They couldn't run a bath - residents on devolution

"They don't know anything about running anything, they couldn't run a bath."

Russell Pickin is a not a man to mince his words and when it comes to the idea of devolution, a planned major shake-up of local government, he was not holding back.

"I think it's a dreadful idea. They can't look after themselves as it is. If it's all lumped into one, it's going to be even worse."

In the government's eyes, streamlining councils would make life simpler for people like Mr Pickin, who lives on Uttoxeter Road in Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire.

Due to current council boundaries in the county, bins on a mile-long stretch of the street are collected by two different councils, depending on which side of it you live.

Then a total of five councils are involved with providing other services to residents - from housing to play areas, car parks to social care and road repair.

For Westminster, there's a simpler way - merge the smaller district councils with county councils and create one single body for about every 500,000 people; a unitary authority to look after everything.

The government says that devolution, its plan to transfer powers away from London and also simplify local government, would help drive economic growth.

But Mr Pickin is not alone in not being sold on the idea.

Fellow Uttoxeter Road resident Debbie Robinshaw lives on the side that falls under Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for her bins.

"My sister, she lives just down the road, and she's with Stafford Borough Council. It is a bit strange," she told the BBC.

Ms Robinshaw said she received a letter from each council about how the local authorities would become "joined up" under the government's plans.

However, she went on to say there was not much explanation and she did not understand it.

She was more concerned what this would mean for her household garden waste, which currently is collected by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, without any extra charge, over and above council tax.

Across the road, for homes under Stafford Borough, they pay an annual fee for the service.

"We're regarded as the urban fringe of the Staffordshire Moorlands and we're very happy with that," said another resident, Leslie Williams.

She thinks it would be easier, from a bureaucratic point of view, to amalgamate but adds that one size does not fit all.

She said: "I'm not aware of any problems that arise from the fact there are so many councils here at all, and doesn't that allow for a bit of competitiveness?"

The government has written to all ten of Staffordshire's councils advising them to submit their proposals for reorganisation by November.

Devolution in Staffordshire could see one or possibly two unitary authorities replacing the current eight district councils in the county.

A mayor might also oversee them and make decisions over issues such as housing, growth and transport networks.

So far the reorganisation plan has ruffled feathers among some local politicians.

There was a backlash from the Conservative group in the Staffordshire Moorlands as Tory MP Karen Bradley argued residents did not want to be a "Greater Stoke-on-Trent".

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, meanwhile, is one of those eight districts that could face being effectively abolished under the reorganisation.

The authority's Conservative leader Simon Tagg firmly nailed his anti-merger colours to the mast, saying: "Politicians from much larger unitary authorities are more remote from their communities.

"I doubt that a larger authority, three or four times the size of Newcastle, would prioritise the borough as we do now."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's leader Jane Ashworth, Labour, had this to say: "We support the government's devolution agenda.

"It is right that decisions about big issues – like economic development, infrastructure and skills – are made by locally-elected representatives who know their communities, rather than Whitehall bureaucrats."

She added: "Local government reorganisation isn't something we requested as part of this process, but it does give us all a chance to reduce overheads, leverage economies of scale, increase our powers, and get the best services for all our residents."

Staffordshire County Council was "focused on maximising the benefit of any change for our residents and businesses", said its Conservative leader Alan White, who added the authority would "update and involve people as we move through the process".

Back on Uttoxeter Road, the street may be separated by bin collections, but it seems residents are a little more united in their view - they like their councils just as they are.

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