be done relatively simply on 6 May.

“The evidence is that it creates additional costs and stacks up bills for the taxpayers. People would rather a freeze on council tax than this, which stacks up bills.”

Cameron insisted that the Conservatives would implement the decision quickly. According to the local paper, he said: “We made this promise not just in Norfolk but in Devon as well. It can be done relatively simply. If we win the election, we will not forget about Norfolk.”

The leader of Norwich City Council, Steve Morphew, told the Norwich Evening News that the Tory leader was “factually” wrong about how simple it would be to turn over the original decision to make the authority a unitary, adding that there was no justification for such a step.

Morphew said: “If he is that confident, perhaps he would like to have a word with the Conservatives at Norfolk County Council and persuade them not to waste hundreds of thousands of pounds of money, which is much needed elsewhere, on a judicial challenge.”

The High Court showdown over the government’s decision is set to be heard on 28 and 29 April.

The new unitaries will otherwise come into force in April 2011.