Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire residents can now tell us whether you support a new unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire: take the survey.
In December 2024, the national Government set out plans to move towards a new system of local government, abolishing all ‘two-tier’ areas in England.
That means that the below councils in Cambridgeshire could be replaced by a number of unitary authorities:
- Cambridge City Council
- Cambridgeshire County Council
- East Cambridgeshire District Council
- Fenland District Council
- Huntingdonshire District Council
- Peterborough City Council
- South Cambridgeshire District Council
From April 2028, rather than dealing with separate county, city, and district authorities, residents will access all services - from road maintenance and bin collections to education, planning, social housing, social care, and support with benefits - through a unitary council.
Where areas have parish and town councils, these will not be affected and will continue to operate as they do now.
A new unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
We are working with South Cambridgeshire District Council to ask whether you support a new unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District council leaders support a unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire alongside a new unitary council for East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough. This is known as ‘Option B’ (picture above) in the three options shortlisted by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils in June.
The leaders of Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councils believe Option B is best because:
- it creates two councils with similar size economies and distinct strengths: a ‘southern council’, for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire, Europe’s leading science and technology hub, and a large and diverse ‘economic powerhouse’ in the north for Peterborough, Huntingdonshire, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire.
- jobs and opportunities are closer to home: three quarters of all residents who work would live and work in the council area where they reside. And because each council has distinct but complementary economic strengths, they can each focus on attracting the investment their areas need to ensure residents can find good jobs and affordable homes locally.
- public services are better: a larger council in the north can use its scale to drive efficiencies as well as localise service provision to meet diverse community needs. The smaller southern council area already has many joint services and, uniquely, one in 10 homes are council-owned, enabling closer integration with health services and social care.
- it’s more financially sustainable and fairer: resources are split most fairly, which is better value for money and minimises the impact on council tax payers. As a result, both new councils are in the best position to meet the different needs of their residents and residents of all parts of Cambridgeshire.
- it respects historic identities: the ‘southern council’ aligns closely with the old administrative county of Cambridgeshire, whilst the ‘northern council’ would respect the historic identities of the Isle of Ely and the former county of Huntingdonshire, and would not cut Fen communities in half.
At Cambridge City Council’s Full Council meeting on Thursday 24 July, councillors passed a motion outlining how a unitary authority based on the current boundaries of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, alongside viable arrangements for the rest of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, is likely to be the best option for the residents of Cambridge.
The most recent report on local government reorganisation discussed by South Cambridgeshire district councillors was debated at a Full Council meeting on Thursday 17 July 2025. At that meeting, the Leader, Cllr Bridget Smith told district councillors that her administration would be promoting a new unitary council covering Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. Meanwhile, this summer the two leaders wrote an open letter on this topic.
Responses to the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire survey will be used to feed into the proposals being developed by the councils which will be discussed at Full Council meetings before they must be submitted to Government in November. There will then be further consultation, before Government ultimately makes a final decision for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
New councils are expected to operate in a shadow capacity from May 2027 before full implementation in April 2028, known as ‘vesting day’.
Take the survey
Both councils are hosting an identical survey on their engagement platforms. You only need register with an account and respond on one platform. The survey closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 12 October.
