Votes in favour for unitary council reorganisation

Councillor Lynn Denham, leader of Worcester City Council, said the proposal was a chance to "do things differently" and "shape" the county's future

Councillors have voted in favour of plans for Worcestershire to be governed by two separate authorities following the government's reorganisation process.

Worcester City Council voted in favour of the proposal on Tuesday, while Bromsgrove District Council agreed to the measures on Wednesday.

If approved, some services delivered by Worcestershire County Council and others by local district and borough councils, would be replaced with two unitary councils that provide all services.

Councillor Lynn Denham, leader of the city council, said: "This is an opportunity for transformation, to do things differently and shape our future."

She added: "This is about local choice, our decision on what works best for Worcester and Worcestershire."

Meanwhile, district council leader Karen May, said: "I am delighted to report that this council collectively listened to our residents and decided that we needed to take this opportunity to shake things up and make a difference to our residents on the ground.

"I am confident we have a firm foundation from which to develop our final proposal, which will be sent to government in time to meet their deadline [of 28 November]."

The two unitary authorities model would see a North Worcestershire Council serving Bromsgrove and Redditch and Wyre Forest with a separate Southern authority serving Malvern Hills, Worcester and Wychavon.

Once the government has approved the model for reorganising councils in Worcestershire, elections will be held in May 2027 for a "shadow" authority or authorities, which would guide the setting up of the new council structure.

The new unitary authority or authorities would then take over local services in April 2028.

Malvern Hills District Council has also voted in favour of the model, while councils in Redditch and Wychavon are to meet this week.