Published: Thursday, 6th November 2025
Councillors in Cannock Chase have agreed on a proposal for a new authority serving South and Mid-Staffordshire that could save taxpayers nearly £30 million a year.
The council were discussing options for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in the county at a meeting last night (Wednesday) before a business case for a new unitary authority is submitted to Government.
A report will now go before the council’s cabinet for a final decision on Wednesday 19 November saying the preferred option would be for the new council to cover the areas of Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, Tamworth and Stafford Borough.
Councillors were told this option complemented plans for a single unitary in the north and had been supported by Stoke-on-Trent City Council - which would also include the areas of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands.
LGR has come about after the Government set out legislation that would see all district, borough, city and county councils in Staffordshire abolished, to be replaced by larger unitary authorities.
The report to councillors last night (Wednesday) revealed their preferred option is estimated to save £29.9m a year and provide for a more financially resilient authority able to deliver service improvements.
It also highlighted the importance of local identity saying a single unitary will ‘retain and maintain a close connection with their communities, protect their uniqueness, and ensure that their needs are met through close working with town and parish councils and the use of new neighbourhood area committees.’
The proposed business case must be submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government by Friday 28 November and as well as the financial savings, resilience and service improvements it sets out a series of other advantages the single unitary vision for Southern and Mid-Staffordshire would deliver such as:
• A smoother transition, especially with vital social care and education services
• A greater voice regionally than if there was more than one unitary in the south
• Easier for residents to have a single council delivering all services in the south
After the meeting, Councillor Steve Thornley, Leader of Cannock Chase Council, said: “Our priority has always been that our residents and communities must come first in any local government reorganisation, and we believe the proposal for a single southern unitary will achieve this.
“It offers more financial stability along with the ability to attract further investment and secure Government funding while not fragmenting vital services to our residents and businesses.”
You can see the full report to council as well as the proposed business case at: https://www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/council/meetings/agendas-reports-minutes/council/20251105