This ambition was spelt out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July 2019, just days after being elected by the Conservative Party in place of Theresa May.

Mr Johnson said: "I recognise that when the British people voted to leave the European Union (EU), they were not just voting against Brussels – they were voting against London too and against all concentrations of power in remote centres.

"Taking back control doesn’t just apply to Westminster regaining sovereignty from the EU, it means our cities, counties and towns becoming more self-governing.

"It means people taking more responsibility for their own communities."

The Prime Minister's vision is shared by Coun Gary Porter, leader of South Holland District Council, who said: "We've had a strong view that devolution would be good for the people because it would give them more local control over services they currently don't have control over.

"In terms of devolved powers, some things that happen in people's lives and are decided by civil servants at Westminster would be decided by elected politicians in Lincolnshire."

Currently, council tax payers in South Holland help fund three layers (or tiers) of councils across the area.

Parish councils, such as Crowland, Donington, Holbeach, Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge, look after allotments, bus shelters, cemeteries, play areas and war memorials.

These councils would be unaffected by the Government's plans to transfer powers and give more money to regions like Lincolnshire.

However, district and borough councils, including South Holland, Boston (which serves Fosdyke, Kirton and Sutterton) and South Kesteven (for Bourne, Market Deeping and their surrounding villages), would be reorganised.

At the moment, these councils are responsible for services, such as planning applications, alcohol licensing, waste collection and environmental health.

But if devolution happens, the seven district councils in Lincolnshire would become part of one, two or three new authorities that would also include Scunthorpe-based North Lincolnshire Council and Grimsby-based North East Lincolnshire Council.

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Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings.

Coun Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: "Since the general election of December 2019, it's always been on the Government's agenda to see a levelling up of the regions.

"Council leaders in Lincolnshire were invited to have a conversation with the Government about our plans because so much work was done in 2016.

"But the Government has made it clear that if a devolution deal is to be accepted, there would be two main conditions.

"The first is that we would have a directly elected mayor and the second is reorganisation where we would get rid of one tier of local government."

In this event, Lincolnshire County Council, which currently looks after child education, highways and transport, trading standards, libraries, waste recycling and adult social care, would go the same way as district councils and be replaced by one or more mayoral-led authorities.

More details about the possible fate of district and county councils in Lincolnshire are due to be set out by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCHLG), the branch of central government responsible for devolution, after MPs return to Parliament on September 1.

An MCHLG spokesman said: "We are in discussions with the Greater Lincolnshire councils about devolution and local government reorganisation.

"The devolution agenda is a key part of helping to drive economic growth and deliver our ambition to level up opportunity and living standards across the country."

MP's doubts over shake-up of councils

One of the first people who may find out what the future holds for Lincolnshire's district and county councils, along with their members, is South Holland and the Deepings MP, Sir John Hayes.

He said: "There's a really good case for thinking creatively and being imaginative about how we can deliver a better service for people through local councils cooperating and collaborating with each other.

"That's good for local people because it means that councils will save money and, therefore, charge less for what it does through council tax.

"But in terms of structural reorganisation, I've never been that convinced it will make as much of a difference as it's intended to make.

"At a time when the country will go through some very challenging and difficult circumstances, I'm not sure it's all that wise to focus on changing the structure of governance.

"It's like moving the deckchairs on a ship when it's in rough waters.

"But if it does happen, the critical thing is to make sure that whatever the form of local government in Lincolnshire, the services provided are in tandem with local needs and that power is exercised as closely to where people are as possible.

How devolution fell the first time around

South Holland District Council leader Coun Gary Porter called it "probably the biggest missed opportunity for Lincolnshire that I have seen in any of my 15 years as a councillor".

That was in December 2016, weeks after county councillors decisively rejected plans for what would have been a Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

South Kesteven District Council also voted against the same deal which meant that, under the Government's "all or nothing" plans, it was "dead and buried".

Crowland district and county councillor Nigel Pepper, who abstained when the county council voted in October 2016, said: "While additional funding and devolved powers appealed to me, and would have been welcomed, the prospect of having a mayor, associated entourage and costs did not."