The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has opened a statutory consultation on proposals to reorganise local government across Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. Announcing the move on 19 November 2025, Minister of State Alison McGovern confirmed that consultations are being launched on all proposals received for the area following final submissions on 26 September, with Surrey decisions already concluded earlier this year.
The Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock consultation runs for seven weeks and closes at 11:59pm on Sunday 11 January 2026. Responses can be submitted online through the Department’s Citizen Space survey, by email to LGRconsultationresponse@communities.gov.uk, or by post to the Ministry at 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.
Four competing maps are under consultation. A coalition of ten councils including Southend-on-Sea, Chelmsford and Colchester proposes five new unitaries; Essex County Council with Braintree and Epping Forest proposes three; Rochford District Council proposes four; and Thurrock Council proposes a separate four-unitary pattern. Each option covers the whole of Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, with some requests for boundary changes alongside structural reform.
The process stems from the Secretary of State’s statutory invitation of 5 February 2025 issued under Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. Proposals are assessed against guidance including six tests covering sensible geography and economic areas, robust evidence of costs and benefits, and an indicative population threshold of about 500,000 to support resilience and efficiencies, with extra expectations where councils are under intervention.
In a letter to leaders dated 19 November 2025, the Minister confirmed officials had conducted a preliminary review to check each submission met the statutory invitation, but no formal assessment will be made until the consultation closes. Responses will be analysed with support from AI tools; councils are asked to promote the exercise in line with the Recommended Code of Practice for Local Authority Publicity and to ensure accessible materials, including hard copies for digitally excluded residents.
Ministers place the consultation within wider devolution plans. In July 2025 government announced mayoral strategic authorities for Sussex and Brighton, Norfolk and Suffolk, Greater Essex, and Hampshire and the Solent, and has grouped consultations so interested parties can comment across these geographies.
If adopted, new unitary councils would replace the current two-tier model so that responsibilities for social care, planning, housing, waste and local roads sit with single authorities. Government argues this model will simplify decision-making, speed up housing and infrastructure delivery and strengthen accountability to support growth.
Respondents should state which proposal they are addressing, include their name, and indicate whether they are located in Essex, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock or outside the area. Named consultees should provide organisational details; other organisations should identify their sector. Submissions may be published under access-to-information legislation as set out in the consultation material.
Once the consultation closes, ministers will assess the proposals against the guidance and all representations. Decisions on which, if any, proposals to implement-potentially with modifications-will be taken subject to parliamentary approval, with further updates to be provided to Parliament.
The Department has asked councils to use local networks to raise awareness of the consultation while observing the Publicity Code, and to meet accessibility standards on any documents they host, including providing hard copies where appropriate. The Minister’s letter was copied to chief executives, Thurrock Commissioners and the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.