Councils have agreed to send four potential options for what local government reorganisation could entail to the government to consider.
The process to abolish and replace councils in Cambridgeshire has taken a step forward as proposals have been submitted for what these changes could look like. Earlier this year central government announced plans for local government reorganisation.
The project aims to replace the existing two-tier council system with unitary councils. This means that fewer larger councils will provide all the services currently split between the district councils and Cambridgeshire County Council.
All seven councils in the county have been working on business cases for different models of what the new council structure could look like.
All of the authorities have now picked which option they will be supporting and submitting to the government to consider. Here is a breakdown of what we know about local government reorganisation in Cambridgeshire at the moment.
What council will I come under after local government reorganisation changes?
Five potential options for different council structures covering different areas were put forward, but only four of those options are due to be submitted to central government for it to consider.
Option A proposed the creation of two unitary councils, one encompassing Peterborough, Huntingdonshire, and Fenland. The other would comprise Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire, and South Cambridgeshire.
Option B proposed the creation of two unitary councils, one encompassing Peterborough, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, and Huntingdonshire, and the other comprising Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
Option C proposed the creation of two unitary councils, one encompassing Peterborough, East Cambridgeshire, and Fenland, and the other comprising Cambridge, Huntingdonshire, and South Cambridgeshire.
Option D proposed the creation of three unitary councils one including Peterborough and the west of Huntingdonshire, one including Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, and the west of Huntingdonshire, and one including Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
Option E also proposed the creation of three unitary councils, one with Huntingdonshire as a standalone unitary council, one with Peterborough, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, and one including Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
Options A, B, D and E are due to be submitted to the government for consideration, but no council opted to send Option C, despite this option having support among some councillors at South Cambridgeshire District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council, which means it will not be one of the options the government formally looks at.
Central government will make the final decision on what new council structure is implemented in Cambridgeshire, and it has been suggested that they could pick a different option to what has been put forward.
Who will provide services like collecting bins and fixing potholes after the changes?
One of the main changes people will likely notice after local government reorganisation is that all of the services that are currently split between the district councils and the county council will all be delivered by whichever new unitary authority people come under.
In practice this means that people’s bins will be collected by the same council that is also responsible for fixing roads, and providing social care.
Hope has been shared that this will make things simpler for people in the area to understand where to go when they need help or to access certain services.
Some councillors in Cambridge City Council recently highlighted that they are often contacted by people looking for help with services delivered by the county council.
How much will these changes cost?
How much local government reorganisation will cost will depend on which option is chosen by the government. As part of the work to put together each proposal, the estimated transition costs and how long this will take to make back through savings has been set out for each of the submitted options.
For Option A the transition costs are estimated to be £35million. The new councils’ recurring savings are estimated to be £12.1million, with a payback period for the transition costs of six years.
Option B has the highest estimated transition costs at £57.4million, but documents published about the proposal say the payback period would be four years.
The papers said the new councils’ annual savings by 2032/33 would reach £42.8million, with savings of around £1million in year one, £4.8million in year two, £14.7million in year three, £12.5million in year four, and £9.7million in year five.
It is estimated Option D would have transition costs of around £41million, the second most expensive options for upfront costs. This option is estimated to offer net annual savings of £1.4million, with the payback period expected to be over 50 years.
Option E transition costs are estimated to be around £17million, with annual savings estimated to be £2.3million, and a payback period of eight years.
When will the current councils be abolished and replaced?
Under the expected timeline that has been shared, the existing councils in Cambridgeshire will cease to exist in 2028. A couple more dates have also been shared for expected events before that happens, including a government-led statutory consultation with the public in the spring of next year.
A decision from the government on which new council model is picked is expected to then be announced in the summer of 2026. Elections for the new unitary council are expected to take place in May 2027, so that they then form ‘shadow unitaries’ before the existing councils have actually been abolished.
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