Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is reshaping the delivery of local services across England. As district and county councils merge into new unitary authorities, digital teams face a significant challenge: how to bring together websites, systems, and content in a way that is manageable, efficient, and user-focused.
Our community of councils, suppliers, and contributors is here to share experience and support others going through the process.
Email us to discuss how LocalGov Drupal can help your council through LGR and explore how you can join our community.
What is Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
The English Devolution White Paper sets out the government’s vision for simpler local government structures.
As part of this strategy, the government aims to consolidate lower- and upper-tier local government into new unitary councils. Initially, this will cover 21 areas (over 100 councils), but by the end of the decade, all councils will be of a similar size, and, as a guiding principle, will serve a population of roughly 500,000.
Members of our community have already gone through this process, and using our CMS and Microsites Platform has been a significant help, saving them time and money while offering the flexible platform and community support they need.
The challenges and opportunities of Local Government Reorganisation for digital teams
There will be numerous challenges for tech teams, including:
- Multiple legacy websites and CMSs
- Conflicting governance models and tech stacks
- Duplicated content, user journeys, and services
- Pressure to deliver “more with less”
However, the process also opens up opportunities for digital transformation, cost savings and collaboration; our CMS and community are ideally placed to help realise them. The opportunities include:
1. Reducing Costs and Increasing Efficiency
Local Government Reorganisation presents an opportunity to review digital spending and reduce ongoing costs. By consolidating platforms and switching to open-source solutions like LocalGov Drupal, councils can cut expenditure on licensing, hosting, and maintenance. Legacy systems often cost three to four times more to support than modern alternatives.
Councils using LocalGov Drupal frequently report savings of £80,000–£100,000 in the first year, freeing up budget for service improvements, content design, or digital inclusion work.
2. Controlling Costs Through Reuse
With no licence fees and a modular, reusable codebase, LocalGov Drupal helps councils avoid the cost escalations that often come with platform transitions. Build once and reuse across multiple sites, services, or even councils—making it a future-proof choice, no matter how LGR negotiations evolve.
3. Rationalising Digital Infrastructure
Merged councils often inherit a patchwork of websites and content management systems (CMS) platforms. Reorganisation creates a rare opportunity to consolidate and streamline the digital estate, reducing duplication, lowering costs, and making services easier to manage. Councils such as Cumberland, North Yorkshire, and Westmorland & Furness have taken this opportunity to adopt LocalGov Drupal as a single, scalable content management system (CMS) across their new unitary structures.
The LocalGov Drupal Microsites Platform is a particularly valuable tool in this context. It enables councils to quickly and cost-effectively create branded, accessible microsites using a shared design system and central governance. Whether for individual services, campaigns, or legacy district content, microsites offer a flexible, low-cost way to manage diverse digital needs during and after reorganisation.
4. Improving Content and Accessibility
LGR offers a natural starting point for a full content audit. Councils can enhance accessibility, eliminate outdated or duplicated content, and prioritise meeting user needs over reflecting internal structures. A consistent approach to content design leads to clearer, simpler journeys for residents. Our CMS is fully accessible and our community have the knowledge, skills and tools to help with content migration.
5. Embedding User-Centred Design
As services are restructured, there is an opportunity to rethink how they are delivered online. Reorganisation allows councils to design digital services around real-world user journeys—such as reporting a problem or paying a bill—rather than mirroring the legacy of multiple internal departments.
6. Enabling Collaboration Across Teams
LGR often brings together diverse digital teams, approaches to working, and governance models. A shared CMS, such as LocalGov Drupal, supports collaborative workflows, shared modules, and consistent branding across multiple sites. Councils can use this moment to establish joint governance and content strategies that work at scale.
7. Future-Proofing with Open Standards
LGR offers the chance to break free from legacy systems and invest in future-ready technology. Adopting platforms that align with the Local Digital Declaration—like LocalGov Drupal—ensures compliance with accessibility, interoperability, and user-centred design standards from day one.
Why LocalGov Drupal is a good strategic fit for Local Government Reorganisation
In terms of a CMS, a success and benefit outlined in a recent LGA report was that “The implementation and convergence onto a single content management system for the website on ‘Day 1’ was important.”
For both North Yorkshire Council and Cumbria Council, which have recently undergone LGR, this meant implementing LocalGov Drupal.
Both councils have been delighted with the outcome.
Here’s why:
Built by Councils, for Councils
Our collaborative development model reflects real public sector needs, not private vendor assumptions.
Modular and Scalable
Ideal for combining or separating digital estates as needed, with additional proven multi-site capabilities through our Microsites platform and sub-site functionality.
Cost-Effective
Councils pay no licensing fees, plus they gain access to a shared pool of modules and community support. Savings can be reinvested in content, service design, and user research.
Backed by a Community
Councils in transition don’t need to face change alone. They can learn from those who have previously been through the process and access peer support, our Slack channel, regular events, and a certified supplier network.
Email us to discuss how LocalGov Drupal can help your council through LGR and explore how you can join our community.
Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness: A Case Study in Digital Transition Through Reorganisation
When Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council were created in April 2023, seven legacy council websites, built on different CMS platforms, needed to be replaced with just two new sites. There was a tight deadline and significant technical debt to contend with.
Beyond the websites, reorganisation meant navigating other familiar hurdles:
- Dispersed content ownership: Without a centralised system, updating key documents was difficult—often no one knew who had created them.
- Complex migrations: Content couldn’t always be exported cleanly between platforms.
- Loss of expertise: Staff transitions resulted in the loss of CMS knowledge at a time when it was needed most.
Craig Barker, Acting Senior Manager for Digital and Customer Experience, summed it up: “When you’re going through local government reorganisation, a lot is happening, not just with the websites. The more we can do to help the people rationalise the various services into one solution, the better.”
The Solution
One of the predecessor councils—Copeland Borough—had already been exploring LocalGov Drupal, attracted by its collaborative model and growing adoption across the sector. As the new councils began planning their digital estates, LocalGov Drupal was selected by the Joint Working Group as the most future-ready option.
The benefits were clear:
- Economies of scale across two councils and shared services
- Collaboration with 30+ other councils using the same platform
- Portability to avoid vendor lock-in or reliance on bespoke platforms
Using previous proprietary systems would have increased long-term costs and risks. Instead, LGD gave the councils a resilient, open-source solution, delivered in just four months.
The Impact
The old CMS used by Cumbria County Council was heavily customised and expensive to support. It suffered from unreliable integrations and a support contract that didn’t deliver value. Technical issues were slow to resolve, leaving staff frustrated.
With LocalGov Drupal, those problems have been left behind. The team now benefits from:
- Shared, supported codebases across councils
- Rapid issue resolution through community support
- Greater self-sufficiency and ownership
Craig noticed a shift in team confidence, too:
“Many of my team have mentioned how much they like the fact that they’re not alone when developing. Having access to online support and calls means less frustration and quicker completion of tasks, by up to three times.”
The move has also lightened Craig’s workload.
“Managing the web team isn’t my only responsibility. The transition was smooth because I didn’t need to master the old, bespoke systems. My team can self-manage more thanks to the support from Rohallion and the LocalGov Drupal community.”
Perhaps most importantly, the project has helped upskill the team. Working on a modern, open-source platform builds professional development, opens up future career opportunities, and strengthens consistency for users across both councils.
Simon Higgins, Assistant Director, Customer and Community Services, Cumbria County Council, said of the transition,
“We have achieved improvements to our website and customer experience that we had been trying to achieve for 3 years. However, more importantly, the new ways of working introduced by this project have had a profoundly positive impact on our immediate team and the wider organisation. We're seeing new thinking that goes beyond the Drupal project.”
Thanks to Certified Supplier, Rohallion and Craig from Cumberland Council for providing the case study.
Email us to discuss how LocalGov Drupal can help your council through LGR and explore how you can join our community.