Derbyshire leader continues call for one unitary council as LGR faces more delays

Pictured Is Reform Uk Derbyshire County Councillor And Council Leader Alan Graves, Taken By LDR Jon Cooper

The Government has confirmed Derbyshire is not among the latest areas to be subject to Local Government Reorganisation plans as the county’s ten main councils continue to face delays and uncertainty.

Derbyshire’s county, district, borough and city councils had been preparing for LGR with Government plans to replace them with two larger unitary councils – a Derbyshire North Council and a Derbyshire South Council – between 2027 and 2028.

But after the Government paused LGR for 14 areas in September to review matters amidst legal challenges, it announced on October 29th that it is now moving forward with LGR for five areas with plans to introduce larger unitary councils while decisions for nine others including Derbyshire remain unresolved.

Devolution and Local Government Minister Jim McMahon told Parliament: “Yesterday’s budget showed that we are committed to giving local leaders, local councils and local communities the tools to shape their own future.

“No areas want to see a return to two-tiers once strong unitary councils are in place… The decisions that we take now will be the building blocks for how this country is governed for generations to come.”

Ministers confirmed the programme is continuing and remains aligned with wider plans to shift power out of Westminster and back to local communities.

The five latest areas where the Government says it is ‘minded to proceed’ are East Sussex and Brighton and Hove with a two unitary proposal, Gloucestershire with one unitary council, Oxfordshire with three unitaries, and Warwickshire and Worcestershire both with two unitaries.

Nine remaining areas including Derbyshire have formally had their ‘decisions’ ‘withdrawn’ but the Government stressed this does not mean reorganisation has been cancelled in these areas and options and proposals remain under consideration ahead of any expected outcomes by early next year.

Local elections for Derbyshire and other unresolved areas will go ahead in May, 2027, on existing council boundaries, according to the Government, which stated that new councils will be established by 2029 with elections to shadow councils in May 2028.

Elections to new shadow authorities under the Government’s previous LGR programme for Derbyshire were originally to have taken place in 2027 and the county’s two new unitary councils were to have been in operation by April 2028 before plans were paused.

The Government has stated that under LGR there will be elected mayors with more powers on planning and transport and it claims changes will create savings, greater efficiency, improved public services, and economic growth.

But critics are concerned about the loss of councils, a reduced number of Derbyshire councillors from 447 to 162, the loss of local control with a risk of greater Government influence, the removal of local decision-making, tax increases, powers taken away from communities and whether the plans will create savings.

Amber Valley Borough Council has raised concerns and taken action over LGR plans to split its area into both the north and south Derbyshire unitary councils.

The Leader of Amber Valley Borough Council, Councillor Chris Emmas-Williams, said: “We welcome the Government’s withdrawal of its July decision, which would have split Amber Valley between two new unitary councils. Our position has consistently been that this was the wrong decision for our borough and its communities.

“We look forward to further clarity from the Government on the next steps and timetable for a new decision, to help our residents and employees understand what happens next.

“In the meantime, our focus remains on delivering the day-to-day services our residents rely on, which continue as normal.”

Derbyshire’s ten main councils previously stated they were in a strong position to respond to the Government’s original decision to pause LGR during the review, and Reform UK’s Derbyshire County Council Leader took the initial review as an opportunity to once again call for a single unitary authority under paused LGR proposals as opposed to the two planned north and south Derbyshire unitary authorities.

Cllr Graves said: “While we were disappointed by the Government’s decision in September to pause plans for new unitary authorities while a review was undertaken, we welcome the additional time this provides to engage with Government on our preferred option for uniting Derbyshire served by a single local authority.

“This has consistently been the county council’s preferred approach because it provides the strongest foundation for sustainable, high-quality services, delivers the greatest benefits from reorganisation, and avoids the disruption that would result from breaking up services that currently operate across the county.

“Ultimately, it is vital that any transition is managed carefully and responsibly, while ensuring services continue to be delivered safely and effectively.

“We will continue to work constructively with the Government and our local authority partners as the new timescales are developed and the options are reappraised.”

Derbyshire’s district and borough councils and Derby City Council had previously agreed a preference for two unitary councils under the ‘One Derbyshire, Two Councils’ format.

They had argued one unitary for Derbyshire will not work because of the size of the county but a system with north and south councils will maintain the county’s historic areas and provide better opportunities to work in partnerships especially with the East Midlands Combined County Authority.

Derbyshire County Cllr Tom Snowdon, Leader of the Opposition Liberal Democrat Group, said: “Liberal Democrat councillors have opposed and voted against this attack on local democracy at every opportunity. Conservative and Reform councillors wanted a single, gigantic Derbyshire council of over one million people.

“Labour councillors supported two huge unitary councils of over half a million people each. Already, huge amounts of officer time and hundreds of thousands of pounds, have been wasted on preparing for creating the new councils.

“Now that is up in limbo – or is it? If the plans do eventually go ahead, it is estimated that reorganisation will cost anything from £66M to £81M.

“Meanwhile councillors and council staff face an extra year of uncertainty, existing councils limp on like zombies awaiting the end and no long-term decisions can be taken about anything.”

Chesterfield Liberal Democrats stated hundreds of council candidates will spend time, money and effort fighting the May 2027 elections when their authorities could be abolished and they will then have to do it all again in May 2028.

Cllr Paul Holmes, Opposition Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at Labour-led Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “This is incompetent chaos. For nearly two years, from December, 2024, the Government insisted that existing councils would be abolished and replaced by large unitary councils.

“Whatever councillors said and whatever voters said, this would be imposed on everyone in areas like Derbyshire.

“Then they suddenly suspended the plans on September 7 and on October 29 they have announced that the new councils may – or may not – be imposed for 2029 instead of for 2028.”

Derbyshire’s ten main councils include: Derbyshire County; Derby City; NE Derbyshire District; Chesterfield Borough; Bolsover District; Derbyshire Dales; High Peak Borough; Amber Valley District; Erewash Borough; and South Derbyshire District.