Revealed: The three options for how Cambridgeshire and Peterborough could be carved up into new unitary authorities

Three preferred options for creating new unitary councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been drawn up by council leaders.

It follows a demand from the government to replace the existing local authority set-up in the county with a streamlined approach.

Currently, the county has a two-tier set-up with a county council and district/city councils.

But from April 2028, all services in an area, from road maintenance and bin collections to education, planning, social housing, social care and support with benefits, will be delivered through a unitary council.

The government put forward these changes late in 2024, arguing they would improve services, simplify structures and support growth. Since then, the seven authorities in the county have been working together to identify options.

They have now devised the following options, which divide Cambridgeshire and Peterborough into two unitary authority areas along different lines:

Proposal A

A North-West/South-East Option

Unitary 1: Peterborough City Council, Huntingdonshire and Fenland District Councils along with county council functions
Unitary 2: Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire District Councils along with county council functions

Proposal B

A North/South Option

Unitary 1: Peterborough City Council, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland and Huntingdonshire District Councils along with county council functions
Unitary 2: Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District along with county council functions

Proposal C

An East/West Option

Unitary 1: Peterborough City Council, East Cambridgeshire and Fenland District Councils along with county council functions
Unitary 2: Cambridge City Council, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire District Councils along with county council functions

In a joint statement, the council leaders said: “As council leaders we are working collaboratively in the best interest of residents and businesses across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“The government’s reorganisation agenda has raised some challenging issues for us all which we have been working through collectively over the last few months.

“We still have outstanding questions and issues which have yet to be resolved.

“However, we agree that there are currently three options that appear to be the most financially viable based on the Government’s criteria. These options are based on existing authority boundaries and are being further developed to be submitted to government by late November.

“The three options each contain two new unitary councils that would in future cover the entire Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area and replace all existing local authorities.”

The leaders added: “We recognise each option has different strengths and different implications for services, our local communities, and businesses.

“We are taking an evidence-based approach, inevitably the different needs and local identities of our areas will have a significant impact on the preference of our own councils, and we must respect that.

“We encourage residents, our partner agencies and businesses to feed into this process by sharing what matters most to them through an engagement exercise being launched next week.

“We also want to take this opportunity to reassure residents that services will not be affected, and to praise the collective local government workforce across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for their continued efforts on behalf of our communities during this period of change. We appreciate that reorganisation may create some uncertainty for them which we will work with government to do our best to mitigate.”

The statement was signed by:

Cllr Anna Bailey, leader, East Cambridgeshire District Council
Cllr Chris Boden, leader, Fenland District Council
Cllr Sarah Conboy, leader, Huntingdonshire District Council
Cllr Cameron Holloway, leader, Cambridge City Council
Cllr Dennis Jones, leader, Peterborough City Council
Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, leader, Cambridgeshire County Council
Cllr Bridget Smith, leader, South Cambridgeshire District Council