Local authorities in Derbyshire have agreed on a draft plan to create two unitary councils covering the north and south of the county.
The interim plans for 'North Derbyshire' and 'South Derbyshire' have been agreed by the county’s eight districts and boroughs and Derby City Council.
The draft blueprint sets out two options: the first with Amber Valley Borough Council as part of 'North Derbyshire' and the second with the council as part of 'South Derbyshire'.
Derbyshire County Council has proposed an alternative plan, which would create one unitary authority for the whole county – excluding Derby – with a population of 800,000.
Last week, Derbyshire County Council’s leader Barry Lewis said a single unitary authority would ‘best serve our residents’ and could save £126m over five years.
‘Creating smaller unitary councils – such as dividing Derbyshire into two council areas as proposed by the district and borough councils and Derby City Council – simply wouldn’t achieve these savings.’
In a joint statement, the district, borough and city leaders said their proposed two unitaries would leave the county’s historic boundaries intact while creating new authorities of 500,000 each.
The statement added that a single authority for the county would be ‘too large, and too far removed from the diverse communities that we serve.’
