Just days to comment on plans to restructure local councils

DERBYSHIRE residents have only a matter of days to have their say during two consultations on possibly the biggest planned changes to local government in more than 50 years.

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The Government's Local Government Reorganisation White Paper proposals include potentially setting up single, unitary authorities across England by merging or scrapping councils in two-tier authority areas like Derbyshire that operate county, and then district and borough councils.

Derbyshire County Council has recently opted to echo the county's eight district and borough councils, and Derby City Council with similar proposals for the Government to consider implementing two separate north and south unitary councils for the county but the exact form this may take is still being debated.

But in the meantime residents can take part in a consultation organised by district and borough councils with an August 10 deadline while a separate county council consultation will run until August 19.

Eight borough and district councils in Derbyshire currently deliver services including leisure, planning, waste collection and housing.