Proposals for the best way to reorganise councils in Hampshire

In response to the government’s plans, all 15 councils across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight worked with experts to carry out a detailed assessment of the options for unitary councils against the government criteria and agreed guiding principles through an evidence-driven process, involving 44 metrics using a large amount of economic, community, service and financial data.

This process assessed eight options in depth for between two and five unitary councils to replace the existing councils. The assessment showed that four unitary councils for mainland Hampshire would best meet the government criteria and the guiding principles.

Following this, Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District Council and Gosport Borough Council announced they were leaving the joint process.

The remaining 12 councils agreed to work up into full business case proposals for three variations of four unitary councils for mainland Hampshire. They are all based on having a unitary council focused on each of the four major urban economies of Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester and Basingstoke and their surrounding areas.

Extensive consultation with residents living in each of the 12 areas to gather feedback on the options has helped to inform the proposal.

Over 2,799 responses were received from residents across Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor to a survey launched by the three councils to understand local views. These overwhelmingly supported creating a unitary council for north Hampshire bringing together the three areas and providing all services to residents.

Our proposal to government

The joint proposal submitted to government, entitled Close enough to be local, big enough to stay strong, from 11* of the 15 councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is now available to view below.

Submitted to government on Friday 26 September, it sets out how creating four new unitary councils for mainland Hampshire to replace the existing 14 councils, with the Isle of Wight remaining an independent island unitary council, would save at least £63.9 million a year.

It proposes three different options for four new unitary councils for mainland Hampshire, at an average population size of 500,000, grouped around the major centres of Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester and Basingstoke. The Isle of Wight would stay its own island unitary authority, as it currently is.

The proposals, for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area as a whole, are designed to better drive economic growth, deliver redesigned public services tailored to local needs and empower communities by enabling residents to shape local decisions. The proposals are also backed by the 11* councils as the best way to unlock and maximise devolution arrangements with the new councils working effectively with the Isle of Wight Council and the new elected Mayor for the whole region.

*Although the Isle of Wight Council has been fully involved in developing the proposals set out in this case and remain supportive of the approach in the proposals to include the Isle of Wight as an independent unitary authority, in September they felt unable to endorse a specific proposal that relates to councils on the mainland. The Isle of Wight Council is continuing to liaise with the government to confirm its position.

View the full proposal - Close enough to be local, big enough to stay strong

Foreword and Executive Summary

1. Our approach to assessing the options and developing this proposal

2. Our vision for four mainland unitary authorities and the Isle of Wight

3. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – the areas, economies, and partnership working

4. How our model meets the government criteria

5. Isle of Wight case for remaining as an existing unitary council

6. Alignment of our proposal to other government priority policy areas

7. Financial Case

8. Implementation Plan

Appendices

The three options (option 1, option 2 and option 1A) in our joint proposal submitted to government

Two of the options are based on amalgamating existing council areas whilst the third includes some potential boundary changes but they would not affect the north Hampshire area.

All the variations include a northern Hampshire unitary council encompassing the existing boroughs and districts of Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor. They also all include the Isle of Wight remaining separate as an island unitary authority.

The outline of the three option variations of the four new mainland and Isle of Wight unitary model is shown below:

Option 1

Option 2

Option 1A

During an Extraordinary Council meeting held on Thursday 25 September, Basingstoke and Deane Borough councillors voted to support option one of the proposals for four new unitary councils for mainland Hampshire.

What would this mean for Basingstoke and Deane

All three options included in the 11 councils’ joint submission to government would see the creation of a new unitary council for north Hampshire, bringing together the Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor areas.

A new council for north Hampshire would:

Deliver joined up services under one roof

It would deliver all local services currently delivered by Basingstoke and Deane and Hampshire County Council as part of one organisation, making it easier for residents to access services.

This would build on successful shared service arrangements already in place in north Hampshire, including waste collection and street cleaning services and other joint initiatives between Basingstoke, Hart and Rushmoor.

A new council for north Hampshire would be well placed to design and deliver joined up serviced that are tailored to meet local needs and financially sustainable for the future.  

Be close to the communities it would serve

It would focus on north Hampshire and would be more responsive to local needs and better able to maintain the unique character of the area, protecting residents’ sense of place and local identity.   

It would be local enough to understand communities’ needs and give them a real say in shaping decisions.  

Drive economic growth

Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor form a natural economic geography across north Hampshire. Our economies are closely connected and look out of Hampshire towards London unlike most of the rest of Hampshire that looks to the coastal cities of Portsmouth and Southampton.

Northern Hampshire is already home to established businesses including BMW, BAE Systems, The AA, Fujitsu, Serco, Sony Europe, Eli Lilly and Company, Qinetiq, AWE and Network Rail.  

Our strategic position on the M3 corridor, connecting Basingstoke, Fleet, Farnborough and Aldershot, provides a natural corridor for economic and commuter activity. It provides an opportunity to maximise the area’s full economic potential by unlocking barriers to their growth, generating more high value local jobs and retaining talent in North Hampshire.