Elections to Stafford Borough Council are now set to take place next year, after proposals that would see the axing of the authority were paused by the Government.

Staffordshire's eight borough and district authorities, as well as Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, were set to be abolished in 2028, to be replaced by two new unitary authorities in the north and south of the county as part of the national programme of local government reorganisation (LGR).

Elections scheduled for May 2027 were due to select the cllrs for the two new Staffordshire authorities, with 84 members for the north and 92 for the south.

They were to form "shadow councils" to work alongside their existing counterparts until the new authorities took on the running of services.

But the national shake-up was put on hold on 7 September for 14 parts of England, including Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

This followed the Government receiving updated and privileged legal advice.

Legal action had been launched by some existing councils affected by LGR in areas including Essex.

The decisions relating to four areas – Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Hampshire – have been withdrawn, it was announced on Monday.

Speaking at a full Stafford Borough Council meeting on 8 September – held the day after the Government announcement – council leader Aidan Godfrey, said: "Yesterday the announcement that came was not expected.

"Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have been instructed to stop all LGR implementation work.

"Local elections in May, that were going to be for the new unitary authority, are now going to be for Stafford Borough Council as we are now – there will be no change.

"The term of office for cllrs to Stafford Borough Council is yet to be decided; it could be anything from a year to a full term.

"The Government will now review the future of local government reorganisation.

"The Government needs to work with local councils to find a permanent good solution for local government, a lot closer to local government than they have been.

"We didn't ask for LGR – we were instructed to work with local government criteria.

"We also didn't ask for a pause, but now we have a pause we can take this opportunity to get the future of public services right and it's vitally important we do that.

"I will keep members informed if there is anything you need to be kept informed of.

"Most importantly at this stage, I would like to thank our employees for their professionalism and hard work during the LGR period."

The council had been due to back the establishment of South and Mid Staffordshire Joint Committee, with membership from Cannock Chase District Council, East Staffordshire District Council, Lichfield District Council, Stafford Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, South Staffordshire District Council and Tamworth Borough Council at its meeting on Tuesday – one of the next steps in the local government reorganisation process.

But this matter was withdrawn in light of the LGR pause.

Plans to create a new Stafford Town Council, which began around the same time as preparations for local government reorganisation, did move another step forward however.

Borough cllrs voted unanimously at the meeting on 8 September in favour of the new town council being set up, following a recommendation by a working group and a recent Community Governance Review of the area.