Leicester city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “I’m very disappointed the government is continuing to delay the decision on local government reorganisation for our area.
“This uncertainty will make it very difficult for us to proceed with the work needed to create a mayoral strategic authority.”
The government had been accused of ignoring the result of its own consultation on the changes, which showed 87% of some 6,600 responses opposed city expansion.
Reform UK-led Leicestershire County Council has opposed the city expansion, threatening a legal challenge against it, and leader Dan Harrison said Thursday’s announcement was “a victory for people power”.
“Our legal challenge to a city expansion was already under way, and I’d like to praise our residents who have fought against this for a long time,” he said.
“It’s true that reshaping local councils can offer huge benefits. I remain convinced that the proposal we submitted to government, simplifying services, saving £40m a year and empowering communities, offers the best solution for the future.
“But national decision-making has been shambolic at best. The government asked councils to draw up proposals, agreed them, paused them, backtracked and now says there’ll be updates later this year.
“You couldn’t make it up.”