The Government has very recently confirmed one of the most significant reforms to Local Government and the planning system in decades. From 1 April 2028, the remaining two-tier council areas in England will be reorganised, reducing 134 local, borough and county councils to just 38 new unitary authorities across 14 county areas.
For developers, landowners and local planning authorities alike, the changes represent a major shift in plan making and decision taking.
What is changing?
Under the reforms, the existing two-tier model of county councils and district/borough councils will be replaced by single-tier unitary authorities responsible for all Local Government functions within their area. This will consolidate multiple planning teams, finance departments and leadership structures into a single authority, with the aim of making services more streamlined and accessible for residents and freeing up funding to reinvest directly into local priorities such as road maintenance and social care.
The Government has made clear that many of the proposed authority boundaries have been designed around economic geography, housing markets and growth opportunities, rather than simply replicating existing council areas. When the changes were announced the now replaced Secretary of State, Steve Reed, said that “these reforms create stronger, more efficient councils that lay the foundations for real devolution and the economic growth that will bring new jobs and opportunities to communities right across England”.
Perhaps most significantly from a planning perspective, each new unitary authority will ultimately prepare a single local plan covering its entire administrative area. This means that over time, planning policy will move away from today’s smaller district-based plans towards broader strategic policies covering much larger geographies. As a result, future housing and employment allocations may not follow historic district boundaries or existing local plan priorities. There will however be a transitional period during which current local plans will continue to operate.
The changes cover 14 county areas across England. Areas of particular interest include:
The county’s seven councils will be replaced by a single unitary authority. The Government has stated that this approach will bring together the Gloucester-Cheltenham growth corridor and the Golden Valley cyber cluster under one authority, potentially creating a more unified approach to growth, infrastructure and economic development.
The existing eleven councils will be reorganised into four unitary authorities. According to Government statements, the proposed structure is intended to better align Local Government boundaries with the area’s economic geography and support housing and infrastructure delivery.
London will remain largely unaffected by this national transition because the capital’s 32 boroughs have operated as unitary (single-tier) authorities for 40 years, having been broken into the 32 boroughs in 1965 and those boroughs having taken on these full powers in 1986, following the abolition of the Greater London Council. Therefore, they are already responsible for most Local Government functions within their areas.
Alongside West Sussex, plans for how to reorganise Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been delayed until October 2026, with the Government saying it needs time to make the right decisions.
These Local Government reforms do not sit in isolation. Alongside the creation of new unitary authorities, the Government is also progressing proposals for Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs), a high-level, long-term planning blueprint that guides land use, housing distribution, and infrastructure across a wide geographic region rather than a single local council.
This signals a return to a more strategic, regional approach to planning.
Neighbouring authorities will be able to collaborate through strategic planning boards to prepare SDSs across wider housing and economic market areas. Together, the new unitary authorities and SDS framework could fundamentally reshape how housing targets, infrastructure priorities and strategic growth locations are identified and delivered.
For local planning authorities, the challenge will lie in managing the transition from existing district-based policy frameworks to new authority-wide plans, while simultaneously engaging with emerging Spatial Development Strategies and an evolving national planning framework.
Whilst many of the practical details remain to be worked through, one thing is already clear: the planning landscape that developers and local authorities are operating within today could look very different by 2028 and beyond. Those promoting land, preparing planning applications or developing long-term growth strategies should keep a close eye on how these reforms evolve and what they may mean for local plan coverage, housing delivery expectations and future development opportunities.
To discuss the potentially far-reaching implications for housing growth, site promotion and strategic development these changes may have on you or your land, or to discuss the contents of this article further, please visit our webpage and contact a member of our Planning team: Planning Law – Michelmores.
