County and city boundary shake-up plans put on hold

Plans for a major shake-up of boundaries in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are on hold.

Parts of the surrounding boroughs of Broxtowe, Gedling, and Rushcliffe were set to be merged with the city, with a new "Greater Nottingham Council" created to manage all the area's services.

A second unitary authority, called "Nottinghamshire Council", was also set to be established, comprising the districts of Ashfield, Mansfield, Bassetlaw, and Newark and Sherwood along with the remaining parts of the above three boroughs.

Plans were put on hold last month and on Thursday, the government confirmed Nottingham and Nottinghamshire were among nine areas where plans had been withdrawn and would be reconsidered.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said: "Withdrawing these decisions does not mean reorganisation has been cancelled in these areas.

"All options and proposals remain under consideration in these areas and every area will have an outcome by early next year."

Some council leaders in Nottinghamshire had plotted to legally challenge the decision - including Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council.

A spokesperson on behalf of the nine councils across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire said: "While it is disappointing that a final decision has been delayed, we welcome the further clarity provided by government on the next stage of the local government reorganisation process.

"The government has confirmed that the previous decision has been withdrawn and will now be reconsidered as part of a wider review. It has also made clear that Nottingham and Nottinghamshire remain part of the national LGR programme and that a new decision will be made based on the proposals already submitted."

Labour leader of Nottingham City Council, Neghat Khan, said she was "disappointed" by the decision but stood by the authority's proposals, saying she believed it was the "best route to stronger, more sustainable local government".

She added: "I know that further uncertainty is not good for our residents or our workforce.

"We will continue to engage positively with the process, and I will be writing to government at the earliest opportunity so that we understand what this means for Nottingham. For residents, there is no immediate change to local government or to the services we provide.

"Our focus remains on delivering for Nottingham people, ensuring that we are in the strongest possible position when the government reaches its final decision."

Councillor Mick Barton, county council leader, said the withdrawal of plans was the "right thing to do".

"I am really happy," he said. "There will be some unhappy people but they have made the right decision in my opinion.

"I'm really happy we stuck to our guns and put the judicial review in."

Councillor Sam Smith, Conservative leader of the county council's opposition, said the LGR process had been "a complete and utter mess from start to finish, and hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' pounds have been wasted on it".

Meanwhile, Labour East Midlands mayor Claire Ward said it was important for the government to get LGR "right".

"This is a massive decision," Ward said. "This is about making sure that those boundaries - those new authorities - are the right ones, and so they've taken the existing decision off the table, but they are looking at all of the same options again.

"And I hope that we will get a fairly early determination from the government, but I want them to get it right. And so, if that means they've got to take a little bit more time, so be it."

Soon after Andy Burnham took over from Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, his government announced an abrupt "pause" on LGR in England in early September, while all options were put under further review.

And on Thursday it was confirmed only five of the original 14 regions - East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire - will proceed.

Local government minister Jim McMahon told MPs the review had found the government's decision-making to be "robust".

"I want to be absolutely clear that this is not a reflection of the work underpinning those proposals," he added.

"I commit to coming back to the House with updates for another set of areas by Christmas, and every area will have an outcome by early next year."

Reconfirming local elections in May 2027 would go ahead on existing council boundaries, he announced plans for elections to shadow councils, set to run for a year before taking over from old authorities, will now be held in May 2028.

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