Work has started on two new Staffordshire councils that will replace the county, district and borough councils from 1 April 2028. Stone will sit in the southern authority.
That new council will cover Stafford Borough, East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Tamworth, with a combined population of more than 680,000. A northern council will cover Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands.
Stone Town Council is not being abolished. Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council will keep running services used in Stone until vesting day.
Elections to the new authorities are due in May 2027. Those bodies will first sit as shadow councils before taking over services on 1 April 2028.
Staffordshire County Council leader Martin Murray said: “Our focus now is to work constructively across the area to support implementation and ensure new agreements are delivered safely and effectively. Essentially, services will continue to be delivered while transition work takes place in parallel, so there is nothing to worry about for any residents or businesses at all.”
He also told the corporate overview and scrutiny committee: “The timescale, frankly, looks a little insane. It's important we must get on with this work; failure to do so can actually put people at risk, vulnerable people and vital services that we in local government have to deliver.”
