Gloucestershire’s district councils look set to be abolished and next year’s County Council elections could be postponed under plans to reorganise local government which could see an elected mayor shared with neighbouring counties.

The Government unveiled plans this week to shake-up local government across England. They say their proposals would give more powers to local areas.

But it also proposes creating more unitary councils which, in Gloucestershire, would mean district councils would be abolished.

The government is looking at creating unitaries with a population of at least 500,000 and combined authorities areas with a directly elected mayor representing areas with around 1.5 million residents.

Gloucestershire is currently a two-tier area where local government responsibilities are split between the county council and district councils including the Forest of Dean.

Shire Hall’s Conservative leader Stephen Davies believes it is in the county’s best interest to take up the Government’s offer set out in the English Devolution White Paper and plans to write a letter of intent and get it to ministers before the January 10 deadline and request that next year’s county elections are postponed until 2026/27 while the new authority is created.

He said it is imperative to move with haste and such a decision would provide clarity and avoid local government staff from being in limbo more than a year as, otherwise, they may wish to go elsewhere.

“It’s not an easy or light decision,” he said. “But it is with the best interests for Gloucestershire that we go with it.”

He said for the county to become a unitary authority is the “easy” part.

The difficulty will be in which of its neighbours it pairs with under a combined authority with an elected mayor.

Options include a combined authority with Herefordshire and Worcestershire, joining the West of England Combined Authority which includes councils in and around Bristol.

Gloucestershire would then have single unitary authority with a mayor sitting above

However, this is all at a very early stage and talks with neighbouring authorities are yet to take place.

“What does matter is that the Government white paper is clear on a couple of things. They are looking for local government reform, that is the creation of unitary, and that they are looking for those unitary authorities to join into mayor led combined authorities.

“It is critical that we in Gloucestershire understand what is being asked of us and not stick our heads in the sand. Therefore we will be looking at how we might work towards a unitary authority and start discussions with our borough, district and city council colleagues.

“I hope they will come to this with a realistic understanding of the position. We will also explore our options for combining with our neighbours to provide a structure that will enable us to attract the investment and powers that best serve the interest of Gloucestershire.

“That is the bottom line of this activity, we need to work to ensure that we secure the best outcome for Gloucestershire.”