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Council & Democracy

Council & Democracy

Local Government Reorganisation

Last updated: 5 February 2026

The government’s public consultation on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is open from for 7 weeks from Thursday 5 February 2026 to Thursday 26 March at 23:59. 

The government will make the final decision on which option is selected and it is expected they will announce the outcome in the summer.

A unitary council for Huntingdonshire – Option E 

Huntingdonshire District Council has led on the development of Option E [PDF, 5MB]. The Option E proposal looks to create three new unitary councils to replace the current two-tier system, with:

  • Huntingdonshire becoming one standalone authority

  • Peterborough, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire forming a second unitary council and

  • Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire forming a third unitary council. 

Alternative options for LGR can be found in the FAQs below. 

Read the Option E business case [PDF, 5MB]

This detailed proposal is supported by several appendices:

Appendix 1: Newton People Services Report 

Appendix 2: Pixel Fair Funding Review 

Appendix 3: Local Partnerships Financial Option Appraisal

Appendix 4: Local Partnerships LGR Economic Analysis

Appendix 5: Huntingdonshire District Council Equality Impact Assessment 

Some of the headlines of Option E:

  • Sensible geographies – Option E proposes a three-unitary model that reflects recognised travel-to-work areas, economic links and long-standing community identities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, with the capability to unlock growth. 

  • Delivery of outcomes – the Option E proposal outlines how it maintains the continued delivery of growth at pace by aligning to regional and national priorities, such as house-building targets, the growth of the defence cluster and building on delivery expertise in the region. 

  • Financial sustainability – analysis shows that Option E creates three sustainable councils, with the ability to deliver savings through transition and transformation.

  • Sustainable public services – Option E proposes unitary authorities with a balance of scale to suit optimum service delivery in each geographic area, making new councils that are close to communities with the scale to deliver efficient services. 

  • Local views – residents outlined how increased transparency, simplified access to services and councillors embedded in their local area. Option E proposes authorities that bring all local government services into single councils to simplify decision-making, improve accountability and support long-term planning with a scale that prioritises strengthened democratic representation. 

  • Devolution – Option E proposes unitary authorities that align with the CPCA’s growth vision, ensuring that the structure of local government is well optimised to deliver growth.

  • Community engagement – Option E outlines how strong community engagement provision in the region can be strengthened by providing the correct scales for councils to stay close to communities whilst prioritising engagement around regional objectives. 

The government consultation is an opportunity to have your say on the options put forward for LGR in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. (More information on the options can be found in the FAQ below 'What options are being considered?').

The government’s consultation asks the following questions: 

  1. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposal suggests councils that are based on sensible geographies and economic areas?   

  2. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposed councils will be able to deliver the outcomes they describe in the proposal?

  3. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposed councils are the right size to be efficient, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks?

  4. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposed councils will deliver high quality, sustainable public services?

  5. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposal has been informed by local views and will meet local needs?  

  6. To what extent do you agree or disagree that establishing the councils in this proposal will support devolution arrangements?

  7. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposal enables stronger community engagement and gives the opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment?

  8. If you would like to, please use the free text box to explain the answers you have provided to questions 1-7 referring to the question numbers as part of your answer. You may also use the box to provide any other comments you have on the proposal.   

  9. This is a proposal that is accompanied by a request that the Secretary of State considers a boundary change(s) or that affects wider public services. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposal sets out a strong public services and financial sustainability justification for boundary change?

  10. If you would like to, please use this free text box to explain your answer to question 9. 

For questions 1 – 7 and 9, the following answers can be selected: 

  • Strongly agree

  • Somewhat agree

  • Neither agree nor disagree

  • Somewhat disagree

  • Strongly disagree 

  • Don’t know

In late 2024, the government outlined plans for local government reorganisation for all two-tier areas (areas where services are delivered by two tiers of local government – a county council and city/borough/district councils - which includes Cambridgeshire) and for those unitary councils that are smaller or where there is evidence of failure.

Councils are now expected to develop proposals for the introduction of unitary (single tier) authorities across England, which will see the end to all existing two-tier arrangements.

The options submitted by councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are as follows.

Option A – Submitted by Cambridgeshire County Council

Option B – Submitted by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council

Option D – Submitted by Peterborough City Council and Fenland District Council

Option E [PDF, 5MB] – Submitted by Huntingdonshire District Council.

Yes. Under the government’s plans, ‘two-tier’ council areas like Cambridgeshire will see city/district and county councils replaced by unitary authorities.

For now, nothing has changed. Services will continue to be delivered as normal and our priority remains delivering these services to the highest standard possible. It is expected that the new unitary authorities will take over from April 2028.

Detailed proposals were submitted to the government in November 2025. More information on the proposals submitted can be found in the news article 'Cabinet Approves Option E for Local Government Reorganisation Submission to Government.

A decision is expected from the government on which option they have chosen by summer 2026. The government has expressed an intention to deliver new unitary authorities by April 2028.

Following the options being submitted to government, the next stage is for people to take part in the government's statutory consultation, which runs for 7 weeks from Thursday 5 February to Thursday 26 March at 23:59. You can take part on the GOV.UK website. Anyone is able to respond to the consultation.

A decision is then expected from the government on which option they have chosen by summer 2026.

Shadow elections to the new authorities are likely to happen in May 2027, before the expected ‘go live’ date of 1 April 2028.

Yes, the government’s statutory consultation will run for 7 weeks from Thursday 5 February 2026 to Thursday 26 March at 23:59. You can take part on the GOV.UK website.

Residents, businesses and other stakeholders across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were asked for their views on the future of local government in a survey that ran from Thursday 19 June to Sunday 20 July 2025.

You can read the following survey reports:

Final Focus Group Report [PDF, 0.4MB] 

Stakeholder Survey [PDF, 0.4MB] 

Final Public Survey Report [PDF, 7.5MB]

Town and parish councils are not currently part of the local government reorganisation. No direct impact is anticipated at this stage and there has been no suggestion that town and parish councils will be expected to assume any additional functions or services.

Huntingdonshire District Council has set its budget for the 2025/26 financial year. It is too early to indicate what might happen with regards to Council Tax levels in future years, or for when any new unitary authority is in place.

Huntingdonshire District Council held a Full Council meeting on Wednesday 14 January 2026 and agreed to ask government to allow May 2026 district elections to go ahead as planned.

The government has confirmed that District Council elections will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.

In June and July, HDC, alongside all the other councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, ran a survey of residents and other stakeholders to gather public feedback before LGR proposals are developed and submitted to the government in November.

The results are currently being analysed and will feed into the business cases being prepared. Cambridgeshire County Council is now also conducting its own survey of residents in addition to this earlier survey.

While we value resident feedback, decisions on local government structures will ultimately be made by central government. We are focusing on building robust data to support a sustainable and fair solution for all communities.

The final decision, which will be taken by government, will be based on the evidence of what will deliver the best and most financially viable option for the area. The government’s decision will not be influenced by local campaigning or the preferences of specific councils.

The options have been developed with a wide range of factors in mind, including historic community identities, the interests of residents, economic geographies, local demographic representation and financial viability.

It is not a case that council A does not want to partner with council B. Instead, council preferences are based on a wide range of factors, their analysis of the available evidence and their specific local priorities.

We will regularly update this page as more information becomes available. The Local Government Association have also created a devolution hub which contains more detail.