Councils in Hampshire told to 'put their best case forward' in local authority restructure
The proposed shake up will see the formation of larger unitary authorities to deliver all council services.
Last updated 2nd Apr 2025
Councils have been told to put their best case forward if they cannot reach consensus on an acceptable restructure for Hampshire’s local authorities.
Ministers are pressing ahead on plans for major local government reorganisation in England, which will bring about the end of two-tier structures.
The proposed shake up will see the formation of larger unitary authorities to deliver all council services.
In Hampshire and the Solent, there is currently one county, three unitary and 11 district and borough councils.
Last month, civic leaders submitted an interim plan to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out “guiding principles” but with no suggested geography for new unitary authorities.
There are differing views across the region. For example New Forest councillors favour a rural focused authority and hold concerns Southampton wants to split the district in two, while Hampshire County Council is leaning towards two or three “very large” councils.
During a visit to Southampton to discuss devolution, local government minister Jim McMahon was asked what approach the government would take if there was no agreement at a local level.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that proposals have to “recognise and reflect” the communities the councils will serve.
A strong “anchor” that made sense to residents alongside authorities being of size and scale that is sustainable were areas highlighted by the minister.
Mr McMahon said every council had to find a way to deliver services and engage with communities to they can affect change in the areas they live.
“Reorganisation won’t affect that, in many ways it probably should make it better,” he said.
“As for the proposals, obviously government has a role in the statutory process potentially taking a view on competing proposals and so we don’t form a view on the size of councils, on the shape of the geography, on which different councils may or may not come together because we reserve that for a later stage but we are saying, where there can be agreement, then we would encourage local areas to work together.
“Where there is difference and in some places there will be legitimate difference, then put you best case forward.”
An area of agreement across Hampshire is that the Isle of Wight should remain a “distinct” standalone council despite being significantly below the proposed 500,000 population figure.
The government has set councils a deadline of September 26 to make final submissions on local government reorganisation.
Southampton City Council leader Cllr Lorna Fielker, who met with the minister during his visit on Tuesday, April 1, said: “We want to ensure that the new local authorities created make sense for the residents based on a range of priorities which will include things such as community identity and travel to work areas.
“We are working closely with the other local authorities in Hampshire and the Solent region on what this could look like before submitting proposals for government to make a decision on later in the year.”