Local Government Reorganisation, or LGR, is about upcoming changes in the structure, responsibilities and boundaries of local councils in England.
A Government White Paper on English Devolution, published in December 2024, proposes significant changes to how local councils are structured.
The plan is for reorganisation in ‘two-tier’ areas such as Cambridgeshire - where there are both district and county councils. All district and county councils will be abolished and replaced with a single tier of government, known as a unitary authority.
This will significantly change the way local services are delivered.
Parish and town councils are not affected by the proposals.
Why LGR is happening
The English Devolution White Paper set out the government's vision for simpler local government structures. Simpler structures can lead to better outcomes for residents, improved local accountability and savings which can then be reinvested in public services.
Current situation in Cambridgeshire
In Cambridgeshire, local government is a two-tier system with Cambridgeshire County Council responsible for county-wide services and five district and city councils - Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire district councils and Cambridge City Council - handling local services.
Peterborough City Council is already a unitary authority, meaning it is responsible for all local services, including those typically handled by both county and district councils.
All 7 councils in Cambridgeshire are members of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) which is responsible for large-scale strategic projects that are important to the whole region, like transport, housing, regeneration and skills.
County councils provide services that cover the whole county such as education, roads maintenance and adult social care. District councils are smaller and provide local services including rubbish collection, planning, homelessness support and environmental health.
What this means for East Cambridgeshire
We don't know any of the detail yet, but it is likely we will be merged with other neighbouring councils to make a larger unitary authority that delivers both district and county services.
East Cambridgeshire District Council currently serves a population of 90,000. Under the proposals the new unitary authority is likely to serve a population of around 500,000 or above.
A unitary authority will:
- cover a larger geographical area
- cover a larger population
- offer all district and county services from one council - everything from social care, education and potholes to planning, housing and waste collection
- mean a possible change in Council Tax for East Cambs residents
- have less councillors covering bigger areas
Whilst we cannot influence the decision to abolish district and county councils, we can make sure we help to provide the best possible alternative for our residents, our communities and the new unitary authority.
What has happened so far
To help get the best outcome for our residents we are working in partnership with all the other councils.
Leaders and chief executives from councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have met on several occasions to discuss how each local authority will work together to progress any final proposals for LGR.
Special Council meeting on Thursday 20 March 2025
We held a Special Full Council meeting on Thursday 20 March 2025 to update the council on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and discuss the next steps.
You can access the papers from this meeting on our website.
You can also watch the meeting via our YouTube channel.
Following this meeting a joint press release was issued by council leaders across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough detailing a letter that has been sent to the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution.
What is happening now
Further work will take place, at pace, after the county council and mayoral elections on 1 May, to reach a shared understanding of how best to progress our proposals.
Chief executives from all the councils have commissioned finance and data analysts from each authority to develop a financial model to evaluate different unitary options.
This will allow us to review the financial implications of various options, including the potential for savings and efficiencies.
They will use the findings of this data to help put together a short-list of options for what the new unitary authority could look like.
Once a short-list of preferred options has been agreed, more detailed analysis will begin.
The scenarios we are considering will take account of historic community identities, the interests of residents, economic geographies, and local demographic representation.
We look forward to further discussions with each of the councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and with government, and when the time is right, with residents, Members of Parliament and our partners including the police, NHS, fire service and town and parish councils.
A second Special Council Meeting is likely to take place in October or November to discuss these findings.
The final decisions on which new local government structures are put into place in Cambridgeshire will ultimately be made by central government.
We will continue to work together to achieve the best outcome possible for our residents and every community.
Examples of reorganisation at other councils
In 2023, new unitary authorities were established in North Yorkshire, Somerset, and Cumberland. Other reorganisations have occurred in Dorset (2019), Buckinghamshire (2020) and North Northamptonshire (2021).
However, the difference now is that the government expects, as a minimum, all council areas across England where there is currently a two-tier system in place to be reorganised.