Lincolnshire (district)
Future unitary authority area in England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lincolnshire[1] or Rural Lincolnshire is expected to be a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. It was planned to be formed on 1 April 2028, with elections planned to be held to a shadow authority in May 2027.[2] The largest settlement will be Grantham[3] and it will also include Bourne, Boston, Gainsborough, Horncastle, Louth, Mablethorpe, Market Rasen, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford.[4][5] Plans to create it were halted in September 2026 and the first election was cancelled.
Lincolnshire | |
|---|---|
Future unitary authority area | |
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 Interactive map | |
| Coordinates: 52.9120°N 0.64224°W | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Ceremonial county | Lincolnshire |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unitary authority |
| • Body | Lincolnshire Council |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,980 sq mi (5,120 km2) |
| Population (2024 estimate) | |
• Total | 581,253 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
Formation
It will be formed from the existing Lincolnshire districts of Boston, East Lindsey, South Kesteven, South Holland and portions of West Lindsey and North Kesteven. The remaining portions of those districts will form part of a Lincoln unitary authority.[6] Boston and Spalding are currently unparished, the rest of the area is parished.[4] The area has a population of about 574,000.[5] There will be 100 councillors representating the area.[7]
The district is being formed as part of ongoing local government changes throughout England, in which all areas of the country that have separate county councils and district councils will see those replaced with single-tier, or unitary, local governance.[8] The proposals for Lincolnshire also considered the future of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire; the alternative proposal for four unitaries for the larger area, and the proposals for two or three unitaries for this area were not accepted.[9]
In September 2026, the Lincolnshire proposals were halted by the government and placed under review. The 2027 election was cancelled.[10]
Governance
It will be run by Lincolnshire Council, which will comprise 100 councillors.[11]