LEICESTER City Council will this Friday (21 Mar) submit its interim proposal for the reshaping of local councils across the city, Leicestershire and Rutland.
The interim submission – which includes outline plans for expanding Leicester’s boundaries – has been put forward in response to the Government’s invitation to councils to explore how local government could be reorganised.
It proposes the creation of an expanded city council alongside a second, new unitary authority covering the remaining area of Leicestershire and Rutland, both meeting the Government’s target population of 500,000 or more residents.
Reorganising the ten existing local councils into two unitary authorities of comparable size would deliver more cost-effective public services, streamlined decision making and a path to financial sustainability.
To achieve this, the city council’s interim submission outlines a sensible expansion to Leicester’s boundary to include adjoining suburbs and space for future housing growth. This could include land currently within the boundaries of Charnwood, Harborough, Oadby and Wigston and Blaby councils.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Any realistic option for local government reorganisation in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland must address the historic accident of our city’s boundaries.
“Leicester is one of the most tightly constrained major cities in the UK. When you compare Leicester to cities like Bradford, Leeds or Sheffield, our population density is huge because our city covers such a relatively small area – less than a fifth of those cities.
“That’s because, in the 1970s, when the country’s non-metropolitan districts were determined, the boundaries of most other cities were extended while ours have remained largely unchanged since the 1920s.
“Critically, our almost uniquely constrained boundary means that now – unlike comparable cities – we have no chance of delivering the extra housing that our city so desperately needs within existing confines.
“The county and district councils all know that the existing city boundary makes no sense and has to change. The Conservative leader of the county council and the Liberal Democrat leader of Rutland joined me in writing to the Minister in January saying those boundaries should be extended.
“Unfortunately, although understandably, the forthcoming county elections mean they have chosen to withdraw from that initial proposal. I hope that we will be able to return to sensible discussions about where boundary lines should be drawn after the May elections.”
Expansion of the city’s boundaries is key to unlocking devolution and the transfer of more powers and funding from central government to a new Mayoral Strategic Authority for the area.
Initial engagement with stakeholders has been positive and further consultation is planned over the coming months as the proposal is developed, ahead of its final submission in November. It will then be up to the Government to determine which proposals are taken forward and to lead on formal consultation.
The English Devolution White Paper – published in December 2024 – sets out the Government’s intention to end two tier councils, such as in Leicestershire, and create new, larger single tier unitary authorities. This will see an end to small district councils and pave the way for strategic authorities across England which will be given greater powers over issues such as planning and transport.
Leicester City Council’s interim proposals for local government reorganisation would see the city population grow from 372,000 now to just over 600,000 by 2028. It would also provide more land for new development and help to accommodate the estimated future need for 32,000 new homes, 18,000 new affordable homes and an expansion of existing employment land.
Leicester City Council’s full interim submission for local government reorganisation is available to view online at www.leicester.gov.uk/keystrategies