LGR Communications
Get your residents
ready for LGR.
Use the Loci app to make sure your residents are kept constantly up to date with everything happening on Local Government Reorganisation.
38
1 Apr 28
41%
Live
The communication challenge
When several councils become one, residents face many new questions.
New websites? New contact numbers? New bin collection days? New council tax processes? New councillors? To your residents, LGR lands as a hundred small practical questions, all at once. Evidence from councils that have already reorganised shows the scale of the communication friction that can arise, see case studies below. Friction that can be easily resolved with consistent, clear communication.
North Yorkshire
244,500
Interactions in three months
Customer Services handled 244,500 interactions in the new council's first quarter, 71% by telephone. This high level of manual intervention was "labour intensive" and could lead to extended call waiting times and increased call abandonment rate.
Source: North Yorkshire Council Executive performance report
Buckinghamshire
1,788
Complaints from waste collection change
Complaints rose 56% in the year the council reorganised its waste rounds. 1,788 of the total related to waste collection reorganisation, more than the 1,311 complaints across all other council areas combined. The next year those waste complaints fell by 68%, once the transition issues were resolved.
Source: Buckinghamshire Council complaints report 2022-23 and 2023-24
Somerset
30%
Interactions in three months
Complaints rose by 30% in the first year Somerset Council existed as a unitary council. Communication accounted for 17% of those recorded complaints, and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman upheld 90% of complaints about Somerset compared to 79% for similar authorities.
Clear, consistent and coordinated communication across stakeholders supports smooth transition and building a strong identity for the new council.”
Local Government Association - LGR: communications, engagement and stakeholder management
What good looks like
6 actions that can deliver success, and how Loci helps with each one
Drawn from LGA guidance and Local Digital's work with councils that have already been through vesting day.
One shared narrative
The LGA advises establishing a single, shared narrative across predecessor councils so messages align and LGR reads as one coherent endeavour rather than several competing ones.
With Loci
A council-branded page inside one app every partner council can point to. Giving you one thread of consistency, not five separate voices.
Early and often
Local Digital's guidance is to "communicate early and often", explain complexity without causing alarm, publish simple timelines and update residents when plans change.
With Loci
Push notifications land on the phone in a resident's pocket. So, there's no waiting for them to visit a website they don't yet know exists.
A single front door
The most successful day one strategies present residents with a unified experience (one website, one number, one brand) while legacy systems keep running behind the scenes.
With Loci
Loci follows your redirects. When websites and services change, residents stay pointed at the right place without a single broken link.
Protect the everyday
Councils who have reorganised report that residents don't care about shiny change; they just want bins collected and services to work. Everyday services are where reorganisation gets noticed.
With Loci
Bin day reminders the night before every collection and bin schedule change alerts as soon as they happen keep residents constantly informed.
Fill the vacuum first
The LGA warns that managing disinformation matters and that consistent communication stops people "filling the vacuum" themselves. Silence is always open to interpretation.
With Loci
A verified, council-branded channel, which residents already trust for bin days, becomes the perfect place to check for reorganisation updates.
Reach everyone, clearly
Sector guidance stresses reassuring residents, especially vulnerable residents, with plain English updates focused on service continuity, and telling residents clearly who is accountable for what.
With Loci
Accessible mobile-first design, short plain updates, and targeted messaging down to postcode district ensure residents only get updates that apply to them.
The perfect LGR partner
A new supplier you can get started with today
Spending controls, shadow budgets and Section 24 directions, we understand that with LGR many councils are cautious about starting new supplier contracts. Which is why we've now made it as easy as possible to partner with us.
Loci is already live in every council area in England. We can do this because we purpose built a scalable app for local communities to access council services. Meaning you can start today. Right now. With no strings attached.
The Loci app partnership costs you nothing, and involves no procurement channels. There's no catch either, just a simple agreement that in return for a council branded page for your services you'll promote us through all your comms channels.
We're a ready-made app that links through to your existing web pages, so there's no set-up from your side. When your websites and services change, Loci follows the redirects and keeps residents pointed to the right place.
Unlike other apps, we don't require loads of back-end integration. With no IT team involved, councils get set up in weeks rather than months, providing a quick and easy communication channel for LGR.
Frequently asked questions
No. There is no contract and no cost. The partnership is a simple agreement: we give you a council-branded page for your services, and you promote Loci through your existing comms channels. It sits outside procurement entirely, which is exactly why it works during a period of spending controls and shadow budgets.
Loci links through to your existing web pages rather than duplicating them. When your websites and services change, Loci follows the redirects and keeps residents pointed to the right place. That matches the approach Local Digital recommends — a single unified front door for residents while legacy systems keep running behind the scenes.
None. Unlike other apps, we don't require back-end integrations. There's no data migration, no API build and no single sign-on project. Councils typically get set up within weeks rather than months, which means your technology team stays focused on being safe, legal and operational for day one.
Loci is already live in every council area in England, so any county, district, borough, unitary or shadow authority can claim a page. It works particularly well where several predecessor councils need to say the same thing at the same time, each can point residents at one shared destination rather than competing channels.
Partner with us?
Join a growing network of councils committed to better local life and a collaborative approach to community engagement.