Two Councils. One Fairer Future. Local Government Reorganisation Option A published

Cambridgeshire County Council has today (Thursday, 27 November) published its final proposal for ‘Two councils. One fairer future.’ also known as Option A for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). 

The County Council’s proposal will be submitted directly to Government by the deadline of Friday, 28 November, following the decision of the Full Council in October.

The submission will also include a letter, following an approved motion proposed by Councillor Sarah Caine. This recognises that although LGR presents an opportunity to create a more resilient and responsive model of local government for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, it also represents a missed opportunity for local communities, because of the Government’s restrictive criteria and timescales for submissions to be developed.

Option A sets out the proposed creation of two new unitary councils across the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area, replacing the seven existing councils.  This consists of a Northwest unitary council covering the current footprint of Fenland, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough, and a Southeast unitary council, covering Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire

At its heart, Option A is about fairness and reform, providing more effective public services for communities. Option A achieves this by establishing two new unitary councils that will:

• Balance the population, land mass and base budgets of the existing councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, ensuring a fair distribution of existing resources, and taking account of both rural and urban interests.
• Provide sufficient scale, size and mass to withstand future financial shocks and achieve efficiencies through economies of scale in service delivery and commissioning.
• Align boundaries with existing NHS services, limiting disruption for residents supported by high cost and complex services, and protecting established structures and relationships that can drive forward radical public service reform.
• Reflect functional economic areas and the distinctive, yet interconnected economies of our area, creating a solid foundation for supporting inclusive growth and supporting devolution, working with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA).
• Respect historic identities and the patterns of our residents' daily lives, such as their travel to work and travel to learn patterns, allowing for services to be appropriately tailored to the distinctive needs and aspirations of our diverse places.
• Option A sets out proposals for Neighbourhood Area Committees (NACs). These will give residents a stronger, more empowered, and more local voice. They will complement the role of democratically elected councillors, who will become responsible for the political leadership of the full range of local government services.
• Builds on a robust, evidence-based options appraisal demonstrating that Option A most effectively meets the Government criteria for LGR.     

Between September and October, the council undertook a second phase of engagement across the whole of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that received 1,912 responses from residents, businesses, public bodies, and community and voluntary sector groups. The results showed strong support in favour of Option A:

• East Cambridgeshire: 67%
• Cambridge City: 62%
• South Cambridgeshire: 61%
• Peterborough: 55%

Strong support was evident for Option A, with 65% of organisations and 58% of elected representatives responding to the engagement survey also being in favour to the consultation.

Lower support for Option A was recorded in Fenland (26%) and Huntingdonshire (20%) – this was largely due to concerns about local identity in the proposed council structure.

In addition to survey responses, formal letters of support, favouring Option A were submitted by the NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB) Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, highlighting that Option A aligned with patient flows and NHS neighbourhood models, supporting continuity of health and care services. 

Anglia Ruskin University’s letter of support recognised its campuses in both Cambridge and Peterborough and the opportunity for stronger partnership working in the future that the Option A proposals presented.

The Government is expected to consult with communities and stakeholders in spring 2026 with a decision on which LGR model will be implemented anticipated during the summer, next year. Elections would then be expected to take place for shadow authorities in May 2027, with the councils established on 1 April 2028.

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said: 

“There is no doubt that LGR is an extremely emotive subject and there are differing views, but after listening carefully to residents and partners, it is my strong view that Option A is the right solution for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. 

“It reflects the travel to work corridors, the health and care boundaries, protects the historic identities that matter to our communities, and it has an equal balance of population and financial resources. Creating two unitary councils will enable us to build a more equal, more effective and more empowered future for everyone in the county.”

Cllr Lorna Dupré, Deputy Leader of Cambridgeshire County Councillor added: 

“Option A will secure the future of vital services, creating the conditions for growth. Two financially stable councils will safeguard support for vulnerable children and adult social care, to ensure our county can thrive. 

“Within the rules laid down by the Government for this process, we believe this is the best way to enable inclusive growth and better public services, while giving us the scale and sustainability to deliver reform and a fairer future for everyone in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough”

Watch a video of Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council regarding Option A.

View the Option A submission.

For more information on Local Government Reorganisation, visit our website.