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Fears time is running out for Nottinghamshire councils to agree on local government reform

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Nottinghamshire councils are running out of time to reach an agreement over a planned overhaul of the area’s local government system.

A new report reveals the ‘concern’ cross-authority agreement will not be achieved in July as planned.

The Broxtowe Borough Council document, to be discussed in tomorrow’s cabinet meeting (July 1), shows worry is mounting in other parts of the county over the plan.

Under the reform, the Labour Government wants to give more powers back to local areas by creating more “strategic authorities” and new combined councils.

In practice it means merging together district and borough councils with larger councils.

Government plans mean all seven of Nottinghamshire’s district and boroughs could disappear by 2027 or 2028.

In March 2025, all Nottinghamshire council leaders saw three options for the potential reorganisation. By July 2025, councils in England are expected to decide their preferred reorganisation options.

Option one saw a new unitary authority combining Nottingham, Broxtowe and Gedling with a new unitary authority for the rest of the county and option two saw Nottingham, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe combining with a new unitary authority for the rest of Nottinghamshire.

Option three sees Nottingham remaining as an existing unitary authority with a new ‘county-only’ unitary authority for the rest of Nottinghamshire.

Broxtowe Borough Council’s cabinet papers note a “further complexity” whereby Rushcliffe Borough Council and Nottingham City Council are looking to put forward different options to government for the reshaping.

The report reads: “Concern is mounting that it appears difficult to generate consensus around a single model upon which all can agree.”

It states this leaves “very little time” for any conclusions to be drawn for July’s full council meeting.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Rushcliffe Borough Council leader, Neil Clarke (Con), said Rushcliffe “absolutely do not want” any city merge, saying: “it just doesn’t make any sense for small hamlets on the outer reaches of Rushcliffe to be considered as part of the city”.

In March, Cllr Clarke tabled a fourth option for reorganisation, seeing the city boundary remaining, and the rest of the county being split into two – creating three unitary authorities.

Cllr Clarke added: “If our option isn’t included then we will submit the option ourselves because it’s important our residents have asked us to protect their interests and it’s incumbent on us to do it.

“It’s my preference it goes in as part of the county-wide submission – there’s no reason why it shouldn’t.”

Also speaking to the LDRS, Broxtowe Borough Council leader, Milan Radulovic (Brox Alliance), called the government’s timetable “ridiculous and unworkable”, saying he does not think an agreed option will be met by July.

He said: “I will not be supporting any option that doesn’t look at service provision, highways, footpaths, environment… It needs to be done on how those services are provided, but it isn’t, it’s looking at the management of those provisions.

“Services will go down, costs will go up quite dramatically, a massive increase of indirect taxation.

“I’m not supporting any model that doesn’t support the need of services and communities moving forward.”

The leader added the council will conduct a local referendum in Broxtowe on the government’s reorganisation plans to gain residents’ perspectives.

A spokesperson for Nottingham City Council said Nottingham is a “significantly under-bounded local authority”.

They said: “We are responsible for delivering the services expected in a core  [major] city, but many of the people who work in the city, and use council services currently live in the suburbs, meaning they can’t vote in city elections, and pay council tax elsewhere. We need to address that imbalance through [reorganisation]”

They added the City Council believes the most sustainable model is two new unitaries but “no final decisions have been made”.

Full business plans and a complete public engagement regarding the reshaping of councils is expected to be submitted by local authorities by November 2025.

The reform is designed to replace existing ‘two-tier’ structures such as the one in Nottinghamshire, where services are split between lower and upper-tier councils.

Nottingham City Council is a unitary authority, with sole responsibility for all services in its area such as social care, waste collection and disposal and parks.

However, in Nottinghamshire, the ‘upper-tier’ county council is responsible for services such as social care, education and waste disposal while the seven district and borough councils are responsible for services like housing, planning, bin collections and parks.