Decision to be made on preferred council restructure option for Peterborough

The extraordinary full council meeting on November 12 will see members debate two options for LGR, before recommending their preferred choice for government approval to the council’s ruling cabinet.

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.

A joint meeting of Peterborough City Council’s scrutiny committees took place in October and, after two hours of questions and debate, members whittled it down to two preferred options (Option A and Option D).

The options are as follows:

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)

These two options would see Peterborough either merge with Fenland and Huntingdonshire in a two-unitary model (Option A) or with West Huntingdonshire in a three-unitary model (Option D).

At the joint scrutiny meeting last month it was heard that Option A would provide greater financial benefits with a shorter payback time while Option D would offer better local responsiveness and sense of identity.

Notably, Peterborough City Council officers informed councillors that Option A would be the “most balanced and sustainable option” for the region, provided local identity and engagement were actively protected.

Financial data collated by finance officers and external advisors revealed that a two unitary model like Option A would generate annual savings of £12.1 million with a payback period of six years. It would come with one-off implementation costs of £34 million and one-off transformation costs of between £11 million and £16 million.

Meanwhile, a three unitary model like Option D would generate annual savings of £1.4 million with a payback period of 50 plus years. It would come with one-off implementation costs of £41 million and one-off transformation costs of between £7 million and £12 million.

Both options would see Peterborough’s council tax rates increase due to harmonisation. This is because Peterborough currently has the lowest council tax rate in the region.

Councillor Shabina Qayyum, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “This is the biggest shake-up of local government since the 1970s aimed at streamlining and enhancing local government to the betterment of our communities.

“We are fully invested in this process and have been actively working with officers and councillors across the region to move forwards.

“Change is coming and we are developing options which we believe will help secure Peterborough’s future prosperity whilst continuing to provide high quality public services.

“We have now whittled the five options down to two proposals which we feel are best aligned with local and national objectives and I look forward to further discussion.”

All councils in Cambridgeshire must submit their preferred option to government by November 28.

In October, Cambridgeshire county councillors voted to send forward Option A as their preferred option for LGR.

Ultimately, the government will decide which option it wants to implement.