Our preferred option was submitted to Government in November 2025. We share those views with Cambridge City Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council. This is a new unitary Council for Greater Cambridge and another for North Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – with local leaders saying they offer financial security, deliver £43 million savings a year and respect local identities.
- North Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – serving around 612,000 people in East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough.
- Greater Cambridge – serving around 322,000 people in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
In total, four proposals were submitted to Government by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils. The Government consultation is due take place in February 2026, before they ultimately make a final decision around July 2026.
You can provide your comments to the Government’s consultation by visiting their website. We will provide a link on this page when the consultation is live.
New unitary councils are then due to begin operating in a shadow capacity from May 2027, with full implementation expected in April 2028.
Options submitted
Proposal D (left/first) and proposal E (right/second) are shown above
| Proposal | Unitary 1 | Unitary 2 | Unitary 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal A: A North-West/South-East option | Peterborough City Council, Huntingdonshire and Fenland District Councils, along with County Council functions | Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire District Councils, along with County Council functions | N/A |
|
Proposal B: A North/South option |
Peterborough City Council, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland and Huntingdonshire District Councils, along with County Council functions | Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District, along with County Council functions | N/A |
|
Proposal D: Three unitary proposal 1 |
Peterborough City Council, parts of Huntingdonshire District Councils along with County Council functions | Parts of Huntingdonshire District Council, Fenland, and East Cambridgeshire along with County Council functions |
Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District along with County Council functions |
| Proposal E: Three unitary proposal 2 | Peterborough City, Fenland, East Cambridgeshire District Councils with County Council functions | Huntingdonshire District Council with County Council functions | Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District along with County Council functions |
Other option not submitted
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils initially considered Option C as a possibility. However, none of the councils supported this proposal and it was not submitted to Government.
Proposal C was an East/West option. It would have grouped Peterborough City Council, East Cambridgeshire and Fenland District Councils, along with County Council functions in one unitary council.
Cambridge City Council, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire District Councils, along with County Council functions, would have formed the second unitary council under proposal C.
Previous engagement
The Government will ultimately decide what new unitary councils to create but asked local councils to explore options and engage with local people as part of forming our proposals.
Joint engagement in summer 2025
The seven Cambridgeshire councils ran an initial joint survey in June and July 2025 asking residents for general feedback about local government and their future priorities. There are three reports that were produced following this survey, which outlines details of what people said during the engagement.
A report into the public survey. [PDF, 7.5MB]
A report into the stakeholder survey. [PDF, 0.3MB]
A report into the focus groups that took place. [PDF, 0.3MB]
Joint survey with Cambridge City Council
During September and October 2025, we asked whether you support a new unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. Overall, the survey received 889 responses, with 69% of respondents expressing support for a future unitary that is created based on the current boundaries of Cambridge City Council and South
Cambridgeshire District Council. A full breakdown of results can be found on our engagement platform.
East Cambridgeshire District Council also ran a local survey.