LGR

5 new decisions were made on LGR today. None related to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough so we are still waiting locally for a decision. The proposals announced today are the same models the government picked in July. What has changed is their legal status and the timetable.

What changed overall since July

• Status: In July these were decisions to go ahead, and the government later paused them. In September, Angela Rayner announced a review following updated legal advice, withdrawing the March decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Suffolk and Norfolk and pausing the 14 July decisions. Today’s five are only “minded to” decisions, with at least three weeks for further representations before ministers decide.
• Not locked in: Jim McMahon said all options and proposals in these areas will remain under consideration, and that it shouldn’t be assumed the same proposal will be chosen again.
• Timetable pushed back a year: In July, East Saltdean, Telscombe and Peacehaven were to move into Brighton and Hove from 1 April 2028, with shadow elections in May 2027. Now May 2027 elections will be on existing council boundaries, with shadow council elections in May 2028 and new councils formed in 2029.

Area by area

Earlier versions and where each area stands

• East Sussex and Brighton and Hove: The city’s original plan took in East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven and the whole parish of Falmer. The government’s March consultation proposed moving wards in Falmer, Peacehaven and Saltdean from Lewes District to Brighton & Hove. In that consultation, 80 per cent of residents who responded reacted negatively, and 93 per cent of organisations didn’t back the move. Falmer was dropped in July, and that is still the position. This is also the area where a legal fight is under way: East Sussex County Council has lodged a judicial review against a decision that would move 26,000 people into Brighton and Hove, and the Lewes District Council leader says the government “has not won the argument”.
• Gloucestershire: Three options were submitted. Alongside the single unitary, there was an east/west split (Cheltenham, Cotswold and Tewkesbury c.311,000; Gloucester, Forest of Dean and Stroud c.349,000) and a Greater Gloucester option.
• Oxfordshire: The councils submitted three proposals: a single county unitary, two unitaries and three unitaries. The boundary changes move part of the Vale into Greater Oxford, which affects over 23,000 residents across nine parishes, including Cumnor, Kennington and North Hinksey.
• Warwickshire: The county council backed a single unitary. In the government’s consultation, 68% agreed with the two-unitary proposal, and the government acknowledged savings would have been greater with a single unitary.
• Worcestershire: The county council and Wyre Forest campaigned to keep one council for Worcestershire.

The three western counties have been the least legally contested. Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire were the only areas that hadn’t threatened ministers with the courts.

For Cambridgeshire, the minister said Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and West Sussex would each get £500k, with a further update by Christmas and outcomes for every area by early next year.