Shropshire's move to unitary status has been confirmed by the government.
It means the county council and five district and borough councils will be scrapped and replaced with a single all-purpose authority.
Unitary councils will also take over in Wiltshire, Cornwall, Durham and Northumberland.
Local Government Minister John Healey said the move would lead to annual savings of �75m. Elections in Shropshire will be held in May 2009.
The announcement comes despite a challenge to the plans due to be heard by the Court of Appeal.
A two-and-a-half day hearing will start on 28 or 29 January in front of Lords Justice Waller, Richards and Lloyd.
The initial case by Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and Congleton Borough Council, which argued the government acted unlawfully when inviting bids for unitary status, was rejected at the original hearing in September.
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