Council encourages responses to survey about Local Government Reorganisation
News release issued:
Residents, businesses, and community groups in Wyre Forest and across Worcestershire are being urged to help shape the future of local government in a public engagement exercise.
Government proposals for local government reorganisation will affect all seven councils in Worcestershire.
A four-week public engagement exercise is running until 29 June 2025 to gain feedback to help councillors decide proposals for what should replace the existing councils.
Currently services in Worcestershire are split. Worcestershire County Council provides county-wide services like highways and adult social care. Borough, city and district councils such as Wyre Forest District Council provide localised services like waste collections, planning, leisure, and housing related services.
The Government wants to replace this system with a unitary structure where a unitary council will provide all services for a wider area than Wyre Forest. The aim is to make local government simpler for residents, while improving services and saving money.
There are currently two options proposed for Worcestershire:
- Replace all councils with one unitary council. This would replace the county council and six district/city/borough councils with a single council for the whole of Worcestershire. It would provide all services from collecting waste to school admissions.
- Replace all councils with two unitary councils. This means the county would be split into two new councils, with one for the north of the county (Wyre Forest, Bromsgrove and Redditch) and one for the south of the county. Each council would be responsible for all services in its part of the county.
Town and parish councils will remain but may have a greater role in the future in providing some services and representing local communities.
A dedicated website has been created with more information about the proposals and a survey link so people can give their views.
Feedback will be used to help decide which of the two options to develop in detail and put to the Government.
Councillor Marcus Hart, Leader of the Council, said “Major changes are planned for councils across Worcestershire, and we want our residents to help us piece it together. While the District Council has already expressed its support for a single unitary council covering the whole of Worcestershire, we are urging the public, businesses, and community groups to learn more about the Government’s proposals and to have a say on who should deliver the services we rely on every day.”
Visit the microsite to find out more about what is changing and to take part.