Consultation on the future of local Government in Derbyshire goes live

Proposals for how council services could be delivered to Derbyshire’s communities in the future have been put out for consultation by the Government.

The seven-week statutory consultation is the next milestone in the Government’s Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process, which will see the biggest shake up of local councils for more than 50 years.

Views are being sought on five proposals for reorganising councils in Derby and Derbyshire, which were submitted to Government in November last year:

• Derbyshire County Council submitted a proposal to create a single unitary council covering the whole of Derby and Derbyshire.
• Seven of Derbyshire’s eight district and borough councils, together with Derby City Council, submitted a plan to create two new unitary councils to cover the whole of the county. This plan includes four separate proposals, which differentiate on the basis of where the boundary line between the northern and southern councils is drawn.

The statutory consultation is a formal, legally required process which must be carried out by the Government before it can make a final decision on which proposal to support.

It is separate to the two local LGR public consultations (one by Derbyshire County Council and one by the districts, boroughs and Derby City Council) which ran last summer and helped to shape the proposals.

Derbyshire residents, businesses and organisations are now being encouraged to have their say on the final proposals in this next round of consultation, which closes on 26th March.

The councils themselves are also invited to submit a formal response to the consultation.

The results will help the Government understand what people and organisations think about each of the proposals, before ministers make a final decision in the summer.

Leader of Derbyshire County Council Councillor Alan Graves said: “Government asked local councils to look at ways to combine existing councils in Derby and Derbyshire into a smaller number looking after all services for their area, to simplify the system and make it more efficient.

“Our residents deserve a modern, efficient and effective system of local government which can meet current and future challenges and support the area to grow and prosper. This is central to our proposal for a single unitary council for Derby and Derbyshire which was formed based on detailed and independent expert analysis and extensive public and stakeholder engagement to get the views of local people, businesses, organisations and partners.

“This next stage is an opportunity for local people to let the Government know what they think about all of the proposals for reorganising local government in Derby and Derbyshire and I’d encourage as many people as possible to take part in the consultation.”

To find out more about the proposals and submit views, visit the Government’s website by clicking here.

Printed copies of the consultation will be made available at public buildings including council offices, libraries and sports centres. Alternative formats of all documents should be requested by contacting the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) at: AlternativeFormats @ communities.gov.uk

The results of the consultation will help inform the Government’s decision on how local government should be structured in the county area of Derbyshire in the future. A final decision is expected in mid-2026.

Under the Government’s current timetable, elections to any new shadow authority or authorities would take place in 2027, and the new unitary council or councils would start to operate on 1st April 2028.