The government has withdrawn its July plan to split Leicestershire into two councils. New councils, if any, now start no earlier than April 2029.

The government has withdrawn its decision to split Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland into two new councils. That was the plan that would have moved Great Glen, Scraptoft, Thurnby and other Harborough villages into an expanded Leicester-based council.

The local government minister, Jim McMahon, told council leaders on Thursday 29 October. His letter to the nine areas affected says “further time is required to consider the outcome” there.

It is not the end of the matter. The letter says “all options and proposals in your area will remain under consideration”. Harborough District Council confirmed the withdrawal the same day and its leader warned that “the threat has NOT gone away”.

What the government has decided

The July decision chose two unitary councils, to start in April 2028. One would have covered a larger Leicester. The other would have covered the rest of Leicestershire and Rutland, including Market Harborough and Lutterworth. We set out which places were to move when the plan was put on hold in September.

The minister’s letter and his written statement to Parliament (HCWS432) now say:

  • The July decision is withdrawn for Leicestershire and eight other areas, including Kent, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
  • The programme itself carries on. The minister says its rules were “robust” and the government “remains committed” to reorganisation.
  • Some areas get an outcome by Christmas, and every area by “early next year”. The letter does not say which areas come first.
  • The timetable has moved a year. In the areas under review, elections to new councils would be in May 2028, with the new councils starting on 1 April 2029.
  • May 2027 elections go ahead to the existing councils.

The letter also deals with money. Where new councils were announced, the government will pay half of its £900,000 transition support per new council “in the coming weeks”, whatever the review decides. The July plan named two new councils for this area, which on that rule means £900,000 in total. The letter does not say which council receives it.

Timeline of the Leicestershire council split. 16 July 2026: the government chooses two unitary councils, with an expanded Leicester. 7 September: the decision is put under review. 15 October: all seven district and borough councils file a judicial review claim. 28 October: an elected-mayor authority for the area is announced as in final stages. 29 October: the July decision is withdrawn, with all options still under consideration. 6 May 2027: elections to the existing councils on today's boundaries. May 2028: elections to any new councils. 1 April 2029: the earliest start for any new councils, which was April 2028.
Dates from the MHCLG letter and written statement of 29 October 2026, Harborough District Council and Future LLR Councils. Graphic by Harborough News
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What the councils said

Cllr Simon Whelband, leader of Harborough District Council, welcomed the pause “only if ministers are genuinely prepared to listen”.

“We will continue to fight Leicester’s proposed land grab and make the strongest possible representations to ministers,” he said. “I will not accept any areas of Harborough District being included in any form of expanded city as part of a unitary council.”

He called the government’s handling “deeply frustrating” and said: “This must be a genuine rethink, not another exercise in kicking the can down the road.”

Leicestershire County Council’s leader, Cllr Dan Harrison, called it “a victory for people power”. In the county council’s statement he said the county’s own proposal, for a single council, would save £40m a year. He called national decision making “shambolic at best”.

The court claim

All seven district and borough councils, Harborough among them, filed a protective claim for judicial review on 15 October. It challenged the July decision, which has now been withdrawn.

None of the councils’ statements of 29 October says whether the claim will be dropped, paused or kept alive. We will update this report when they do.

A mayor for the area as well

The withdrawal came a day after a separate announcement. On 28 October the government said it was in the final stages of agreeing 10 new devolution deals, one of them a mayoral strategic authority for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Future LLR Councils, the councils’ joint site, says the authority would:

  • make long-term decisions on transport, infrastructure, skills, employment, housing and regeneration across the area
  • in time be led by a directly elected mayor, governed with representatives of the councils
  • not replace local councils or take over all their services

It says the timetable is not yet confirmed, and that residents will be consulted before anything is final. That is a different question from which councils exist. A mayor could arrive whatever happens to the council split.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes for now. Your bins, council tax and planning stay with the same councils. The district council says “there is no need for residents, businesses or community groups to do anything”.
  • You vote on 6 May 2027 for today’s councils, on today’s boundaries.
  • Great Glen, Scraptoft, Thurnby and Bushby and the other named villages are not being moved into Leicester, as things stand. The option is still on the table, though, along with every other proposal.
  • Any date you have seen of April 2028 is out of date. The earliest any new council could start is 1 April 2029.

Sources