Local Government Reorganisation - three new councils for Norfolk

Currently, services in Norfolk are split between the county council and seven borough, city and district councils. In a process known as Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), the Government wants to replace all eight councils with ‘unitary councils’, which will deliver all council services, and has asked the existing authorities to make proposals for what future services could look like.

Council Leaders and officers in Norfolk worked up Local Government Reorganisation proposals for Norfolk, which were subject to extensive community engagement. Councils were asked to submit LGR proposals by 21 March 2025, with full proposals by 26 September 2025.

The options put forward for consideration were one unitary council for the whole of Norfolk, two councils and three councils. Following a statutory public consultation, the Government decided on 25 March 2026 that three unitary councils is its chosen way forward for Norfolk.

Three councils is the Future Norfolk proposal put forward jointly by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, together with five other districts: Breckland Council, Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Councils, North Norfolk District Council and Norwich City Council.

Now the Government has made its decision, a Structural Change Order (SCO) is expected to be passed into law in the autumn. The SCO is the legal instrument which will allow reorganisation to proceed. The SCO will set out arrangements for the transition process and authorise elections to happen to the shadow council in May 2027 with the new unitary councils going live on 1 April 2028.

The Government has fully committed to supporting councils through forthcoming process to integrate services and has acknowledged the need for us to continue to deliver our business-as-usual, alongside the work outlined above.

Future Norfolk - the future of local government in Norfolk

A partnership of six local councils has submitted a shared proposal which, now it's been approved by Government, will see the creation of three new unitary authorities in Norfolk — Greater Norwich, East Norfolk and West Norfolk, replacing the existing district, borough, city and county councils. The plan aims to ensure decisions about local services are taken closer to communities and tailored to local needs.

The West Norfolk unitary council will comprise the geographic areas currently served by West Norfolk, Breckland plus a small part of South Norfolk.

Working together as ‘Future Norfolk’, the councils developed a single, evidence-based final submission which supports thriving communities, attracts investment and delivers for the long term.

This followed months of careful planning and was informed by extensive community engagement, careful independent analysis of all options, and robust financial planning to ensure all three new councils are viable and deliver savings. This demonstrated that three unitaries will deliver clearer local accountability, more responsive services and better value for money while remaining large enough to operate efficiently across all council services.

This plan for three councils is also supported by the following Members of Parliament: Steffan Aquarone (Liberal Democrat) for North Norfolk, George Freeman (Conservative) for Mid Norfolk, Terry Jermy (Labour) for South West Norfolk, Clive Lewis (Labour) for Norwich South, Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain) for Great Yarmouth, Alice Macdonald (Labour) for Norwich North, James Wild (Conservative) for North West Norfolk, and Adrian Ramsay (Green) for Waveney Valley.

Find out more and read a summary of the Future Norfolk proposal at www.futurenorfolk.com

Future Norfolk survey (closed)

The Future Norfolk survey took place during summer 2025 and was part of the community engagement to shape the proposal for three unitary councils. We are incredibly grateful to everyone across the county who took the time to share their views on the future of local government in Norfolk. The survey closed on 1 August 2025.

A summary of feedback is available at www.futurenorfolk.com.

Government’s LGR consultation (closed)

The Government held a consultation from November 2025 to January 2026, asking for people’s views on three different proposals that were put forward in response to its drive to reorganise Norfolk’s eight councils into new unitary authorities responsible for all local services. The options were:

• Three councils (East Norfolk, West Norfolk and Greater Norwich) – proposed jointly by the Future Norfolk partnership of six district councils: Breckland District Council, Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk District Council, and Norwich City Council
• Two councils (Norwich & East Norfolk, and West & North Norfolk) – proposed by South Norfolk District Council
• One council (covering the whole of Norfolk) – proposed by Norfolk County Council

Devolution

The Government's devolution process is set to bring new powers and funding to boost jobs, transport, housing and growth in Norfolk and Suffolk. Both counties haves been accepted onto the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme (DPP).

Early in 2025, the Government held a public consultation on proposed devolution in Norfolk and Suffolk, specifically on the proposal to form a Strategic Authority headed by a mayor, covering both counties. The consultation closed on 13 April 2025 and you can read a summary of public responses on the GOV.UK website.

The Government has been continuing to work with the Norfolk and Suffolk county councils to establish the Mayoral Combined County Authority. Following the Government’s decision to proceed with county council elections in May 2026, the overall schedule for reconsent and the establishment of the Combined County Authority has been paused until after the county council elections.

Find out more on the Norfolk and Suffolk Combined County Authority website.

Timelines and next steps - summary

*Shadow unitary authorities will be temporarily formed until the new unitary authority is formally established.

Further information

Further information about devolution and local government reorganisation in Norfolk can be found in the links below:

• English Devolution White Paper - GOV.UK
• Devolution revolution: six areas to elect Mayors for first time - GOV.UK
• Letter: Norfolk - GOV.UK
• Norfolk: Local government reorganisation - GOV.UK