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Local Government Reorganisation

In this section

A public consultation has been launched over proposals for changes to councils across Worcestershire as part of the biggest shake-up of local government in more than 50 years.

The Government is requiring 21 areas of England to restructure their system of local government before 2029.

There are two parts to the Government’s proposed changes:

Local Government Reorganisation: where the Government is looking to replace Bromsgrove District, Malvern Hills District, Redditch Borough, Worcester City, Worcestershire County, Wychavon District and Wyre Forest District Councils with fewer councils.

Devolution: where the Government is looking to transfer powers and funding to new Strategic Authorities (also called Combined Authorities) that cover a number of new council areas and are responsible for large projects such as transport, infrastructure, and economic development.

The proposals

Two plans for Local Government Reorganisation in Worcestershire have been submitted to the Government.

One Worcestershire: this would create a single unitary council to run all services for the county. It is being proposed by Worcestershire County Council and Wyre Forest. You can find out more about the One Worcestershire LGR proposal on the county council's website.

Transforming Worcestershire: this involves creating two unitary councils - a North Worcestershire Council and a South Worcestershire Council - to run all services for their part of the county. This is the option put forward by us, Bromsgrove District, Malvern Hills District, Redditch Borough and Worcester City Councils.

You can click or tap the button below to read the Transforming Worcestershire Plan in full. You can also read on for a brief overview of our proposal and its key features.

The Government has now launched a public consultation into the two proposals, running up to 26 March 2026

What we are proposing

Our Transforming Worcestershire plan is focused on unlocking real and lasting change that will deliver truly better outcomes for our residents, businesses, and public sector partners.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to use the five councils’ proven track record of doing things differently through shared services, to build a strong, sustainable future for everyone in Worcestershire.

We will do this through creating two new unitary councils to deliver all services in a set area. These will replace the current six district councils and Worcestershire County Council.

A North Worcestershire Council (including the areas covered currently by Bromsgrove District, Redditch Borough and Wyre Forest District Councils).
A South Worcestershire Council (including the areas currently covered by Malvern Hills District, Wychavon and Worcester City Councils).

We will deliver this change through:

Shifting public services from crisis response to a prevention-focused approach.
Driving long-term financial sustainability through a focus on outcomes.
Creating communities that feel more connected and empowered by keeping decision-making close to them.
Delivering local services that respond faster to everyday issues.
Reshaping support for vulnerable adults so they can live healthier, happier and safer lives.
New approaches to supporting children and families, enabling them to stay together.
Providing young people with better access to skills and jobs.
Housing provision that doesn’t just provide shelter but supports healthier lives.
Economic strategies tailored to the needs of people and businesses in local areas, to unlock growth.

Our vision is to shape a thriving Worcestershire, north and south, where every community flourishes and public satisfaction drives everything we do.

Through bold local leadership and the power of devolution, we’ll unlock opportunity, remove barriers, and deliver services that truly reflect the needs of our people and places.

By creating two dynamic councils rooted in local identity, we’ll build vibrant, sustainable communities where residents and partners can grow, connect, and succeed.

We are committed to creating a local and responsive Worcestershire, driven by what works best for each unique area.

Strengths of our proposal

Our plan offers the Government a clear choice between a rebranded version of what we have now with no guarantee anything will change

the opportunity to embrace our proposal and deliver a renewed, responsive, and resilient local government for Worcestershire that works for people.

There are several key strengths to our proposal.

It’s what local people and partners have asked for

Our proposal is the only one in Worcestershire that has been consistently shaped by residents, staff, councillors, parish and town councils, and partners from the start.

4,249 people and organisations took part in the Shape Worcestershire engagement during the summer. Of those who expressed a view, 62.5% preferred two councils (north and south) rather than one big council.
Decisions stay closer to communities

During the public engagement exercise you told us you were concerned a single large council would be too remote and may overlook the needs and concerns of individual areas because of its broad focus.

Our proposal address this by having two councils that are closer to the people, more visible, accountable and responsive. The number of residents per councillor is also lower than with a single large council. All this means decisions will be taken closer to the people affected by them.
Strengthened community power and engagement

Our model preserves and builds on the strong track record of the borough, city and district councils in working closely with communities and voluntary groups to design preventative local services.

New Neighbourhood Area Committees will give residents, town and parish councils and local partners a real say in how money is spent and which issues are prioritised in their area.
Services built around people not bureaucracy

Our model is based on delivering real and lasting change by designing services around local people and places.

There is a strong focus on shifting from crisis response to prevention so we deal with problems earlier, in the community, before they become more serious and more expensive.
Respects the differences between North and South Worcestershire

During the public engagement you were clear that there are significant differences between North Worcestershire, which is more urban and with closer links to the West Midlands, and more rural South Worcestershire with important market towns and a strong tourism and agricultural economy.

Creating two councils allows us to reflect these differences to create tailored approaches to jobs, transport, housing and growth that work for each area, instead of imposing a one-size-fits all model that can overlook these differences. Our model also allows us to continue to collaborate and work together where it makes sense to do so and is underpinned by a commitment to ensure all of Worcestershire thrives.
Keeps what works locally and adds sensible sharing where needed

Our proposal allows for a hybrid model – delivering local services where being close to communities matters, with the ability to share services for complex or specialist areas (for example some parts of adult and children’s social care) where that delivers better value and consistency.
Offers a credible and sustainable financial plan

The two-council model is expected to deliver approximately £16.23 million of gross savings and approximately £9 million a year of net revenue (day-to-day spending). The payback period is about 3.9 years. Savings will come from cutting duplication of services, using economies of scale in staffing, procurement (buying good and services) and infrastructure.

While this is less than the alternative single unitary proposal, we are clear lasting savings cannot be made simply from cuts alone. Our transformation approach – delivering more prevention, better outcomes and reduced demand especially in high cost services – could deliver additional savings that would be locked in.

We have tested our financial modelling against other reorganisations programmes and are confident it is realistic and credible.
Supports devolution and a stronger voice for Worcestershire

The model supports the Government’s ambition for devolution, in particular to have a directly elected mayor for Worcestershire and partner councils in a combined strategic authority. Having two placed based councils (north and south) strengthens Worcestershire’s voice, allowing for the differing needs of the county to be argued for and addressed, which risk being lost with just a single, large, remote unitary council.
Offers a clear, phased plan to make the change safely

We have a clear plan to make sure services delivered by the two councils will be safe and legal from day one. There will be strong programme management, governance structures and ongoing engagement with residents, staff and partners to keep services safe and stable while change happens.

What happens next

The two proposals for Local Government Reorganisation in Worcestershire were submitted by the deadline of 28 November 2025.

The Government will hold a public engagement exercise on the proposals in early 2026. A decision on which proposal will be chosen is expected in July 2026.

Elections to a ‘shadow’ council or councils’ is expected in May 2027 with the new council(s) taking over the running of services from 1 April 2028.

Stay up to date

You can stay up to date with all the news on LGR, and other Malvern services, by signing up to our latest news resident e-newsletter.

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Environmental Information Regulations

In this section

Environmental information Regulations 2004 (EIR) give the public a right of access to information held by public bodies relating to environmental topics, and places obligations on public bodies to release the information on request if it is not subject to an exception.

To make a request under EIR:

You can make a request by writing to:

Freedom of Information
Legal Department
Malvern Hills District Council
Council House
Avenue Road
Malvern
WR14 3AF

If you are unable to make the request in writing and need assistance in doing so, then please contact Legal Services on 01684 862272.

In dealing with requests for information under the Environmental Information Regulations, we are entitled to charge a reasonable amount towards the cost of reproducing the information for you in the format you have requested. To be fair and reasonable we have decided to charge the same hourly rate as we do for Freedom of Information requests.

No charge will be made to access to any public registers of environmental information held by us nor to examine (where possible) any information requested at our offices.

Our standard charges for reproducing information are set out in scale of fees document.

We will issue a ‘Fees Notice’ and will provide the requested information upon payment of the fee. If the fee is not paid within 60 working days, we will assume you no longer require the information and the request will be closed.

Refusing a request for Environmental Information

In rare cases, we may refuse a request where the cost of processing is unreasonable. We may have regard to the statutory limit for processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

If we consider there are exceptional circumstances, we may waive the charges of producing information.

Corporate Peer Challenge

In December 2024, we participated in a Corporate Peer Challenge run by the Local Government Association.

Corporate Peer Challenge is a tried and trusted tool for improvement offered to councils. It involves a team of senior local government officers and councillors spending time at a council to provide challenge, offer feedback and share learning.

All Corporate Peer Challenges focus on the five core components listed below:

Local priorities and outcomes
Organisational and place leadership
Governance and culture
Financial planning and management
Capacity for improvement

In addition, we asked our peer team for some feedback about our Connected Communities Strategy and the council’s approach to asset-based community development, along with some other service-based areas we think we can improve on.

During their three-day visit to Malvern Hills, the team gathered information and views from more than 45 meetings, went on two tours of parts of the district and carried out further research and reading. They spoke to more than 100 people, including employees, councillors and a range of our partners, external organisations and residents.

The peer team’s report provides a summary of the team’s findings. It is generally very positive, including comments on the approach we have adopted through our Connected Communities work, which the peer team considered to be a nationally significant Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Programme. We welcome the positive feedback and the useful areas for improvement and recommendations.

document Read the Feedback Report. (2.76 MB)

We had until mid-June 2025 to put in place an action plan to respond to the nine recommendations included in the feedback report. This action plan was approved by our Executive Committee.

Read the CPC Action Plan.

The peer team revisited us in January 2026 to assess our progress with implementing its recommendations. The team has now produced a final progress report.

pdf Read the final CPC Progress Report. (640 KB)

Media and Press Enquiries

For media and press enquiries, contact the Communications Team:

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please note the Communications Team only deal with enquiries from the media. Members of the public should contact the relevant department for their enquiry, more information can be found on the Contact Us page.

Communications Team

The MHDC Communications Team is responsible for liaising with the media, corporate communications, reputation management, social media, internal communications, website content, marketing solutions, video content, and more.

The team also design and produce the annual Malvern Hills Residents’ Magazine which promotes the wonderful work of the community, as well as the council’s services and events.

pdf Read the 2024 version of the Malvern Hills Residents’ Magazine. (17.26 MB)

To keep up to date with what is going on at Malvern Hills District Council by signing up to our email alerts and keep an eye on our Latest News section on the website.

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