Derbyshire councils set to hold elections appointing 12-month serving councillors to oversee their own authority's deletion

Derbyshire councils are set to hold elections appointing hundreds of councillors for just one year to oversee their own authority’s deletion.

Central government has now sent feedback to all Derbyshire councils – including Derby – in response to initial proposals for local government reorganisation submitted in March.

Officials are also giving Derby and Derbyshire £350,582 to develop final pitches for local government reorganisation ahead of a November 28 deadline.

There are currently 447 councillors across Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council and the eight districts and boroughs.

Current pitches to redraw local government would see the number of Derbyshire councils reduced from 10 to between two and three councils and between 148 and 179 councillors.

The feedback, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, details that the districts, boroughs and city are due to hold elections in May 2027.

It says these elections would occur at the same time as a “shadow” council or councils are elected to replace the existing local government setup in the county – and possibly in the city, depending on what pitch is approved by central government.

Those “shadow” replacement councils would formally become active on April 1st, 2028, at which point the former councils would be abolished, the feedback says.

When asked if the district, borough and city council elections were still due to go ahead, electing councillors for potentially one year, a Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government spokesperson confirmed: “There are no plans to postpone elections.

“The exact timings and detail will depend on the proposals received and the decision taken on which proposal, if any, to implement.

“The government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible, as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation.”

This would leave the boroughs, districts and city council electing hundreds of members for one year, purely to oversee the final days of their own authorities – depending on what new setup is adopted.

Derbyshire County Council had pushed for a two-council model, with Derby remaining the same and the wider county simply absorbing the districts and boroughs and retaining the same footprint.

Meanwhile, the districts grouped together to put forward a rival two-council plan – this time absorbing Derby – and dividing the overall area into north and south.

A possible unspecified three-council option was also submitted by Amber Valley Borough Council.

Derby had been due to back the district’s two-council north and south model but failed to submit any proposal after opposition groups voted to defer a decision on interim plans.

The proposed Derby and Derbyshire model appears, based on the feedback, to intend on increasing the number of councillors representing the county area (with the city’s 51 councillors unchanged) from 64 councillors to 128.

Meanwhile, the north/south split pitches by the districts and boroughs had proposed 148 councillors across the two councils.

This could be split 83 in the north and 53 in the south, or vice versa, depending on which council Amber Valley ends up in.

However, the feedback suggests that the Derbyshire County Council plan to increase councillors from 64 to 128 on one authority will be restricted to 100 maximum.

Feedback from central government details: “We welcome this early view of councillor numbers, which we will be sharing with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. 

“There are no set limits on the number of councillors although the LGBCE guidance indicates that a compelling case would be needed for a council size of more than 100 members.”

Government has highlighted that some systems, such as the NHS and police, cover the combined county and city, and others are broken up into north and south.

It has also asked for detail on how High Peak Borough Council’s partnership with Staffordshire Moorlands District Council would be impacted.

Government also wants more detail on “neighbourhood-based governance” such as neighbourhood partnerships or area committees.

The boroughs and districts say their two-council plan could save up to £93 million over five years and cost up to £25 million.

Derbyshire County Council says its preferred model would save up to £134 million over five years and cost up to £20.3 million.