Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation

Overview

The English Devolution White Paper was published on Monday 16 December and it set out in detail the Government’s policy to move areas with two tiers of local government to a single tier within the term of this parliament.

What is Devolution?

In England, devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. It is important because it ensures that decisions are made closer to local people, communities and businesses.

What is local government reorganisation?

Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. In the context of the English Devolution White Paper, the Government have set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. The Government has indicated that for most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.

Visit the LGA Devolution Hub to find further information and FAQs.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, explains what local government reorganisation could mean for Three Rivers below:

LGR - government decision

Today (Thursday 16 July) the government announced its decision on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Hertfordshire, confirming it will create four new unitary councils, subject to parliamentary approval.

This means that from 1 April 2028 new authorities will take over responsibility for delivering the services currently provided by the county council and the district and borough councils in that area.

The new unitary authorities will be:

West Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing Dacorum Borough Council and St Albans City & District Council

South West Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing Hertsmere Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council and Watford Borough Council

Central Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing North Herts Council (minus five district council wards), Stevenage Borough Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (minus the Northaw & Cuffley borough council ward)

East Hertfordshire and Broxbourne - serving the communities of the existing Broxbourne Borough Council and East Herts District Council, plus the Northaw & Cuffley borough council ward from the existing Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council area and Royston Heath, Royston Palace, Royston Meridian, Ermine, Weston and Sandon district council wards from North Herts Council.

Decision Day Explainer

Local Government in Hertfordshire is changing. These changes are called Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

How things work now?

Hertfordshire has 2 levels of councils:

1. Hertfordshire County Council

They look after services across the whole county like: education (schools), roads and adult social care.

2. District and Borough Councils (10 of them)

They look after local services, like: planning, housing, waste collection and recycling.

Why is it changing?

The Government has asked areas with two tier councils where one looks after things for the whole county and the others look after local things in smaller areas to create a new system called unitary councils.

A unitary council means:
One council provides all services.

The Government has now decided how many new councils Hertfordshire will have.

How does this affect me?

The Government hopes it will:

Make councils simpler to understand
Make services more easily reachable wherever you live
Make it easier to see who makes important decisions.
Give local people a stronger voice

Nothing is changing straightaway

What proposals did the government choose?

In future Hertfordshire will have four new councils called North West, South West, Central and Eastern. They will replace all the councils that exist today.

What happens next?

All 11 councils in Hertfordshire will work together to make sure that the 4 new councils are set up and ready to begin work.

Until then you will get the same things from councils that you do now.

The new councils will begin work in April 2028.

More information

Local Government Reorganisation | Shaping Hertfordshire's Future

Timeline

This is an outline of the timeline provided by the Government in the white paper. It includes proposed and confirmed dates. Dates become confirmed as we receive updates.

Type	Day/Month/Year	Action
Confirmed	5 February 2025	Statutory invitation received from Government to submit unitary proposals
Confirmed	21 March 2025	Submit interim Local Government Reorganisation proposal
Confirmed	1 May 2025	Hertfordshire County Council Elections
Confirmed	28 November 2025	Submit full Local Government Reorganisation proposal
Proposed	April/May 2027	Elections (shadow authorities)
Proposed	April 2028	Vesting day - the date on which power is transferred to the new unitary authorities

Local Government Association (LGA) updates

The Local Government Association (LGA) has a Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation Hub which brings together information and resources on devolution and local government reorganisation for public and local authorities.

View the LGA's hub

The LGA also has a list of frequently asked questions and common terms around devolution and local government reorganisation.

View the LGA's FAQs

Important documents

English Devolution White Paper

Statutory invitation received from Government to submit unitary proposals

Interim Submission - Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire (PDF)

Interim Submission Feedback from Government (PDF)

Draft proposal documents

Find out more

Our county is set for Local Government Reorganisation. That means there will be changes to your local councils and the way decisions are made.

A dedicated website is available for further information on the changes: https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/.

Government consultation

The government held a seven week consultation on the future of councils and local government in Hertfordshire. The consultation closed on 26 March.

Public engagement

Throughout September 2025 we held a series of public engagement events. If you were unable to attend one of our public engagement events, you can view the presentation slides below:

Public engagement presentation (PDF)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is changing?

From April 2028, the way your local council services are organised will change. The services currently provided by the county council and district or borough councils will be brought together and delivered by one council, called a unitary authority.

On 16 July 2026 the Government announced that that Hertfordshire will be split into four unitary authorities as set out below:

West Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing Dacorum Borough Council and St Albans City & District Council
South West Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing Hertsmere Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council and Watford Borough Council
Central Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing North Herts Council (minus five district council wards), Stevenage Borough Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (minus the Northaw & Cuffley borough council ward)
East Hertfordshire and Broxbourne - serving the communities of the existing Broxbourne Borough Council and East Herts District Council, plus the Northaw & Cuffley borough council ward from the existing Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council area and Royston Heath, Royston Palace, Royston Meridian, Ermine, Weston and Sandon district council wards from North Herts Council

Why is this changing?

The Government asked all areas with two levels of local government (county and district councils) to put forward new arrangements. These will bring all council services together under one authority, known as a unitary council.

The reorganisation aims to:

simplify how councils are structured
make access to services more consistent
improve transparency in decision‑making
strengthen the local voice

The aim is to keep what works well in Hertfordshire and improve what could work better. The new councils would be better placed to plan and deliver services for the future.

All 11 Hertfordshire councils are committed to ensuring there is no disruption to frontline services during the transition.

Why has the Government decided that four unitary councils will be created in Hertfordshire?

Following extensive review of the submitted proposals and of the public feedback from the statutory consultation, the Government believes that four unitary councils will offer the best balance between financial stability, local decision-making and robust delivery of services.

Will my council services be affected?

At the moment, nothing is changing. Hertfordshire County Council and your local district or borough council will continue to provide all services as usual until 1 April 2028. The responsibility of these services will then be transferred to the new councils.

What happens to the existing county, borough and district councils?

From 1 April 2028, Hertfordshire County Council and the 10 borough and district councils will no longer exist and will be replaced by four unitary councils.

All of their responsibilities will transfer to the new unitary councils, which will deliver all local services.

Who will be the councillors for the new councils?

Elections will take place in May 2027 to elect councillors for the new councils. These new councils will be known as ‘Shadow Authorities’.

These councillors will oversee the transition from the existing 11 councils to the four new unitary councils and will take formal responsibility for council services when the new councils go live in April 2028.

Where will my new council be based, and where will meetings be held?

This has not yet been decided.

However, councils across Hertfordshire have a shared commitment to ensure that decision making remains close to local communities.

What about my town or parish council?

Town and parish councils are not affected by Local Government Reorganisation.

They will continue to play an important role in representing communities and delivering services at a very local level.

How will changes be communicated to me?

You will be kept informed through this website and your council’s usual communication channels, including:

local media
council websites
social media
newsletters
council magazines (where printed)

Do residents have a say in this?

Local Government Reorganisation is a Government-led initiative.

All 11 Hertfordshire councils engaged with residents in September 2025 to gather views on the opportunities, risks and options for Local Government Reorganisation prior to submitting three potential options to Government in November 2025.

The Government ran a statutory public consultation on the submitted proposals from 5 February to 26 March 2026, inviting feedback.