FAQs

LGR is a government-led process that will change the structure and responsibilities of local councils.  We will move away from the current two+ tier system of having both district and county councils across the UK, including in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Currently some services you receive are operated by the county council and others by a district or borough council. Instead, we will move to a one tier system of unitary councils where one council delivers all the services you receive.  

You can find out more about our current system on our website: who we are. 

The government believe that unitary councils can further improve and modernise council services while reducing costs. Unitary councils offer a simple structure making it clearer who you should go to for local services and issues. It also means that more central government services could be devolved or passed down to unitary councils to deliver, pushing decision-making closer to the people and communities that are affected by those decisions. 

The most important thing is that you will still receive the services that you want and need. Our aim is to make them more efficient and easier to access by reducing confusion over which council does what and who you go to. We also aim to ensure a smooth and seamless transition resulting in joined up services which support our communities. 

All nine councils in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are part of this process:

1. Ashfield District Council
2. Bassetlaw District Council
3. Broxtowe Borough Council
4. Gedling Borough Council
5. Mansfield District Council
6. Newark and Sherwood District Council
7. Nottinghamshire County Council
8. Nottingham City Council
9. Rushcliffe Borough Council

It has been decided, as part of the local government reorganisation (LGR) process, to implement the proposal brought forward by Nottingham City Council which will replace the nine existing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire councils and create two, single-tier unitary councils.

This would create two new councils; 

• One covering the current local government areas of Nottingham City and parts of Broxtowe, Gedling, and Rushcliffe.
• And one covering the current local government areas of Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe.

A map is available to find out which authority your postcode would be part of when they are created in 2028. Check your address here: Address Checker. 

Engagement throughout LGR has been, and remains, very important.  The nine Nottingham and Nottinghamshire councils completed a county-wide engagement exercise which took place in the summer of 2025 and informed the proposals submitted to government on 28 November 2025.  

The government then launched its own consultation on 5 February 2026, which was open for seven weeks, for residents, business, partners and stakeholders to have a further say.  

Initial proposals for LGR in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire were submitted to government on 21 March 2025. Final proposals were submitted to government for consideration and decision on 28 November 2025. These can be viewed on our website: Process. 

The government launched a consultation on 5 February 2026 which was open for seven weeks. Following this, the government confirmed its decision on 16 July 2026. New elections to unitary councils will be held in May 2027. The new councils will then go live on 1 April 2028.    

The government has more information about its timeline on its website: Summary of LGR process (gov.uk). 

Find out more about the option selected for LGR in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire on our website: Local government reorganisation decision announcement

No. Boundaries were selected based on evidence and consultation. Central government made the final decision. Find out more about the option selected for LGR in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire on our website: Local government reorganisation decision announcement

In summary, central government advised that council proposals for new unitary councils should: 

• use existing district areas as the building blocks for proposals and 
• aim to submit one proposal for the defined area. 

In summary, each proposed unitary area should: 

• aim for a population of 500,000 or more or explain why a smaller population would better serve the area, 
• support devolution arrangements, 
• meet local needs and 
• prioritise high quality and sustainable public services. 

The full criteria is available on the government website: Nottingham and Nottinghamshire schedule (gov.uk). 

We don’t know what Council Tax will be set as yet, and this will be a decision for the new unitary councils.  

Yes. Council services, which include those such as waste collection, planning, education, and social care, will continue. Our aim is to make them more efficient and easier to access by reducing confusion over which council does what and who you go to. We also aim to ensure a smooth and seamless transition resulting in joined up services. For example, social care (currently a county council function) will work even more closely with health, housing and support services (currently a district / borough council function) to support our communities. Currently our waste and recycling services are split, with door-step collections being carried out by district and borough councils while the county council is currently responsible for the processing of the collected waste and recycling.  Following LGR, this will all be completed by one unitary council.

Yes. You’ll still have clear ways to get in touch - by phone, online, or in person. Local office access points will still be available. You can still get in touch with your existing borough, county, city, or district council up until the transition to the new unitary councils. 

There will be new elections to choose councillors for the new unitary councils. These will take place in May 2027 and the elected councillors will form a shadow council to help shape the new unitary councils.

In May 2027, local elections will not take place for district, borough, city and county council elections.  Current councillors will hold their seats on the nine current councils until 1 April 2028.  At this point the new unitary councils, and the shadow councillors, will take over.  

A shadow authority is established before a new council formally comes into effect. Shadow councillors are elected in advance to make the key decisions and preparations needed to ensure the new council can begin operating from its official start date.

There are some useful websites if you want to find out more about LGR: 

www.local.gov.uk - The Local Government Association has lots of helpful information about LGR including a video explaining what it is all about.  

www.gov.uk - The government website contains new updates and supporting documents relating to its programme of LGR in England. It also has more information about its timeline: Summary of LGR process (gov.uk). 

The new unitary councils will be responsible for social housing in the area, and what this means in terms of where rent is paid to and who carries out repairs and maintenance will be considered as part of transition arrangements.  Social housing rents are guided by the government and proposals for rent setting will be approved by the unitary council (in a similar way to now). 

It’s too early to say how social housing allocations will change in the future, but those applicants on the housing register currently will remain on the register.  

Nothing will be changing overnight, and staff will move to the new unitary councils if they wish to.  Generally, staff will remain the same and any changes will be shared with you in advance.