Nottingham City Council has confirmed that it will be submitting a boundary review proposal to Government, as part of Local Government Reorganisation plans.
In February 2025, the Government asked local authorities to take part in the biggest shake up of local government in over 50 years, by formally asking them to submit proposals to create new structures of unitary authorities.
Council Leader Neghat Khan previously outlined why the city council was exploring a review of boundaries.
Now, having commissioned an independent report the Council has data from a PwC options appraisal, and results from an engagement exercise conducted over the summer, Neghat Khan says Nottingham has listened to residents and will work to submit a proposal that delivers for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire for the next 50 years.
“The reality is that the current city boundaries – set in 1997 – don’t reflect the ‘real’ Nottingham,” Cllr Khan said. “While our official population is 328,000, the built-up area of our city contains over 750,000 people, many of whom call Nottingham home. We can’t let outdated boundaries or political preference dictate what is right for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. We have always said that we should prioritise conurbation based on local identify and a sensible geography, it is therefore pleasing to see that view shared by Nottingham people. We need to set a boundary for the next 50 years. This isn’t something that can be made behind closed doors, it’s about transparent decisions, informed by public views.”
PwC undertook an options appraisal in March 2025, that highlighted no significant differences between the options being considered. And in June, the Government indicated to councils that it would consider boundary reviews as part of final submissions where appropriate.
In the recent engagement exercise, Option 1b was criticised for excluding urban areas closely linked to the city (like West Bridgford) while including rural areas that lack alignment. And Option 1e raised clear concerns about the inclusion of areas with little connection to the city and the exclusion of closer, more integrated areas.
Cllr Khan continued: “What we’ve heard through feedback in the engagement exercise is residents stressing that options should include new boundaries based on local identity, coherence, and genuine community alignment rather than the current configurations.
“Options 1b and 1e fail to take that feedback into consideration, and split the Nottingham conurbation, with no thought to the surrounding suburbs identifying with the city, or to addressing the city and wider county’s needs for the future.”
Cllr Khan concluded: “My neighbouring Leaders and I have all committed to ensuring that LGR delivers the best outcomes for local communities – and that commitment remains – but realistically we have varying views on what models achieve that,” Cllr Khan said.
“LGR has been extremely emotive, but we need to focus on the facts, and the data. And so far from what we’ve seen, a boundary review option has the potential to achieve a greater outcome for the whole region, by offering solution that builds on the strong elements of 1b and 1e, and mitigates the risks.”
Final proposals will now be developed and submitted to Government by 28 November 2025.