Warwickshire is set to be split into two council areas from 2028 after the government approved a north-south divide.

The long-awaited announcement on local government reorganisation plans for the county landed on Thursday with four of the region's district and borough councils getting their wish to see two new authorities formed – one for the north and one for the south.

Warwickshire's main council services are currently delivered over two tiers of local government with Warwickshire County Council overseeing the big-ticket, and most expensive, elements like roads, education and social care.

Planning, housing and bin collections are among the main things handled by district and borough councils.

However, the majority of other areas have unitary councils that handle all of those services under one roof with the government asking all two-tier areas to create plans for unitaries across the board in late 2024.

Warwickshire County Council flew the flag for one county-wide authority to succeed the abolished councils, while the borough councils covering Nuneaton & Bedworth and North Warwickshire and the district councils for Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon called for a north-south split.

Rugby Borough Council, proposed to be in the north in the two-unitary model, made the late call to advocate one county-wide council.

The government's decisions for various areas have been staggered and while it was simpler in Warwickshire with only two options on the table – there were numerous in other areas – this follows the trend set by earlier calls where smaller councils have been formed to serve populations of around 300,000, going against the initial criteria that new council areas should serve 500,000 people.

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In a statement, Green councillor Jonathan Chilvers, leader of his party's group on the county council and a cabinet member at Warwick District Council, said: "The change to two unitaries will not be a cliff edge, it will be a gradual process with some services not reconfiguring for years, especially on the ground. Day-to-day delivery for residents is the only thing that matters."

He adds that it "would be mad" to pull apart county-wide services like social care that "already work well".

"We should use the move to focus on changes that bring the clearest benefits to residents first and not get caught up in changing things for the sake of it," he concluded.

More to follow.