Agreement could mean £500k saving for Amersham and South Bucks residents

Amersham residents have moved a step closer to sharing services with neighbouring South Bucks residents as part of a money-saving two-year project.

Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils have now started work on bringing together their management teams under a single Chief Executive.

The joint committee of the two councils met formally for the first time on Thursday. The role of the joint committee, which comprises both Cabinets, will be to oversee the development of shared service proposals, which are estimated to build up savings for Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils of at least £500,000 by the end of the first two years of the project.

During the meeting the leaders of both councils signed an Inter-Authority Agreement which sets out how the two authorities will work together.

At the joint meeting on Thursday night, South Bucks District Council leader Adrian Busby said: "Sharing services makes a lot of sense for both councils and we are now on the road to achieving it. We know there will be challenges but we will manage these by working with councillors and staff over the next few months."

Chiltern District Council leader Nick Rose added: "It is important that we remember whose money we are spending and that we get the best deal for our taxpayers. That is the reason we are going down this path."

The programme for specific services, which will be shared between the two councils, will start to be decided later this year, after the new senior management team has been put in place. Although services will be brought together, the two councils will retain their independence as separate sovereign bodies.

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