Joint statement from the leaders of Amber Valley Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derby City Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Erewash Borough Council, High Peak Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council and South Derbyshire District Council.
Communities put at the heart of local government reorganisation in Derbyshire, as borough, district, and city council leaders outline initial plans.
Plans which put communities at the heart of council changes in Derbyshire – keeping local services close to local people, while protecting the county’s historic boundaries – have been outlined.
The leaders of the eight borough and district councils in Derbyshire, together with the leader of Derby City Council, have set out their initial plans to create two unitary councils to cover the county – one in the north, and one in the south.
The plans will be presented to the council’s respective decision-making bodies (where required) to approve the submission of interim proposals to Government by 21 March. Public consultation will be held before any final proposals are drawn up.
This initial work has established two options of equal merit that meet the Government’s requirements.
In the first option, Amber Valley Borough Council would be part of a northern unitary council, alongside High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, and Bolsover District Council.
A separate southern unitary council would be formed by Derby City Council, South Derbyshire District Council, and Erewash Borough Council.
In the second option, the structure remains the same, except Amber Valley Borough Council would move from the northern unitary council to join the southern unitary council instead.
Both options maintain the integrity of the historic county of Derbyshire and reflect the existing boundaries of the borough, district and city councils.
There will be a consultation process in the spring / summer seeking the views of residents, businesses, community representations and public sector partners to develop and shape proposals further. This will include specific consultation with the residents, businesses and other stakeholders in Amber Valley, to seek views on the borough’s placement in either the northern or southern unitary council.
The conclusion of this initial phase of activity represents the leaders’ response to the publication of the Government’s English Devolution White Paper which requires all councils in ‘two-tier’ areas like Derbyshire to submit proposals to reorganise into unitary authorities, with outline plans to be submitted to Government by 21 March, and final plans to be submitted in November 2025.
In a joint statement, the leaders said:
“Local councils provide a vast range of services that impact on everyone’s daily lives – supporting communities and neighbourhoods to thrive and grow, and creating opportunity for our people and places.
“As local leaders we take very seriously this responsibility, and in considering the very complex issues presented by Government’s call to restructure councils we are committed to working together with the shared goal of putting our communities first.
“We have explored a range of options that ensure that Derbyshire’s historic boundaries remain intact, while also creating new unitary councils of the right scale to deliver the best possible services for our communities.
“Our preferred option that meets government criteria involves the creation of two new unitary councils based on the existing geographies of the eight district and borough councils as the key building blocks, alongside the geography of Derby City Council.
“There is also the opportunity for the two new unitary councils to work in genuine partnership and collaborate on the delivery of all local government services, in turn ensuring the best possible value for money to local taxpayers. Most importantly, we believe these authorities would be of the appropriate size – the two councils would serve similarly sized populations of around 500,000 residents – to strike the right balance between retaining the strong local connections we already have with our communities and being financially sustainable.
“Our proposals also result in unitary councils of the right size and blend to engage fully and ensure our voice is heard at the East Midlands Combined County Authority and on key strategic issues close to our borders, whether that be our TransPennine and city links to Manchester and Sheffield in the north or our links to the East Midlands Freeport and Airport in the south.
“We don’t believe Derbyshire County Council’s plans for a single unitary council covering the whole of Derbyshire, excluding Derby, and serving a population of over 800,000 residents is the right approach. The organisation would be too large, and too far removed from the diverse communities that we serve.
“The county council’s plans would create a ‘doughnut effect’ around the city – leading to inefficient delivery of services and stifling economic and housing growth. It would also create significant disparity between the two unitary councils, in terms of both population and taxbase, and would therefore not meet the criteria the Government has set out.
“If local government must change, we want to make sure it does so in a way that keeps local services connected to the people who rely on them – creating councils which are big enough to deliver, and small enough to care.
“We have invited the Leader of Derbyshire County Council to be part of our joint discussions, but this has been declined. As the other local authorities in Derbyshire we have therefore moved quickly to draw up our own plans, which we believe clearly meet the Government’s criteria.
“To guide our final decisions, our proposals will be subject to extensive and meaningful consultation with residents, businesses, our workforces, partner public bodies, and the voluntary sector; ensuring all voices are captured and heard collectively.”