In February 2025, the government set out its plans for local government reorganisation. For Hampshire and the Isle of Wight this would mean replacing Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council and all the district and borough councils, including our council, with unitary councils of population sizes of around 500,000, although lower numbers will be considered.
The aim is to make it clear to residents and businesses who is responsible for all local government services in an area and ensuring better outcomes for local people by having one council delivering the majority of local services.
Basingstoke and Deane is part of a two-tier structure which the government wants to move away from to simplify local government for residents.
Basingstoke and Deane is a district council and is responsible for determining planning applications, collecting rubbish and recycling, keeping your streets clean and tidy, allocating affordable housing and homelessness prevention, licensing and other services and activities.
Hampshire County Council is responsible for services including schools, social services, public transport, highways, waste disposal, trading standards and more.
The video below provides more information about the services currently delivered by Basingstoke and Deane, Hampshire County Council and parish and town councils.
The creation of new unitary councils would mean all these responsibilities would be merged and delivered by new unitary councils for each area of Hampshire.
In March 2025, all 15 councils across Hampshire submitted a joint interim plan to the government. This set out key principles the councils would work to in order to develop options for new councils. It followed the agreement of Cabinet and Council to approve the interim joint plan and make the case for four new unitary councils for mainland Hampshire including one council for north Hampshire.
We worked with 11 other councils across Hampshire to develop proposals to best deliver services, drive economic growth for the area and meet the government’s criteria for reorganisation.
The other councils are Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council, Isle of Wight Council, New Forest District Council, Portsmouth City Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, Southampton City Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council.
The proposals would replace the current 15 councils with four new unitary councils on the mainland, keeping the Isle of Wight as its own unitary council as it currently is.
We want to ensure the proposals put forward are in the best interests of the people in Basingstoke and Deane and do not compromise the ability of residents to shape their local priorities in the future.
Under the current timetable, final proposals put forward will be considered by the government in spring 2026. New unitary councils will then take over from April 2028.
Here are the key dates as part of the government’s timetable for reorganisation in Hampshire:
| Key date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 26 September 2025 | Detailed proposal for local government reorganisation to be submitted to the government |
| Winter 2025 | Government consultation on options before final decision on structure of new councils in Hampshire |
| May 2026 | Elections expected for Mayoral elections |
| Autumn 2026 | Structural Change Order likely to go through Parliament. This is a legal document to facilitate the restructuring of local government and outlines the transitional arrangements, governance structures, and other necessary provisions for implementing structural changes. |
| May 2027 | Elections to new shadow unitary councils. |
| 1 April 2028 | Vesting (launch) day for new unitaries created as part of the local government reorganisation programme. |
Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. The government has set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. It has indicated that for most areas this will mean creating unitary councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.
Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. Local government reorganisation is about how the responsibilities and funding that sit with local government are organised between councils.
The government’s long-term vision is for simpler structures, which make it much clearer for residents who they should look to on local issues, alongside more strategic decisions to unlock growth and deliver more joined up services for communities. The government believes that devolution over a large strategic geography, alongside local government reorganisation, can drive economic growth while delivering optimal public services.
The government has indicated that it intends new unitary authorities to take over from existing councils in April 2028.
All of the same services would still be provided, but by newly-formed unitary authorities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight instead of the 15 councils that currently cover the area – one county council, three unitary authorities and 11 district councils.
Those councils are Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, Isle of Wight Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, East Hampshire District Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council, New Forest District Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council.
The final decision on how local government will be structured in Hampshire and Isle of Wight in the future will lie with central government. We expect this to be decided in spring 2026.
Unitary authorities are a single tier of local government responsible for all local services in an area. They may cover a whole county, part of a county or a large town or city. For example, London boroughs are all unitary authorities.
This will be decided by the government. We are working with 11 other councils across Hampshire to develop options that would best deliver services, drive economic growth for the area and meet the government’s criteria for reorganisation.
Based on the research from a joint data-led process and to meet the government criteria, all options being considered by the group of 12 councils recommend a four unitary model for mainland Hampshire.
This would see four new unitary councils created to replace the existing mainland councils, focused on the four major urban economies and population centres of Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester and Basingstoke and the surrounding areas.
There are many other areas of the country that have unitary authorities rather than county and district councils, including London, Manchester, Leeds, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Dorset, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire.
Parish and town councils will not be affected structurally by the changes. They will not be abolished.
The government’s white paper states that local government plays an essential role in convening local partners around neighbourhoods to ensure that community voices are represented, and people have influence over their place and their valued community assets.
While we move forward with local government reorganisation, working alongside the other authorities within Hampshire and Isle of Wight, we will continue to deliver the very best services we can for our residents.
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