Cabinet to discuss five-unitary authority proposal
Castle Point Borough Council is set to debate a proposal for the future of Essex councils which could see Essex made up of five unitary authorities from April 2028.
The Government has required councils to submit Local Government Reorganisation proposals by 26 September 2025 that would abolish the current 15 councils across Essex and replace them with new unitary Councils.
The five-unitary proposal sets out a future in which Essex has five local authorities. This option has been developed with input from Castle Point Borough Council and nine other councils, with strong support from a significant number of Essex MPs.
Under the five-unitary model, a new South East Essex Council would be created to represent the administrative boundaries of Castle Point Borough Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council and Rochford District Council.
There are other proposals, such as the three-unitary model being proposed by Essex County Council, which would place Castle Point in a bigger new area including the areas currently served by Basildon Borough Council and Thurrock Council.
This proposal for five-unitary authorities and the other options for LGR in Greater Essex will be discussed at a special meeting of Council and decided at Cabinet on 16 September 2025.
Cllr Warren Gibson, Deputy Leader of Castle Point Borough Council said: “This is an important moment for Castle Point and for Essex as a whole. The five-unitary proposal is the model which we have been actively exploring and we welcome the opportunity to discuss its potential benefits and implications in detail. Our priority remains ensuring that any future structure delivers for the residents of Castle Point.”
Any decision on the future structure of Essex is anticipated to be made in early 2026, and any changes would start to be implemented in 2027 at the earliest.
Read the full proposals on the Essex LGR Hub at https://www.essexlgrhub.org/proposals