Government confirms North-South future for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire

The Government's decision to support a North-South model for local government reorganisation, which impacts Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, has been met with mixed reviews in the region. 

The decision, which will see Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme form part of 'North Staffordshire', has been said to best reflect local communities, strengthen public services and create the strongest foundation for economic growth.

The creation of the new unitary council which will encompass Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands - has been built around established communities, travel patterns, public service footprints and economic relationships.

The remaining parts of the south of the county will form a new south Staffordshire unitary.

Elections to the new shadow unitary authorities are expected to take place in May 2027, with the new councils formally taking responsibility for services from April 2028.

The decision forms part of the Government's programme of local government reorganisation (LGR), which aims to replace existing county, district, borough and unitary councils with a smaller number of unitary authorities responsible for delivering all local government services.

Stoke-on-Trent city council has consistently argued that north Staffordshire functions as a single economic area, with residents already sharing housing markets, travel-to-work patterns, education and healthcare services. It believes the new arrangement will enable more effective planning for jobs, homes, transport and regeneration while protecting local identity and accountability.

Jane Ashworth, Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We warmly welcome the government’s decision to back the North-South proposal.

“It is the option that most closely reflects the reality of how people live, work and travel across our area and provides the strongest basis for future success.

“The North-South model works with the grain of our communities rather than against them. It keeps North Staffordshire together as a single economic area, aligns with the way key public services already operate and creates a council that is large enough to be resilient while remaining rooted in the communities it serves.

“Most importantly, this decision gives us the opportunity to unlock growth, attract investment, accelerate regeneration and create more opportunities for local people. It will ensure north Staffordshire has a stronger voice and can compete more effectively for jobs, funding and investment in the years ahead.

“Today's announcement is a significant milestone, but the focus now turns to delivery. We will work closely with our partners, residents, businesses and staff to ensure a smooth transition and to build a new authority that delivers excellent services and a brighter future for north Staffordshire."

However, the plans have been described as a 'shameful betrayal' by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, who have consistently been against the merger with Stoke-on-Trent as part of the government reshuffle. 

Cllr Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Planning and Town Centres, said: "This is a shameful betrayal of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the people who call our Borough home.

"Ministers have ignored more than 11,000 residents who signed the petition. They have ignored the clear cross-party position of the Borough Council. They have ignored local people who overwhelmingly said that, if reorganisation was forced upon us, Newcastle-under-Lyme must remain independent.

"Instead, Whitehall has chosen to abolish a proud and successful Borough Council, end more than 853 years of independent local government and force our communities into a vast North Staffordshire super-council dominated by Stoke-on-Trent.

"Newcastle-under-Lyme did not ask for this. Residents did not vote for this. There was no local mandate for it, no convincing case for it and no justification for wiping our Borough Council off the map.

"The Government asked for local views and then disregarded them. It invited councils to submit evidence and then rejected the model supported by our residents. It spoke about strengthening local democracy while choosing the option that makes decision-making bigger, more remote and less accountable.

"There is nothing efficient about spending huge sums of taxpayers’ money abolishing well-run councils, transferring thousands of staff and merging complex services merely to create another layer of distant bureaucracy.

"Our residents will rightly ask why money that could have regenerated our high streets, improved parks and strengthened frontline services is instead being spent dismantling their Borough Council.

"I will never pretend that this is the right decision, because it is not. I will never claim that Newcastle-under-Lyme consented to this merger, because it did not.

"But my responsibility as Leader is also to protect residents from the consequences of the Government’s decision."