This page brings together key facts about the Government’s plans to reform local government in Derbyshire.
Here you’ll find information on what’s happening, the proposals being developed, answers to common questions, and how you’ll be able to have your say. The page will be updated regularly as the process moves forward.
In late 2024, the Government published a white paper describing a national programme of devolution and reform to local government – setting out plans for the biggest change to local councils in a generation.
This includes a clear expectation that the ‘two-tier system’ of local government which exists in many places – including here in Derbyshire – must be replaced.
The future of small ‘unitary’ councils, like the city council that covers Derby, is also under review as part of this programme.
In short, under the Government’s plans this means that district, borough, county and small unitary councils will no longer exist. They will be replaced by new unitary councils which will each provide all council services to the communities they serve.
In announcing this widescale reform, Government asked Derbyshire councils to work together to come up with some initial options about how this could work in our area. The plan is then to work with our local communities later on in 2025 to get your views on our proposals before any final decisions are made.
The district and borough councils across Derbyshire, and Derby City Council, have been working in partnership since the Government’s call.
This is a complex issue, but our key priority is to make sure the needs of our communities are met – proposing new structures that:
- keep councils connected to local people – big enough to deliver but close enough to care
- can provide effective and value for money services – and the staff and funding going forward to continually improve the services residents receive
- protect Derbyshire’s historic boundaries in terms of the area councils cover – including the city of Derby, which is a key centre of economic growth for the county
- meet the Government’s criteria for reorganisation – if we don’t, or where agreement can’t be reached, Government has indicated it will impose a solution that they think works best for Derbyshire
Find out more in our frequently asked questions about local government reorganisation.
Our approach
Government has been clear that the way local government works in places like Derbyshire has to change – doing nothing is not an option.
By working together, we stand the strongest chance of creating a future which meets the needs of our local communities – keeping your council services as close as possible to you – within the framework set out by Government.
That’s why we, along with the seven other district and borough councils across Derbyshire, have joined forces to pull together an initial proposal which puts the needs of our communities at its heart.
Chesterfield Borough Council has supported an initial proposal – which will be put out for public consultation before any final proposals are drawn up, or any final decisions are made. This was submitted to Government in March 2025, in line with the Government’s timetable.
Two unitary councils – one in the north, and one in the south
The leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, together with the leaders of the other seven district and borough councils in Derbyshire, has submitted an initial proposal to create two unitary councils to cover the county – one in the north, and one in the south.
This initial work has established two options of equal merit that meet the Government’s requirements.
Option one 
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.
Option two
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 district, borough and city councils.
These new unitary councils would be responsible for delivering all local council services in their area, bringing everything under one organisation. At the moment, services are split between two tiers of local government – with county councils providing things like social care and highways, while district and borough councils are responsible for services such as bin collections, planning, and leisure centres.
We, along with most councils across Derbyshire, have joined forces to submit an interim proposal to Government, which put the needs of our communities at its heart.
We support the creation of two unitary councils covering the whole of Derbyshire – one in the north and one in the south.
This initial work has established two options of equal merit that meet the Government’s requirements:
Option one
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.
Option two
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 district, borough and city councils.
This was submitted to Government in March 2025, in line with their timetable for initial proposals to be put forward.
The plan is then to work with our local communities later on in 2025 to get your views on our proposal before any final decisions are made.
You can see the interim proposal submitted by Chesterfield Borough Council and the other seven Derbyshire district and borough councils - see the interim proposal online here.
This is a complex issue, but our key priority is to make sure the needs of our communities are met. We believe that two unitary councils – one for the south and one for the north – would:
- keep councils connected to local people – with councils big enough to deliver but close enough to care
- provide effective and value for money services – and the staff and funding going forward to continually improve the services residents receive
- protect Derbyshire’s historic boundaries in terms of the area councils cover – including the city of Derby, which is a key centre of economic growth for the county
- meet the Government’s criteria for reorganisation – if we don’t, or where agreement can’t be reached, Government has indicated it will impose a solution that they think works best for Derbyshire
Under the current system some services such as social care and highways are provided by Derbyshire County Council, while others such as bin collections, planning, housing and leisure centres are provided by Derbyshire’s district and borough councils.
Under the new system, each of the two new unitary councils would provide all council services to their area, rather than being split between the two tiers of local government as currently happens.
We are committed to ensuring councils have a strong and visible presence in their communities. However, there will definitely be opportunities to rationalise our ‘assets’ including council offices and we will consider this as part of the next phase of our work towards the development of our final proposal.
The new unitary councils will set the level of Council Tax for households in the areas that they cover. There will need to be consolidation of levels as the Council Tax rates currently set are different in each of the existing district and borough council areas. It means some rates may go up whilst others may go down depending on where you live.
We will be carrying out an extensive consultation and engagement programme in the late spring / early summer of 2025 – to gather views from everyone within our communities to understand their needs and views before we draw up our final proposal.
This will include residents, businesses, and our workforce, as well as the various partner organisations and community / voluntary groups that we routinely work with.
More information about how you can get involved will be shared as soon as possible.
Once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Government to decide on whether it should be taken forward and there will be a further statutory consultation at that time. This will likely take place mid to late 2026.
Where we are now, and next steps
The joint interim proposal was submitted to Government on 21 March 2025, as approved by all of the district and borough councils in Derbyshire.
A full public consultation will take place later in 2025, ahead of the Government’s deadline for final proposals to be submitted in November 2025.
You will have the opportunity to share your views before any final decisions are made. We’ll provide more details on how to take part as soon as they are available.
A decision is not expected from the Government on the final proposals that are submitted for Derbyshire until spring 2026.
In the meantime, below you can find answers to some frequently asked questions to learn more about local government reorganisation, the interim proposal and what this could mean for Derbyshire.