South Kesteven becomes latest council to issue pre-action letter over local government reorganisation

This comes after Hertfordshire County Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council also sent pre-action letters to the Secretary of State, seeking clarity on how the government reached its decision on LGR in their areas.

Cross-party concern at the proposed changes for Lincolnshire was expressed at a full council meeting of South Kesteven in July.

In July the Government announced that, from April 2028, council services will be delivered by two new unitary authorities – Lincoln Council covering the city as well as some wards in North Kesteven and West Lindsey; and Lincolnshire Council covering the rest of North Kesteven and West Lindsey and the county’s four other districts.

Services currently provided by Lincolnshire County Council will, therefore, be taken on by the two new unitary councils. The county sent its own pre-action letter last month.

North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council will remain as separate unitaries.

Lincoln Council will serve a population of approximately 207,000, while Lincolnshire Council will have a population of approximately 580,000.

The Leader of South Kesteven, Cllr Ashley Baxter, said: “We do not believe the preferred proposal for LGR in Lincolnshire met the Government’s own criteria, thereby removing its legal power to implement it.

“We followed the criteria not to split existing local authority boundaries, yet the Government decision does just that.

“This is the biggest shake-up of Local Government in a generation and it needs to be done right.”

A decision on whether to pursue legal action through a judicial review will be based on the Government’s response to the letter.

Cllr Baxter added: “In the meantime, our focus remains on delivering vital day-to-day services and supporting our workforce as the next stages of the LGR process are worked through.”

Lottie Winson