Authority opposes local government restructure that will see end of Peterborough City Council as leader slams ‘flawed’ process
A council in Cambridgeshire has called on the government to put a stop to its Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process.
LGR means that from April 2028 the current seven councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, including Peterborough City Council, will no longer exist and be replaced by larger unitary councils.
It is part of the government’s plans to transfer more powers and funding from national to local government and move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils in England.
All councils are currently in the process of choosing their preferred options for LGR to submit to central government, which will then make a final decision on which option is implemented.
However, at a cabinet meeting on Friday, November 7, Fenland District Council leader Cllr Chris Boden confirmed that the authority would be opposing the process and calling on the government to halt it.
He told members: “If government refuses to put a halt to the current local government reform process, despite the obvious flaws it contains, then there is no good option on the table for the residents of Fenland. All options will be worse than current arrangements.”
Cllr Boden proposed that the government should establish an independent Royal Commission to investigate all possible local government reforms.
Despite this Fenland District Council’s cabinet agreed that, if the government did not halt the reorganisation process, it would support Option D. Cllr Boden described this as “less bad” than the other options.
All Peterborough City Council councillors will meet on November 12 to decide between Option A and Option D as the preferred submission to government.
Option A ‘North and South’ – Unitary 1 (Peterborough, Fenland, Huntingdonshire), Unitary 2 (East Cambs, South Cambs, Cambridge City)
Option D ‘Greater Peterborough’ – Unitary 1 (Peterborough, West Hunts), Unitary 2 (Fenland, East Hunts, East Cambs), Unitary 3 (South Cambs, Cambridge City)
Peterborough City Council leader Cllr Shabina Qayyum previously said the authority was “fully invested” in the process and that she looked forward to further discussion at full council.
A final submission of a preferred option for LGR must be made to government by November 28.
The decision on which new council structures are put in place will ultimately be made by the government, with elections for shadow authorities expected in April 2027 before full implementation in April 2028.