One Derbyshire, two councils: thousands have their say about future of local services

Derbyshire’s boroughs and districts and Derby City Council have come together to develop proposals that would see all councils in the county replaced and all local services delivered instead by two new local authorities – one covering northern Derbyshire, the other serving southern Derbyshire.

The proposals for change have been developed in response to a government decision to reorganise local government across England. It wants to simplify the way councils are organised and improve their efficiency while delivering services that are better and more joined-up.

Councils have to submit detailed reorganisation proposals to government by the end of November, and the nine councils decided to ask people across the county for their views about the options before a final proposal is submitted.

This public consultation began at the end of June and lasts until 10 August, and councils are encouraging more people to come forward and have their say online at https://bit.ly/Derbyshire-consultation

In a joint statement, the leaders of Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derby City, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire and South Derbyshire councils said: 

“People and places across Derbyshire must come first when we think about the future of the councils that deliver their services.

“The current structure of local government dates back to 1974 and the way we live our lives and the technologies we all use have changed drastically over half a century.

“By working together, we have developed a proposal for two councils that are big enough to deliver across large areas, but close enough to meet the differing needs of a diverse county.

“We’re delighted to see so many people using the consultation to respond to the ideas that we have put forward, which is a clear sign of how important this is. We would urge more people to have their say before it closes on Sunday 10 August.”

There are currently eight borough and district councils in Derbyshire delivering services which include leisure, planning, waste collection and housing.

In Derby all services are provided by the City Council, which is known as a unitary authority.

Derbyshire County Council currently delivers a range of services across the whole county outside the city, such as education, social care, highways and transport, trading standards and public health.

Under the new proposals, the council for northern Derbyshire and the council for southern Derbyshire would deliver all services in their area, with the city becoming part of the council for southern Derbyshire.

The boundaries between the north and south councils have yet to be decided, with three options which could see the current Amber Valley area in the north or the south or divided between the two. The options are detailed in the online consultation.

While Derbyshire County Council was not involved in the initial development of the proposals by the boroughs, districts and the city, it decided at a meeting on 9 July that it would also look at options based on having two councils in the county.

The joint statement from the Leaders of the borough, district and city councils continued: 

“We acknowledge that Derbyshire County Council has now adopted a formal position in relation to its approach to government’s call for local government reorganisation, with a number of options based on a two-council approach.

“We will await further information as the county council develops this approach, following the decision at its 9 July meeting.

“Our priority is to achieve the best outcome for our communities, and the views of local people will help shape our final proposal to government. This must be submitted in November, so we must continue to work at pace.

“As part of our ongoing work, we will continue to consider how Derbyshire’s 10 councils can work together to make sure people and places are at the heart of local government reorganisation in the county.”

After final proposals are submitted, government will then review all the local government reorganisation proposals across England before making a final decision.

Under the Government’s current timeline, elections for the new shadow authorities will take place in 2027 and new councils will start to operate from April 2028.