The leader of Essex County Council has said splitting Essex up into three new unitary authorities would be the best approach to keep tax costs low.

Councillor Kevin Bentley has said dividing the county into three councils strikes the right balance between maintaining services and keeping the costs down.

The plan shows a clear difference in opinion between the county council and many local councils in Essex. Another group, which includes Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Maldon, Southend, and Uttlesford councils, would prefer to split Greater Essex into five authorities. That plan is now out for public consultation.

Both ideas follow a request from the Government for councils to propose options to reduce the current number of local authorities in Essex and replace them with bigger unitary councils.

Greater Essex currently comprises 15 councils serving nearly 1.9 million residents.

Southend and Thurrock currently operate as unitary authorities, meaning they manage most local services independently.

In contrast, the rest of Essex follows a two-tier system – district councils like Maldon, Basildon and Chelmsford handle local services such as waste collection, street cleaning, and leisure facilities, while Essex County Council oversees broader services including highways, adult social care, and special educational needs.

As part of the Government's devolution agenda, which aims to streamline local governance, these 15 councils will be replaced within the next three years by a smaller number of new unitary authorities.

These new bodies will consolidate responsibilities and deliver all local services except those managed by town and parish councils, which will remain unaffected.

Councillor Bentley said adult social care, in particular, would be relatively more expensive to run in smaller unitary authorities than in larger ones.

He said: "In an ideal world, we might be able to consider higher numbers of new unitary councils, as some councils in Essex are.

"But we have to live within our means and within constrained funding for public services. After careful consideration of the evidence and the costs, it is clear that going for five unitaries would mean less money for services, or rises in council taxes.

"There would be a real risk that five new councils would struggle from day one. They simply won't have the financial resilience and the ability to absorb 'shocks' to the system like spikes in inflation or energy price increases.

"Three councils is also simpler for residents, business and partners – at the moment, there are three councils dealing with the big statutory areas of care and education in Greater Essex. Our plan would not increase this number. It would also be faster (because it would be simpler) to move to three councils rather than five."

Councillor Daniel Cowan, Southend's leader and chairman of the five councils' group, said the creation of five new unitary councils, formed by neighbouring existing councils joining together to create larger authorities that retain a strong local identity and sense of place.

Councillor Cowan said: "Our vision is for five stronger, more resilient councils that still feel rooted in the communities they serve—places that feel like home. But we won't make any final decisions without hearing directly from the people we represent.

"This consultation is your chance to tell us what matters most to you, your family, or your business—wherever you live in Essex. It only takes around ten minutes to complete the survey, but your input could help shape the future of local services for generations to come."

Councillor Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford City Council, said: "We think that serving Chelmsford and our neighbouring communities is best done by councils who understand local issues and remain as close as possible to their residents.

"There are nearly two million people in Greater Essex and having too few councils could leave us with some of the biggest local authorities in England, not far behind places like Birmingham.

"Having larger local authority areas than we do now could bring exciting opportunities, but there is a real balancing act in ensuring that people feel a connection with local services and that the councils representing them make sense. That's why we are joining nine other Essex councils in recommending five new unitary authorities, and over the coming months, we, and others, will be making a case for this vision of Essex."

Leader of Basildon Council, Councillor Gavin Callaghan, said: "For 50 years, Basildon councillors haven't been in control of filling potholes, fixing pavements, repairing streetlights. We've been at the mercy of county cuts to children's services, and we've paid over the odds for social care.

"We want to be in control of our resources, reduce bureaucracy and ensure that Basildon's cash and energy stays in the borough.

"It's time to take back control of our borough – making decisions for Basildon and providing services for our residents."