Local government reorganisation proposal

The Government is putting forward five proposals for local government reorganisation to a statutory consultation period of about 7 weeks, starting on 5th February 2026.

Further information on all the proposals listed below can be found on the Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Local Government Reorganisation Hub web site.

East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire Unitary Councils

This proposal divides the county into two authorities - east and west:

• West Staffordshire, consisting of the existing boroughs and districts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire

• East Staffordshire, consisting of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Moorlands, East Staffordshire, Tamworth and Lichfield.

Creation of four new unitary councils for Staffordshire

This model proposes four unitary authorities, creating smaller, more localised authorities:

• a unitary council covering Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Moorlands

• a unitary council covering the existing boundaries of Newcastle-under-Lyme

• a unitary council covering East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth

• a unitary council serving Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire

Creation of a North Staffordshire Unitary Council and a Southern and Mid-Staffordshire Unitary Council

This option would divide the county into two unitary authorities:

• North Staffordshire: Stoke on Trent, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands

• Southern and Mid-Staffordshire: Stafford, East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, South Staffordshire, Tamworth, Lichfield

North Staffordshire and Southern and Mid-Staffordshire (variant with boundary changes required)

A variation on proposal 3, this model also creates two unitaries, but introduces adjusted boundaries.

The two authorities would be:

• North Staffordshire: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent and parts of Stone (currently Stafford) and Uttoxeter (currently East Staffordshire)

• Southern and Mid-Staffordshire: Stafford (without Stone), East Staffordshire (without Uttoxeter), Cannock Chase, South Staffordshire, Tamworth, Lichfield

North Staffordshire, South East Staffordshire, and South West Staffordshire Unitary Councils

This model proposes three unitary councils:

• a North Staffordshire authority: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Moorlands

• a unitary council covering Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire

• a unitary council covering East Staffordshire, Tamworth and Lichfield

The Government is putting forward five proposals for local government reorganisation to a statutory consultation period of about 7 weeks.

Further information on all the proposals listed above can be found on the Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Local Government Reorganisation Hub web site.