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Devolution & Local Government Reorganisation
Latest Update
Read the latest press release Councils reveal draft business cases for new councils
For more information on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) progress in Kent, please click here
Key dates for Dover District Council
- 19 November 2025 – Dover District Council’s Full Council and Cabinet Meetings to discuss business case options for Kent.
- 28 November 2025 – Submit response to LGR to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
What is Devolution and LGR?
The Government has published plans to reorganise how councils in ‘two-tier’ areas operate. The county of Kent is a two-tier area as it has upper and lower tier councils – a mix of county, unitary and district & borough councils.
The plans include two key proposals:
- 1. Devolution – passing certain powers, currently held by central Government, to new ‘strategic authorities’ with elected mayors.
- 2. Reorganisation - replacing county and district councils with larger, unitary councils serving around 500,000 people.
Although Kent was not selected for Devolution, the process of reorganisation is moving ahead.
Local Government Reorganisation
This could see Kent County Council, Medway Unitary Council and the 12 district and borough councils across Kent replaced with a number of new unitary councils.
The new unitary councils would deliver existing district and borough services such as waste collection and planning and county council services such as education, social services and highways.
Town and parish councils would not be affected.
What could this mean for Dover District Council?
Nothing has been agreed yet and we will continue to provide our services as Dover District Council until at least 31 March 2028.
For Dover District Council, which serves an area of 118,600 residents, this would mean the abolition of Kent County Council, the 12 district councils and Medway Council, and for them to be replaced by the creation of a smaller number of unitary authorities. For Dover District specifically, this is likely to be covered by a wider East Kent authority that also covers neighbouring districts as well as the services and functions currently provided by Kent County Council.
In response to a request from Government, in March 2025, we, along with the other Kent councils and Medway Unitary Council, submitted our interim proposals to Government.
What next for Dover?
All 14 councils covering Kent have been invited to submit their preferred model for Local Government Reorganisation by 28 November 2025. Please visit the Kent Leaders webpage for more information.
Dover District Council will be presenting the five business case options to meetings of Full Council and Cabinet on 19 November 2025 to decide what they would like to submit to MHCLG.
Indicative timeline for LGR
What will happen next after 28 November 2025?
After all national two-tier areas have submitted their proposed business cases to MHCLG on 28 November 2025, the Government will review and undertake a public consultation (likely early 2026) on the selected options.
The Government will make the final decision on the unitary geography for the county of Kent by late Spring/early Summer 2026, and begin transitional, parliamentary legal work after the summer recess 2026.
More information?
If you require any further information, here are some useful links:
DDC press releases:
Local information:
National information: