Proposals
Councils are complicated and important organisations that provide hundreds of different services for people across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
The government has asked councils across the area to consider how they might be run in the future.
These proposals consider:
- How a council (instead of separate county and district councils) could be in charge in a given area. This is called a unitary council.
- The right size for a new council – big enough to work efficiently, save money and cope with financial shocks, but not so big that it becomes unmanageable.
- How council services can run well and be sustainable in the long term – things like social care, waste collection, roads and libraries.
- How local people’s views can help shape services and
- How new council structures could support devolution in the future – that is, bringing more power and funding from Westminster to local areas.
Five proposals have been submitted to government.
You can read more about these proposals below.
A proposal for two unitary councils: north and south using existing district and borough boundaries
Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Stafford Borough Council, Cannock Chase District Council and East Staffordshire Borough Council are proposing two new unitary councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
This proposal would see:
- a new northern council serve Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Moorlands. This is 494,803 people.
- a new southern council would serve Stafford, East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth and South Staffordshire. This is 682,775 people.
Read the full proposal for the northern council.
Read the executive summary for the northern council.
Read the full proposal for the southern council.
Read the executive summary for the southern council.
A proposal for two unitary councils: north and south with new boundaries
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is proposing two new unitary councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. This requires some modification of existing boundaries.
This proposal also suggests new northern and southern councils but changes existing council boundaries so that:
- a new northern council serves Uttoxeter and surrounding villages, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stone and surrounding villages, Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on-Trent. This is 536,172 people.
- a new southern council serves the rest of East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, the rest of Stafford, and Tamworth. This is 598,128 people.
A proposal for two unitary councils: east and west
Staffordshire County Council is proposing two new unitary councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
This proposal would see:
- a new eastern council serving Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Moorlands, East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth. This is 689,784 people.
- a new western council serving Newcastle-under Lyme, Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire. This is 487,794 people.
A proposal for three unitary councils
Lichfield District Council, Tamworth Borough Council and South Staffordshire District Council are proposing three new unitary councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
This proposal would see:
- a new northern council serving Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Moorlands. This is 494,803 people.
- a new south-eastern council serving East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth. This is 322,708 people.
- a new south-western council serving Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire. This is 360,067 people.
A proposal for four unitary councils
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council are proposing four new unitary councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
This proposal would see:
- a new unitary council serving Newcastle-under-Lyme. This is 127,727 people.
- a new unitary council serving Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Moorlands. This is 367,076 people.
- a new unitary council serving Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire. This is 360,067 people.
- a new unitary council serving East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth. This is 322,708 people.
