At the moment, council services and functions are split across Nottinghamshire County Council and Broxtowe Borough Council. This slows down decision making and delivery, leads to fragmented public services, sees money wasted on duplication, and creates confusion about who does what and who is responsible.
Local Government Reorganisation will cut down on this duplication and waste, bringing all council services under one authority, which will also improve accountability as it will end confusion about who is responsible for delivering council services.
More than that, local government reorganisation is not just about achieving efficiencies, it also creates a huge opportunity to rethink how services are delivered, so they join up around residents and focus on prevention.
I am routinely contacted by constituents who struggle with navigating the two-tier council system and would benefit from joined up services. For instance, someone receiving social care who needs an Occupational Therapy adaptation to their council home, has to deal with both the County Council, who are responsible for social care, and the Borough Council, who are responsible for housing. Under a unitary authority, all these services will be provided by one authority, which will make it easier for residents to access the services they need.
LGR will allow authorities to take a strategic approach to issues affecting our community as social care, health, housing, support services, education and leisure facilities will all be provided by one authority, enabling a joined-up approach to supporting residents.
The costs of transition to unitary authorities in Nottinghamshire are expected to be recouped in the money saved by LGR in less than a year and half. The savings from LGR in Nottinghamshire are estimated to be around £64.7m within 5 years. These savings mean that more money can be invested into frontline services that residents need.
Council tax will be set by the newly elected councillors in the new unitary authority.
No. You will continue to receive the same council services, including waste collection, libraries, leisure facilities, planning, education, and social care.
Broxtowe is not being merged with Nottingham City Council. Every local authority in Nottinghamshire is being abolished, including Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, and all the district and borough councils including Broxtowe Borough Council. They will be replaced by new unitary authorities, with new leadership and new elections for councillors.
Option 1b is supported by Nottinghamshire County Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council. This proposal recommends the creation of two new unitary councils:
- Broxtowe, Gedling, and Nottingham City.
- Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, and Rushcliffe.
Option 1e is supported by Bassetlaw District Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council. This proposal recommends the creation of two new unitary councils:
- Broxtowe, Nottingham City, and Rushcliffe.
- Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Gedling, Mansfield, and Newark and Sherwood.
Option Bii is supported by Nottingham City Council. This proposal recommends the creation of two new unitary councils:
- Parts of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe combined with Nottingham City.
- Parts of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe combined with Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, and Newark and Sherwood.
I recognise that some Broxtowe residents would have preferred for Broxtowe to be in a new Nottinghamshire county authority and are frustrated no such option was put forward.
The decision about what the new authorities will look like was given to local authorities to propose the options they think are best for local residents. The Government provided criteria that the new authorities should have sensible geography, a sensible economic area, be able to withstand financial shocks and deliver efficiencies.
All of the proposals by Nottinghamshire councils have suggested two unitary authorities, one that includes Nottingham city and surrounding areas, and one that includes the rest of the county.
All three of the proposals submitted by Nottinghamshire councils have suggested all or part of Broxtowe will be in the new authority with Nottingham city.
Unlike other authorities in Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe Borough Council did not propose any option to the Government. They also did not develop an alternative proposal to the options that will see Broxtowe be part of a new authority with Nottingham city. I was clear in my conversations with council leadership that Broxtowe Borough Council refusing to put forward a preferred option for Broxtowe would not mean that local government reorganisation would not happen.
The Government now has to make a decision from the options that were proposed by other Nottinghamshire councils.
Provided they meet the government’s criteria set out in February 2025, the proposals made by local authorities will all go forward for a government-led statutory consultation in 2026.
Added February 2026: The Government’s consultation on local government reorganisation for Nottinghamshire is open until 26th March 2026 – Proposals for local government reorganisation in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham – GOV.UK
The Government is currently expected to make a final decision on the option that will be taken forward for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in the Summer of 2026. The final decision will regard the criteria in the statutory guidance, the consultation responses received and all other relevant information.
There will be a significant implementation period before any new authority in Nottinghamshire goes live in 2028. This period will be used to ensure new councils are ready to deliver high quality services from day one so there are no gaps in service delivery. This will include elections for new unitary councils in May 2027, a year before the go-live date.