Possible options for dividing Lincolnshire in two revealed - and one that won't happen

The government has ordered the biggest reorganisation in local government for 50 years, which will take effect in Lincolnshire in 2028.

Authorities have less than a month to submit rough drafts for the shake-up, and each council is expected to present its own versions.

Lincolnshire County Council has drawn up two different plans for a north-south divide, with new single-tier councils taking over both county and district-level responsibilities.

It has also discarded the option of a three-way split of councils, which it says is unworkable.

The first proposed option, which would retain current boundaries, is North and North East Lincolnshire as a northern authority and Lincolnshire county as a southern authority.

This is considered the most straightforward option, with the least amount of reorganisation or disruption of services.

However, the northern authority wouldn’t meet the 500,000 population target that the government is looking for.

The one-off cost would be £27m, and it’s projected to save £250m over its first ten years.

The second proposed option is North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire joining with West Lindsey and East Lindsey and Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Kesteven, Boston and Holland as a southern authority.

This would have a more equal share of population, but would require significant reorganisation with an estimated cost of £42m and ten-year savings of £246m.

The third option, which is unlikely to be progressed, proposes three separate councils; Lincoln, West Lindsey, North Kesteven and South Kesteven; East Lindsey, Boston and Holland and North and North East Lincolnshire.

It has the highest initial cost (£44m) and lowest long-term savings (£212m).

Either two or three councils would fail to meet the population threshold, and would also concentrate several areas with high levels of deprivation in a single authority in south east Lincolnshire.

The plans were due to be discussed by the county council’s overview and scrutiny board on March 17, and will also need approval from the executive and full council.

They could meet resistance from district councils who are worried about being swallowed up by ‘mega councils’.

Lincoln leaders have expressed concern about hundreds of years of self-rule potentially coming to an end.

Several authorities have extraordinary meetings on local government reorganisation planned in the next two weeks.

Initial proposals will need to be submitted by March 21, after which the government will provide feedback.

Councils will then have until November 28 for final proposals for single-tier government to be confirmed, which will go into effect from April 2028.