Ministers are minded to replace Cheltenham Borough Council with one Gloucestershire council in April 2029, a year late, and rejected Cheltenham's two-council plan.

Cheltenham Borough Council is set to be abolished in April 2029, a year later than planned. Ministers said on Thursday they are “minded to” replace Gloucestershire’s seven councils with a single council for the whole county. Its first elections would be in May 2028.

The decision is provisional. It came in a letter of 29 October from Jim McMahon MP, the Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth, to the county’s council leaders (MHCLG, 29 October 2026).

It also settles one argument for now. Cheltenham Borough Council had proposed splitting the county into two councils. Ministers have turned that down.

What the letter says

The government has formally withdrawn its decision of 16 July 2026, which would have created the single council in April 2028. Work on that plan was paused on 7 September while ministers reviewed the whole reorganisation programme.

Now the Secretary of State is “currently minded to” implement the one-council proposal submitted by four councils:

  • Gloucestershire County Council
  • Cotswold District Council
  • Stroud District Council
  • Tewkesbury Borough Council

The new council would take over from all seven: the county council and the six district councils of Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury. The letter puts its population at 659,000.

Timeline: 16 July 2026 first decision for one council from April 2028; 7 September 2026 work paused; 29 October 2026 July decision withdrawn and ministers minded to pick one council; representations open for at least three weeks, dates to come; May 2027 Cotswold, Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury elect on old boundaries; May 2028 first elections to the new council; April 2029 new council takes over and Cheltenham Borough Council ends.
Graphic by The Cheltenham Journal. Sources: MHCLG letter and Cheltenham Borough Council, 29 October 2026.
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Why Cheltenham’s plan lost

Three proposals were on the table. All three met the government’s six tests, the letter says. The choice came down to judgement.

Cheltenham’s two-council plan would have created two councils of similar size, each built around an urban hub. Ministers gave it credit for that. They also said it offered more flexibility for any future devolution deal.

But they listed three concerns:

  • it would split “the single economic and housing market area across Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Stroud”, which ministers say would hold back growth
  • the proposed western council would face “greater financial pressure and higher demand pressures associated with disability and homelessness” than the eastern one
  • it would break up county-wide services such as social care, education and SEND, raising transition costs

The letter calls the size question “a finely balanced judgement”. It accepts that a council of 659,000 people may not always feel close to the communities it serves. It concludes the benefits “just offset” that.

Gloucester City Council’s own option, an enlarged Gloucester surrounded by a county council, was also rejected.

It is not final yet

The letter says plainly that it “does not constitute a final decision”. Councils and other interested parties will be invited to make representations for at least three weeks, with dates to follow. Ministers say they remain open to a different outcome, including changing the proposal or doing nothing.

If they go ahead, the change needs a structural changes order approved by Parliament.

Cheltenham Borough Council’s release says the government intends to confirm the decision before Christmas (Cheltenham Borough Council, 29 October 2026). The minister’s letter itself gives no date for the final decision.

What the county’s leaders said

The leaders of Gloucestershire’s councils issued a joint statement. They welcomed “the clarity that this latest update brings”, but warned: “This delay has consequences.”

“Our councils are already facing extremely difficult financial choices,” they said. “The government must meet the costs of LGR that we are incurring, including costs caused by an extended timeline.”

They also complained that Gloucestershire was left out of the devolution announcements in Wednesday’s Budget. “We cannot allow Gloucestershire to become the forgotten county,” they said.

Gloucestershire will be paid £450,000 in November, half of the £900,000 transition grant per new council. The balance follows a final decision, the letter says.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes to your services now. Cheltenham Borough Council still collects your bins, runs planning and sets its share of your council tax. If the plan is confirmed, it would do so until April 2029, a year longer than under the July decision. Our council tax bands page has this year’s bill.
  • No borough election next May. The council says elections in May 2027 go ahead in Cotswold, Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury on existing boundaries. Cheltenham is not on that list; its borough councillors were last elected on 7 May 2026.
  • The first vote for the new council would be in May 2028.
  • You can have your say once the representation period opens. We will publish the dates and how to respond when ministers confirm them.
  • The local plan carries on. The Strategic and Local Plan for Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury is now due for submission on 31 March 2027. See our planning news page for the timetable.
  • The town council question is still open. The borough’s proposed Cheltenham Town Council was planned for April 2028, timed to the old date. The council has not yet published the outcome of its 19 October vote.

Sources