Options being considered by other councils in Hampshire

An alternative option being submitted to government by Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council have been published. This option would see Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor areas as part of a larger unitary council.

The councils’ preferred proposal recommends the creation of three unitary councils for mainland Hampshire, alongside the Isle of Wight remaining separate as an island unitary authority.

Their proposals would see new councils covering the areas as follows:

• Mid-North: Basingstoke and Deane, East Hampshire, Hart, Rushmoor and Winchester
• West: Eastleigh, New Forest, Southampton and Test Valley
• South-East: Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth
• Isle of Wight

This proposal would see the Basingstoke and Deane area become part of a bigger area, compared with other proposals to create a new council bringing together Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor.

The image below shows how our recommended proposal compares with the preferred proposal being considered by Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council.

Response to options being considered by other councils

Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cllr Paul Harvey said: “Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council’s proposal simply doesn’t get it. Local councils need to be as close to people as possible and large enough to deliver services effectively. For us we believe that is a North Hampshire council bringing our area together with Hart and Rushmoor.

“Their proposal includes Basingstoke and Deane in a council bigger in population than the City of Sheffield, bigger in geographic area than Greater London or Greater Manchester.

“It would create the third and fourth largest councils in the country. Only Leeds and Birmingham would be bigger Too remote and not local.

“It’s not a surprise that the county council proposal would seek to keep as much of the county together under one enormous and remote authority. They’ve actually made the case for us, as our North Hampshire is small enough to stay connected to people who would benefit from the services they get delivered under ‘one roof’ by a single local council. This is the choice the government has and we are making the case for a North Hampshire that keeps our residents’ local council local.”

Local voices matter - a better way to reorganise local government

Joint statement by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, 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.

Hampshire County Council has published its case for a future of only three, large-scale, councils across the county.

Their proposal risks creating remote, oversized councils, cut off from the places and people they serve. Our communities deserve better.

Here’s what the 12 councils working together across Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight believe:

• Local people should shape local decisions

Making councils bigger makes it harder for residents to influence decisions that affect their daily lives, like school places, adult social care, housing and transport.

• Biggest doesn’t mean best

Services like social care and special educational needs are already under pressure. Proposing three large councils won’t fix that. The evidence shows that larger public authorities don’t guarantee better services, and they often feel more distant and harder to access for local people.

• There’s a better way

The councils working together across Hampshire and the Solent are putting forward proposals for five unitary authorities (four on the mainland and one; the Isle of Wight) that are:

• large enough to succeed, with the capacity to deliver joined-up services and value for money
• small enough to care, rooted in real places and responsive to the communities they serve

Smaller councils already prove this can work. They deliver high-performing services like waste collection, housing, and local regeneration. They respond quickly to local needs, support diverse communities, and work closely with local businesses, schools and voluntary groups. This isn’t theory, it’s how we work every day.

We already work together at scale when it makes sense; like through Project Integra, our long-standing waste partnership across Hampshire. We collaborate to save money and improve services, without losing the local accountability and flexibility our communities value.

• Local identity should count

Real communities are shaped around sense of place and how people actually live, where they travel, learn, work and access services. This is why we are asking people to tell us about these things and share their views on our three options.

Crucially, Hampshire County Council’s own research shows people feel most connected to their immediate neighbourhoods, not large remote councils, and that many fear LGR will reduce their sense of local identity, weaken local representation, and make services harder to access. For the services people rely on every day, like roads and travel, local understanding matters. A single, county-wide approach can’t reflect the needs of such a diverse area. Our proposed model allows services to be designed and delivered around real communities, not a one-size-fits-all system.

• Local democracy needs more than ‘token localism’

HCC’s plan for district area panels and locality teams within super-sized councils isn’t enough risks creating powerless talking shops. Communities need genuine decision-making power at neighbourhood level, with frontline councillors supported to lead and shape local priorities.

We are committed to creating councils that are simpler, stronger and more local, not just bigger. And we will continue working together to build a future that reflects the people and places of Hampshire and the Solent.