Shaping the future of Greater Lincolnshire

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Engagement has concluded

Here's an update on our recommendation. 

We will continue to use this page to keep you informed. 

The ‘Your Lincolnshire’ proposal will go through the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on Thursday 20 November before being taken to Full Council on Friday 21 November.

The final proposal will be submitted to government before the deadline of 28 November.

Here’s what people liked most:

  • Better value for money
  • More joined-up services
  • Easier to understand who’s responsible

And here’s what people were worried about:

  • A bigger council might feel too remote
  • Will the savings really happen?
  • Could services be disrupted?

Next steps 

The deadline to submit is 28 November. After that, the government will take a closer look and launch a formal public consultation. A final decision is expected by summer 2026, and if all goes ahead, elections in 2027 could kick-start the new council structure.

Thank you for your contributions to Shaping the future of Greater Lincolnshire.

For more information please read our full news release here.

This is what we asked you.

Have your say on the future of local government in Lincolnshire!

Last year, the Government announced plans to replace 'two-tier' councils in England such as:

  • borough
  • city
  • county
  • district

with new unitary councils.

After receiving feedback from the Government about our initial proposals submitted in March, we’re developing the details of our proposal to show what it would mean for residents, communities and businesses in Lincolnshire.

We believe the best option for Lincolnshire is to create one council covering the current county council area.

A new authority would combine the structural and support services of Lincolnshire County Council with the local skills and experience from the seven districts.

Using the current county boundary avoids disruption to our outstanding-rated Children’s services, our good-rated Adults services, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and other vital support services.

A single council would also deliver better value for taxpayers by strengthening our financial position, supporting economic growth, and reducing duplication.

Tell us what you think before Monday 29 September 2025:

  • fill in the survey
  • Or ask us a question via our Q&A tool below
  • join a local event - details in key dates
  • contact us if you need help to take part

Here's an update on our recommendation. 

We will continue to use this page to keep you informed. 

The ‘Your Lincolnshire’ proposal will go through the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on Thursday 20 November before being taken to Full Council on Friday 21 November.

The final proposal will be submitted to government before the deadline of 28 November.

Here’s what people liked most:

  • Better value for money
  • More joined-up services
  • Easier to understand who’s responsible

And here’s what people were worried about:

  • A bigger council might feel too remote
  • Will the savings really happen?
  • Could services be disrupted?

Next steps 

The deadline to submit is 28 November. After that, the government will take a closer look and launch a formal public consultation. A final decision is expected by summer 2026, and if all goes ahead, elections in 2027 could kick-start the new council structure.

Thank you for your contributions to Shaping the future of Greater Lincolnshire.

For more information please read our full news release here.

This is what we asked you.

Have your say on the future of local government in Lincolnshire!

Last year, the Government announced plans to replace 'two-tier' councils in England such as:

  • borough
  • city
  • county
  • district

with new unitary councils.

After receiving feedback from the Government about our initial proposals submitted in March, we’re developing the details of our proposal to show what it would mean for residents, communities and businesses in Lincolnshire.

We believe the best option for Lincolnshire is to create one council covering the current county council area.

A new authority would combine the structural and support services of Lincolnshire County Council with the local skills and experience from the seven districts.

Using the current county boundary avoids disruption to our outstanding-rated Children’s services, our good-rated Adults services, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and other vital support services.

A single council would also deliver better value for taxpayers by strengthening our financial position, supporting economic growth, and reducing duplication.

Tell us what you think before Monday 29 September 2025:

  • fill in the survey
  • Or ask us a question via our Q&A tool below
  • join a local event - details in key dates
  • contact us if you need help to take part

Engagement has concluded

We would like to offer the opportunity for you to join our open discussion on the future of Greater Lincolnshire. 

Please share any questions or thoughts relating to our proposal in the below section. We will respond to these in due course. 

Please do not share any personal information about yourself or anybody else here as everyone who visits the page will be able to read what you have written.

Please note your username and comment will be visible to other people. If you think your username might identify you to others and you wish to change it, you can amend it in the My account section on your account profile.

  • Share Does the proposal include the creation of town councils for the areas of Lincolnshire that are unparished, namely Boston, Lincoln, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe & Spalding? on Facebook Share Does the proposal include the creation of town councils for the areas of Lincolnshire that are unparished, namely Boston, Lincoln, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe & Spalding? on Twitter Share Does the proposal include the creation of town councils for the areas of Lincolnshire that are unparished, namely Boston, Lincoln, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe & Spalding? on Linkedin Email Does the proposal include the creation of town councils for the areas of Lincolnshire that are unparished, namely Boston, Lincoln, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe & Spalding? link

    Does the proposal include the creation of town councils for the areas of Lincolnshire that are unparished, namely Boston, Lincoln, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe & Spalding?

    John Bland asked 3 months ago

    Hello 

    Our proposal relates specifically to how the district councils and county council could be restructured. However, we recognise that town and parish councils already play an important role in delivering local services to residents, so we’re interested in people’s views on how they operate in the county of Lincolnshire. It may be that local areas want to develop new town and parish councils in the future. Please also note that changes to any council arrangements in Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes are not included in this proposal.

    We hope this answers your query. 

    If you have any further questions on the proposal, please let us know. 

    The Engagement Team 


  • Share Why does your first question not recognise Parish & Town Councils and their councilors? They will become much more important following Local Government Reform as they will be the only truly local entities providing services that people care about left. on Facebook Share Why does your first question not recognise Parish & Town Councils and their councilors? They will become much more important following Local Government Reform as they will be the only truly local entities providing services that people care about left. on Twitter Share Why does your first question not recognise Parish & Town Councils and their councilors? They will become much more important following Local Government Reform as they will be the only truly local entities providing services that people care about left. on Linkedin Email Why does your first question not recognise Parish & Town Councils and their councilors? They will become much more important following Local Government Reform as they will be the only truly local entities providing services that people care about left. link

    Why does your first question not recognise Parish & Town Councils and their councilors? They will become much more important following Local Government Reform as they will be the only truly local entities providing services that people care about left.

    John Bland asked 3 months ago

    Hello 

    Our proposal is not detailing any changes to town and parish councils within Lincolnshire so we are not engaging about those services specifically – only changes to the county and district councils. However, we absolutely recognise that parish and town councils are very important in delivering local services and they could potentially have more of a role in future. We will continue to work with town and parish councils as part of developing our proposal.

    We hope this answers your query. 

    If you have any further questions on the proposal, please let us know. 

    The Engagement Team 

     

  • Share What will these changes mean for our community Hubs and libraries? on Facebook Share What will these changes mean for our community Hubs and libraries? on Twitter Share What will these changes mean for our community Hubs and libraries? on Linkedin Email What will these changes mean for our community Hubs and libraries? link

    What will these changes mean for our community Hubs and libraries?

    Sue Simmons asked 3 months ago

    Hello 

    There are no plans to reduce services as part of this proposal. Any new authority would have the same responsibilities as the current county council.

    We hope this answers your query. 

    If you have any further questions on the proposal, please let us know. 

    The Engagement Team 

  • Share You say the reorganisation will have financial benefits to the County; how many current jobs within the County Council and District Councils, will be "lost" to enable this financial benefit and if that is the case, District Councils currently have local knowledge in their respective areas? How will the reorganised authority ensure that this "local knowledge" is retained - how will you monitor the process to do so? on Facebook Share You say the reorganisation will have financial benefits to the County; how many current jobs within the County Council and District Councils, will be "lost" to enable this financial benefit and if that is the case, District Councils currently have local knowledge in their respective areas? How will the reorganised authority ensure that this "local knowledge" is retained - how will you monitor the process to do so? on Twitter Share You say the reorganisation will have financial benefits to the County; how many current jobs within the County Council and District Councils, will be "lost" to enable this financial benefit and if that is the case, District Councils currently have local knowledge in their respective areas? How will the reorganised authority ensure that this "local knowledge" is retained - how will you monitor the process to do so? on Linkedin Email You say the reorganisation will have financial benefits to the County; how many current jobs within the County Council and District Councils, will be "lost" to enable this financial benefit and if that is the case, District Councils currently have local knowledge in their respective areas? How will the reorganised authority ensure that this "local knowledge" is retained - how will you monitor the process to do so? link

    You say the reorganisation will have financial benefits to the County; how many current jobs within the County Council and District Councils, will be "lost" to enable this financial benefit and if that is the case, District Councils currently have local knowledge in their respective areas? How will the reorganised authority ensure that this "local knowledge" is retained - how will you monitor the process to do so?

    LatterlyLinx83 asked 3 months ago

    Hello 

    The details of any new council structures have not been worked through, and to maintain services, we will generally need a very similar amount of staff, and their skills and expertise. However we are likely to see reduced numbers of senior managers and councillors, for example we will not need eight chief executives. However, we also envisage savings will be made through combining contracts and economies of scale.

    We hope this answers your query. 

    If you have any further questions on the proposal, please let us know. 

    The Engagement Team 


  • Share Does this proposal mean Lincolnshire County Council would take over the district councils? on Facebook Share Does this proposal mean Lincolnshire County Council would take over the district councils? on Twitter Share Does this proposal mean Lincolnshire County Council would take over the district councils? on Linkedin Email Does this proposal mean Lincolnshire County Council would take over the district councils? link

    Does this proposal mean Lincolnshire County Council would take over the district councils?

    Laura N asked 4 months ago

    Hello 

    Our proposal is to merge eight councils into one to simplify services and improve value for taxpayers: creating a new authority name and constitution. Within the proposal we are suggesting that North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire would remain as they are currently, therefore creating 3 unitary authorities.

    Using the existing geography of Lincolnshire County Council for the new council would cut down on service disruption and means we wouldn’t have to break up existing high performing services like adult social care, children’s services and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue.

    We hope this answers your query. 

    If you have any further questions on the proposal, please let us know. 

    The Engagement Team