Joint update issued by the Leaders of Amber Valley Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derby City Council, Erewash Borough Council, High Peak Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council and South Derbyshire District Council.
Leaders of seven of Derbyshire’s district and borough councils, together with the Leader of Derby City Council, have officially submitted their local government reorganisation proposals to the Government – setting out the clear benefits of creating two new unitary councils to deliver all services to local people in the future.
The ‘One Derbyshire, Two Councils’ plan proposes to reduce the number of local authorities covering Derbyshire from 10 to two, with one covering the north of the county, and one covering the south.
The final ‘case for change’ document details the Leaders’ collective vision ‘for Derbyshire to be a place where people proudly work, live, belong and thrive’ and how creating two new unitary councils would:
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Keep councils connected to local people – big enough to deliver but close enough to listen and respond to local needs.
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Better enable the provision of effective and value for money services – councils with the ambition and financial stability to transform the services residents receive, especially those relating to adult care, children’s services, SEND and homelessness.
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Preserve local identity and protect Derbyshire’s historic boundaries, cultural heritage and environmental assets.
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Meet Government’s criteria for unitary local government – with the two councils each serving populations of around 500,000 people.
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Support the Mayor of the East Midlands and East Midlands Combined County Authority to grow an inclusive economy, reform public services and secure better outcomes for the region’s communities.
The ‘One Derbyshire, Two Councils’ plan includes four separate proposals differentiated on the basis of where the boundary line between the northern and southern unitary councils could be drawn:
- Proposal A (supported by Amber Valley Borough Council):
- Amber Valley joins the northern Derbyshire unitary council with High Peak, Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire, and Bolsover.
- The southern council includes Derby City, South Derbyshire, and Erewash.
- Proposal B (supported by South Derbyshire District Council):
- Amber Valley joins the southern Derbyshire unitary council with Derby City, South Derbyshire, and Erewash.
- The northern council includes High Peak, Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire, and Bolsover.
- Proposal A1 (based on Proposal A, and supported by Bolsover and North East Derbyshire):
- A boundary change is proposed using the geographies of existing parish councils within Amber Valley borough as the building blocks for the proposed configuration of the two new unitary councils, with the populations of the named parish councils either being part of the northern Derbyshire unitary council or the southern Derbyshire unitary council.
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Proposal B1 (based on Proposal B, and supported by High Peak, Chesterfield, Derby City and Erewash):
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A boundary change is again proposed but this time using the geographies of different parish councils within Amber Valley borough as the building blocks for the proposed configuration of the two new unitary councils, with more of Amber Valley borough’s population falling under the remit of the southern Derbyshire unitary council.
In a joint statement, the Leaders of Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derby City, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire and South Derbyshire councils, said: “The needs of our communities – now and in the future – are at the very heart of our approach to simplifying and transforming how we deliver local services.
“Local government reorganisation is a hugely complex issue with a lot to consider, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redesign and modernise council services so that they better meet the needs of our residents and businesses whilst maintaining the integrity of the county of Derbyshire and its world-renowned cultural, heritage and environmental assets.
“Our ambition is to deliver more effective and efficient services, especially those relating to adult care, children’s services, SEND and homelessness, while also working with the Mayor of the East Midlands and the East Midlands Combined County Authority to attract significant fresh investment in housing, transport, and infrastructure – to further strengthen Derbyshire’s economy and create job opportunities for local people.”
Derbyshire County Council has developed its own proposal to create a single unitary council serving a population of 1.1milllion people – which would create the second largest council in England, and Europe, and of a size similar to Birmingham City Council.
The Leaders added: “Our individual councils may hold different views on where the boundary line between the northern and southern Derbyshire unitary councils best sits, but we stand united in our belief that the creation of two new unitary councils – rather than a single unitary council attempting to serve more than one million residents drawn from vastly diverse communities – is absolutely the right thing to do for Derbyshire.
“We have now formally submitted our proposals for Government to consider, marking a pivotal moment in shaping the future of local government services across Derbyshire.”
The final ‘case for change’ and four proposals have been shaped by a range of local and national evidence, along with the results of an extensive public consultation, in which more than 7,300 local residents, businesses, public bodies and community organisations put forward their views.
Detailed financial analysis has also been carried out, forecasting cumulative savings of £167m in the first six years, and an annual saving of £44m from year six onwards. Based on this forecast, the initial investment associated with setting up the two new councils would be recouped within roughly three-and-a-half years after their launch.
The decision to launch a local government reorganisation process was taken by central Government, and local councils were asked to work together to come up with proposals for their area.
Although Derbyshire County Council has been developing a separate proposal to submit to Government, all ten councils* have worked together to share information and ensure robust and accurate data is available to support the submission of proposals to Government.
The Government will review all proposals submitted for Derbyshire, and carry out further consultation in the new year, before making a final decision in the summer of 2026.
Under the Government’s current timetable, elections to the new shadow authorities would take place in 2027, and the new unitary councils would start to operate by April 2028.
*Derbyshire Dales District Council resolved not to approve the main ‘One Derbyshire, Two Councils’ case for change, but did formally support Proposal A1 as its preferred option for local government reorganisation in the area of the county of Derbyshire.
