Timeline of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

See a timeline of key LGR activity so far.

In February 2026 the government opened a formal consultation on the proposals put forward by the councils in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. This consultation closed on 26 March 2026. Ministers are now considering the feedback before making a decision on how local government in our area could change. A decision is expected in the summer of 2026.  

The whole process of change will take a number of years and the earliest we’d expect to see changes fully up and running is 2028.

How we'll keep you updated

Any change will take several years to work through. Proposals will be considered as part of an open and democratic process, including public cabinet meetings and council meetings.

  1. February 2025

    On 27 February 2025, the council's outline proposal was considered by Cabinet Members at a meeting on 5 March. This was approved and was taken to a meeting of Full Council on 13 March.

    On 21 March 2025, we submitted an outline proposal as part of an interim plan for local government reorganisation to government.

  2. May 2025

    In May, a new county council administration was elected. The new Leader and Deputy Leader reviewed the options for local government reorganisation in Staffordshire.

  3. June 2025

    In June, councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent received feedback on the interim plans submitted in March.

  4. July - August 2025

    The county council hosted a series of in-depth focus groups – one in each of Staffordshire’s eight district and boroughs – to get a detailed understanding of what residents think about the opportunities and challenges that local government reorganisation may bring. 

  5. September 2025

    On 17 September, our cabinet agreed on a new plan for how councils in Staffordshire could be reorganised. This is now the Council's preferred option for Local Government Reorganisation. The new plan suggests creating two new councils - one for East Staffordshire and one for West Staffordshire.

  6. November 2025

    On 4 November, Cabinet approved the submission of the Full Business Case for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Staffordshire and on 28 November 2025, Staffordshire County Council submitted its final plan to Government. 

    The East-West proposal is one of a number of options being put forward to replace the existing county, city, district and borough councils of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. 

    Four other proposals were put forward by other councils in the area. 

  7. February - March 2026

    In February, the government launched a formal consultation on the five proposals put forward by councils in the area. The consultation closed on 26 March 2026.