Ipswich council leaders have welcomed the Government's commitment to a unitary Borough but expressed their disappointment that the process would now be delayed.
The Borough Council said all parties remained committed to a unitary future and would offer to help other councils in Suffolk to draw up their own unitary models.
Secretary of State Hazel Blears confirmed that Ministers believed Ipswich has a strong case for a unitary council but has asked the Boundary Committee to look at proposals for the rest of the county - including cross-border arrangements between Norfolk and Suffolk.
The Council is surprised that a Department for Communities & Local Government statement had said Ipswich had not met Ministers' financial targets. "Our finance case has been approved on no less than four occasions," said a spokesman.
The Council stressed that the unitary project was still on course but that, like Norwich and Exeter, would now be delayed.
Council Leader Councillor Liz Harsant said: "We have not got all the detail yet but the principle of a unitary Ipswich still stands and we are pleased about that. We have always said that unitary councils are the best form of local government so we are glad that the rest of Suffolk will now have the same opportunity as Ipswich to go unitary. We will now build on the close relationships we have built up with our neighbours and the county and will help them with their own plans where we can."
The DCLG statement said Ipswich and Exeter had not demonstrated conclusively that based on current boundaries that they "present a sound financial case on their own".
But it added: "We believe, having regard to Exeter and Ipswich, and the strength of their proposals in other respects, that there could be alternative unitary proposals covering the whole or part of the wider county area which would achieve those outcomes."