Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councils’ joint survey about the future of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire councils closed on Sunday (12 October), with more than two thirds of respondents, 69%, supporting a new unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
This follows an announcement from central Government in late 2024 to disband existing district, city and county councils in order to create new ‘unitary’ councils from April 2028.
That would mean an end to the seven district, city and county councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and replacing them with fewer unitary councils. Each new unitary council would provide all council services in the areas they serve, in contrast to the current model where Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire residents are served by either the city or district council and the County Council.
The leaders of Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councils believe a new unitary council for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire is best for local people because:
- Along with the proposed northern unitary for East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough, this creates two councils with similar size economies and distinct strengths: a ‘southern council’, for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire, Europe’s leading science and technology hub, and a large and diverse ‘economic powerhouse’ in the north.
- Jobs and opportunities are closer to home: three quarters of all residents who work would live and work in the council area where they reside. And because each council has distinct but complementary economic strengths, they can each focus on attracting the investment their areas need to ensure residents can find good jobs and affordable homes locally.
- Public services are better: a larger council in the north can use its scale to drive efficiencies as well as localise service provision to meet diverse community needs. The smaller southern council area already has many joint services and, uniquely, 1 in 10 homes are council-owned, enabling closer integration with health services and social care.
- It’s more financially sustainable and fairer: resources are split most fairly, which is better value for money and minimises the impact on council tax payers. As a result, both new councils are in the best position to meet the different needs of their residents and residents of all parts of Cambridgeshire.
- It respects historic identities: the ‘southern council’ aligns closely with the old administrative county of Cambridgeshire, whilst the ‘northern council’ would respect the historic identities of the Isle of Ely and the former county of Huntingdonshire, and would not cut Fen communities in half.
The joint survey ran from 15 September to 12 October to ask local people for their views. The responses will be used to feed into the proposals being developed by councils, which will be submitted to Government in November, before the Government ultimately decides what new unitary councils to create. New councils are expected to operate in a shadow capacity from May 2027 before full implementation in April 2028, known as ‘vesting day’.
The online survey was completed by 889 people. The councils also jointly hosted two engagement events, with 40 members of the public attending a focus group and 35 business, voluntary and community sector representatives attending a separate event. Hear what local people said at these events.
People were asked ‘How strongly do you agree that a future unitary that is created based on the current boundaries of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District council, is best for you and your community?’. 69% of those who answered the question said they would ‘support’ or ‘strongly support’, with 24% opposing.
Respondents were also invited to suggest a name for any unitary for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. The most popular suggestion was Greater Cambridge. Alternatives including ‘Cambridge’ or ‘South Cambridgeshire’, or a combination of the two such as ‘Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Council’, were frequently suggested too. Examples of other unique suggestions included ‘Granta Valley Council’, ‘Duroliponte’, and ‘Cambridge Metropole’.
Cllr Cameron Holloway, Leader of Cambridge City Council, said: “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to feed back to help shape our proposals for new unitaries for the county. It's really positive to see that a majority of residents support our proposal for a new unitary for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. It’s equally important to hear from those who don’t support the Cambridge-South Cambridgeshire proposal, or who have concerns about Local Government Reorganisation more generally, so that we can take these concerns into account whatever unitaries central Government chooses ultimately for our area.”
Cllr Bridget Smith, Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “The survey has only just closed so it will take us a little while to work through all of the comments people have submitted. We are grateful to everyone for taking their time to do that. We can see strong support for a Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire footprint for a new unitary and we are progressing this business case as we feel it has many compelling arguments that we want Government to consider when they make their final decision.”
Cambridgeshire County Council recently ran a separate survey which is proposing a new unitary for Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire together, along with a unitary for Fenland, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough together.
Multiple proposals are likely to be submitted to central Government from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils in the coming months.
Find out more about Local Government Reorganisation in our area.
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