Residents in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, are being asked to share their thoughts on a plan that could bring the most significant change to local governance in over 50 years. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched a statutory seven-week consultation on 5 February 2026 to ask whether the current two‑tier system of county and district councils should be replaced with one or more unitary authorities. The consultation follows a joint proposal submitted on 28 November 2025 by Hertfordshire County Council and the county’s ten district and borough councils.
If approved, the proposals would abolish the existing district/borough councils and Hertfordshire County Council and replace them with a smaller number of single‑tier unitary authorities. Under the two‑unitary option submitted by the councils, Broxbourne Borough Council (which governs Cheshunt) would be dissolved and Cheshunt would be part of an ‘Eastern’ unitary authority; other submitted models (three‑ and four‑unitary options) propose different boundary arrangements. DLUHC is leading the public consultation to gather residents’ views on those proposed boundaries and business cases.
Local leaders say the change is intended to tackle a projected combined budget gap across Hertfordshire councils and to unlock additional government funding tied to a devolution deal. In a joint statement in November 2025, council leaders said a unitary model ‘will save millions’ that could be reinvested in services such as road repairs and support for vulnerable people. Councils, including St Albans, also say the move aims to simplify and speed up decision‑making for services currently split between councils, such as planning and social care.
The statutory consultation opened on 5 February 2026 and runs for seven weeks, closing on 26 March 2026. A final decision from the Secretary of State is expected in summer 2026. If the reorganisation is approved, elections for the shadow authorities are scheduled for 6 May 2027 and the new unitary councils would take on full responsibilities (vesting day) on 1 April 2028.
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