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Government withdraws its decision on new Lincolnshire councils
The government has withdrawn its plan to replace Lincolnshire's councils with a new Lincoln unitary and a new Lincolnshire unitary. It will look again at the four existing proposals and make a new decision early next year.
· 1 min read · Magna Newsroom
The shake-up of how Lincolnshire is run is back on the drawing board.
In July the government chose a model for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) that would have created a new Lincoln unitary council and a new Lincolnshire unitary council. After a pause and review announced in September, ministers have now withdrawn that decision.
The government will review the four proposals already submitted and aims to make a new decision early next year. Councils have not been asked to put forward any new models. The earliest a new council or councils could start operating is 1 April 2029.
Cllr Sean Matthews, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: "While I'm glad that the decision for Lincolnshire has been withdrawn, we're essentially back in the same place we were before they announced their chosen model in July. There are still four proposals on the table, a loose timeline and continuing uncertainty; the government has taken a three-month step backwards."
He added that the county council would keep its focus on delivering services for residents in the meantime.
Decisions for most other areas in England have also been withdrawn, although the government plans to go ahead in Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and East Sussex.
