North Staffordshire is expected to be a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, England. It was planned to be formed on 1 April 2028, with the first election planned for May 2027.
Its largest settlement will be Stoke-on-Trent, which consists of the six towns of Hanley, Stoke-upon-Trent, Burslem, Tunstall, Longton, and Fenton; it will also include Newcastle-under-Lyme, Biddulph and Kidsgrove, which are part of or very close to the Stoke-on-Trent built-up area. In the east of the district are the towns of Leek and Cheadle. The area has a 2024 estimated population of 494,803.
Plans to create it were halted in September 2026 and the first election was cancelled.
Formation It will be formed from the existing unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent and the existing two-tier Staffordshire districts of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands. Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme are currently unparished, the rest of the area is parished. It is planned that charter trustees will be used to continue Stoke-on-Trent's city status, and Stoke and Newcastle's mayoralties.
North Staffordshire 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. The chosen proposal was backed by Tamworth, Lichfield and South Staffordshire district councils. The two alternative proposals for two unitaries and the proposals for three and four unitaries were not accepted, including Staffordshire County Council's preferred option of an east/west split. The remainder of the county will form a new South and Mid Staffordshire authority.
In September 2026, the Staffordshire proposals were halted by the government and placed under review. The 2027 election was cancelled.
Governance It will be run by North Staffordshire Council, which will comprise 84 councillors. References