COUNCILLORS in Malvern believe the best future for local Government reorganisation across Worcestershire will be to split the county into north and south divisions.
At a meeting last night (Tuesday), Malvern Hills District Council voted to support the option of two unitary councils as part of Government instructed plans to transform politics at a local level.
Under Government plans for Local Government Reorganisation, Worcestershire County Council and the six district, borough, and city councils will be abolished on April 1, 2028.
They will be replaced by either one single council for Worcestershire running all services, or two councils – one for the North and one for the South – with each authority responsible for all services for its part of the county.
The councils in Bromsgrove, Redditch, Worcester, and Wychavon will also be meeting this week to make their own choices from the two available options. The different council’s decisions will inform Worcestershire County Council’s final submission of plans to central Government.
Once the Government has approved the model for reorganising councils in Worcestershire, elections will be held in May 2027 for a ‘shadow’ authority or authorities, which will guide the setting up of the new council structure.
The new unitary authority or authorities will then take over local services in April 2028.
Councillor John Gallagher, leader of Malvern Hills District Council, said: “After much deliberation, councillors made the decision to support the option of two unitary councils.
“This has not been taken lightly, and we have listened to the opinions and concerns of our residents. How our councils will deliver essential services- from bin collections to benefits- will soon change forever.
“We will keep residents updated as much as we can along the way”.
In June this year, Bromsgrove District, Malvern Hills District, Redditch Borough, Worcester City, Wychavon and Wyre Forest District Councils, gathered feedback from residents to help councillors with their decision.
The Shape Worcestershire public engagement exercise ran for four weeks and the results of which were considered by specialists Mutual Ventures as part of their full appraisal.
Mutual ventures were engaged by the five councils to provide an objective and evidence-based appraisal of the different options.
Visit www.shapeworcestershire.org/ for more information.
