Hucknall could become part of Nottingham city in potential new LGR plans

Five towns could be absorbed by Nottingham City Council as part of a the new plan, which was shared by Broxtowe Council leader, Milan Radulovic (Brox Alliance).

The five towns in question are West Bridgford, Beeston, Hucknall, Arnold and Carlton.

Coun Radulovic revealed the plans during his authority’s cabinet meeting on July 1.

He discussed the ‘difficult situation’ his council and others in Nottinghamshire are facing in deciding on an agreed option for local government reorganisation.

The reshaping of councils is part of the Labour Government’s plans to give more powers back to local areas by creating more ‘strategic authorities’ and new combined councils.

In practice, it means merging smaller councils with larger ones, meaning all seven of Nottinghamshire’s district and borough councils could disappear by 2027 or 2028.

Speaking during the meeting, Coun Radulovic said: “I’m sure you’re all aware of the city’s new option, which is an enlarged city taking in West Bridgford, Beeston, Hucknall, Arnold and Carlton.

“So we seem to be in a difficult situation at the moment on forming any sort of consensus across Nottinghamshire.”

This option is different from ones previously suggested as it would involve the city absorbing only parts of other boroughs, not the boroughs as a whole.

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Nottingham City Council to confirm if this was a potential option for the reorganisation, a spokesperson said it had not been officially proposed by the authority.

The spokesperson added: “Nottingham is a significantly under-bounded local authority, covering a population of 328,000 at the centre of a built-up area of well over 750,000 (and a wider county population of 1.17m).

“We are responsible for delivering the services expected in a core city, but many of the people who work in the city, and use council services currently live in the suburbs, meaning they can’t vote in city elections, and pay council tax elsewhere.

"We need to address that imbalance through LGR.

“Backed by interim findings from PwC, at this point we believe that the most sustainable model would be two new unitaries.

“However no final decisions have been made, and what’s clear from the Government feedback is that there is still a lot of work to be done to review options.”

Options previously put forward include a new unitary authority combining Nottingham, Broxtowe and Gedling with a new unitary authority for the rest of the county and another that would see Nottingham, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe combining with a new unitary authority for the rest of Nottinghamshire.

Option three sees Nottingham remaining as an existing unitary authority with a new ‘county-only’ unitary authority for the rest of Nottinghamshire.

A full business case for an option is expected to be submitted to the Government by November 2025.

Coun John Wilmott (Ash Ind), county and district councillor for Hucknall, said: “I will continue to oppose any plan to merge Hucknall with bankrupt, Labour-run Nottingham City Council.

"Hucknall residents deserve better than being dragged into a failing authority that has lost the trust of its own residents and the Government.

"Any suggestion that Hucknall would benefit from being swallowed up by Nottingham is utter nonsense.

"The city council is riddled with financial mismanagement and poor services – Hucknall would only suffer as a result.

“Ashfield Council, Hucknall’s councillors, and most importantly the people of Hucknall will fight tooth and nail to keep our town out of Nottingham city’s mess.

"We believe in strong, local services and accountable leadership – something Nottingham City clearly cannot offer.”

Your Dispatch has contacted Hucknall’s Reform county councillors for comment.