The Government has announced its decision on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Greater Lincolnshire which would see the creation of two new unitary authorities – a Lincoln City unitary and a Lincolnshire unitary.
A unitary council is a single local authority that is responsible for all local government services in an area. Subject to legislation being passed, these two new councils would eventually replace the current county and district councils.
The new unitary authorities would comprise:
- a Lincoln City unitary council (covering an extended area from the current city boundary incorporating some wards in the West Lindsey and North Kesteven districts)
- a Lincolnshire unitary council (covering the rest of the West Lindsey and North Kesteven districts as well as the remaining four district council areas)
- North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council (already unitaries) to remain as they are.
The exact names of the new councils are still to be decided.
There will be no imminent changes to council services, or day‑to‑day operations, as councils prepare for elections to shadow authorities in 2027, with new authorities expected to go live in April 2028.