Local Government Reorganisation

Local government reorganisation

Last year, Government set out plans to replace Lancashire’s existing councils with new unitary councils, each responsible for delivering all local services. To support this, councils across Lancashire were asked to put forward ideas for how reorganisation could work.

In November, five different proposals were submitted:

• One proposal for two unitary councils
• One proposal for three unitary councils
• Two proposals for four unitary councils
• One proposal for five unitary councils

You can view all proposals on the joint Lancashire LGR website: Proposals – Lancashire Local Government Reorganisation.

Government is now reviewing these proposals against the criteria it published earlier in 2025.

Statutory consultation

As part of the decision‑making process, Government is running a statutory consultation on all five proposals to gather views from residents and stakeholders.

The consultation will open tomorrow, Thursday 5 February and will run for 7 weeks, closing at 11:59pm on Thursday 26 March.

We encourage Members to share the consultation with their networks and residents in their divisions, to encourage uptake.

The county council will also be sharing links to the proposals and the consultation on social media and the county council website, once the consultation has been launched.

The consultation will be hosted mainly take place online. When Government activates the consultation link on Thursday, it will be available on the joint Lancashire LGR website: Local Government Reorganisation in Lancashire – Lancashire Local Government Reorganisation.

If you need support completing the questionnaire, staff in all libraries across Lancashire will be available to assist residents.

Next steps

After the consultation closes, Government’s current timeline is:

• Summer 2026: Decision on the preferred option
• May 2027: Shadow elections for new unitary councils
• April 2028: New unitary councils go live