The pair of newly-created authorities will take over service provision
The total number of elected members serving Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will be cut by more than 200 under the most far-reaching restructuring of local governance for half a century.
In July, the Labour administration confirmed that Nottinghamshire’s nine existing councils would be replaced by two brand new unitary authorities as part of its Local Government Reorganisation programme.
Nottingham’s perimeter will grow to incorporate sections of Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe, while the rest of these adjacent districts will combine with Newark and Sherwood, Ashfield, Mansfield and Bassetlaw to establish a second, distinct authority.
The current councils had put forward three separate proposals following frequently heated discussions, with the Government selecting Nottingham City Council’s blueprint.
In correspondence dispatched to councils on Thursday, July 30, Beatrice Andrews, the deputy director for the LGR initiative, outlined that the twin authorities would be designated the Greater Nottingham Council and the Nottinghamshire Council.
The correspondence stated that current councils would continue delivering services within their territories until their abolition on April 1, 2028, and would be obligated to collaborate with one another and with the incoming authorities.
The Order establishes transition procedures, with the central feature being polls for shadow councils in 2027, granting them preparatory duties such as drafting spending plans and strategies, to facilitate the transfer of local government responsibilities and powers on April 1, 2028.
Under these proposals, the combined tally of elected members across the city, county and existing boroughs and districts would fall from 408 to 198.
Each new authority would comprise 99 elected members.
Nottinghamshire Council would encompass Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, alongside five electoral divisions from Broxtowe, four divisions from Gedling and seven divisions from Rushcliffe.
The Greater Nottingham Council would contain Nottingham together with 15 divisions from Broxtowe, 15 divisions from Gedling and 17 divisions from Rushcliffe.
Ballots for the fresh authorities are scheduled for May 2027.
A single Implementation Team will be established, incorporating staff from all predecessor authorities, with the team being headed by the Head of Paid Service of Nottinghamshire County Council, Adrian Smith.
Mr Smith will be assisted by two deputy team leaders, each drawn from an authority within each new area.
Within the Nottinghamshire unitary, the deputy team leader will be determined locally from a district within the new unitary area, while the deputy team leader for the Greater Nottingham unitary will originate from Nottingham City Council.
Tony McArdle, who served as one of the Government-appointed commissioners supervising improvements at Nottingham City Council after it declared what amounted to insolvency in 2023, has been named sector advisor, operating as an independent critical friend throughout the transition period.
Nottinghamshire will receive a combined sum of £1.8 million from the Government to cover transformation expenditure, with £900,000 allocated to each new council.
These funds will contribute towards preliminary arrangements for children’s and adult social care, cyber security and information technology hardware.
Councils have additionally been assured an extra £150,000 per new council to assist with social care arrangements during the establishment phase, though the Government has indicated that the allocation of this sum remains undecided.
Certain council leaders are evaluating a potential legal challenge to the procedure, having voiced reservations.