Derby City Council and eight Derbyshire district and borough councils have proposed splitting the county into two unitary authorities, claiming it could save up to £93 million over five years at a one-time cost of up to £25 million.

Their plan, now under review by individual councils, outlines two options: one placing Amber Valley in a northern council with High Peak, Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire, and Bolsover, while the southern council would include Derby, Erewash, and South Derbyshire. The second option moves Amber Valley to the south, keeping other districts unchanged.

Under either scenario, the northern council would face a financial deficit—£1.5 million if Amber Valley is included and £1.3 million if it is not—while the southern council would operate at a surplus of £8.6 million or £8.4 million, depending on Amber Valley’s placement.

The North council’s debts would range from £542 million to £560 million, while the South council’s debts would be between £811 million and £829 million. The plan would also cut the number of councillors from 447 across 10 councils to 148 across two, with each councillor representing 5,500 residents.

The Derbyshire County Council is working on a competing proposal without district involvement and claims its plan could save £133 million over five years, but it has not yet released full details. Initially, the county council suggested a single unitary authority for all of Derbyshire, but it later clarified it is pursuing a model with one council for the county and Derby remaining separate.

The district councils’ proposal will be submitted for initial review on 21 March, with a public consultation to follow later this year and a final submission in November.

Derby City Council has approved nearly £3.3 million in government funding to support local economic growth in the 2025/26 financial year. The funds come from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and will be distributed through the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA).

The UKSPF, initially launched in 2022 with a £2.6 billion budget, aims to support communities, local businesses, and workforce development. The government has extended the programme for another year, allocating £902 million nationwide as part of a transition agreement.

Derby’s funding allocation remains in line with previous years, reflecting a redistribution based on deprivation levels. The funds will strengthen local businesses, improve employability and skills, and support community initiatives.

Derby City Council emphasised the funding’s importance in maintaining economic stability and continuing investment in key areas amid ongoing budget pressures and potential future funding reforms.

Widespread project delays are hitting profits at Van Elle, the Nottinghamshire-based ground engineering contractor has revealed in a new trading update for the year ending 30 April 2025.

In interim results the company shared that market conditions had proved challenging. Despite benefitting from a strong order book, the trading environment and volumes remained supressed throughout January and February.

The business has seen widespread project delays, including the ongoing impact of delays to Building Safety Act approvals. These have primarily impacted trading for Rock & Alluvium, which is focused on taller residential schemes in London and the Southeast.

With over 40 projects currently in the approvals process, the majority of these are now expected to commence in FY26 and will result in a FY25 performance for Van Elle’s UK operations slightly below expectations.

At Van Elle Canada, meanwhile, further delays have been experienced as a strategic supply partner to the major infrastructure upgrade programme for the Toronto rail network. The division’s trading performance will now be weaker than anticipated.

While Van Elle has secured several key frameworks throughout FY24 and FY25 in Canada, with near-term uncertainty around the timing of key investment programmes, the business is reviewing its strategic options with its Canada operations.

As a result of the impact of the Rock & Alluvium and Canada trading performance, Van Elle now expects underlying profit before tax for the second half of FY25 to be similar to the first half.