Confirmed: Major council restructure across Hampshire will see Portsmouth joined with its neighbouring councils
The make-up of the major council restructure across Hampshire has been revealed which will see Portsmouth joined with its neighbouring councils.
Four new councils covering larger areas will be created on the mainland, with the Isle of Wight remaining a standalone local authority, as part of the shake-up known as Local Government Reorganisation.
Portsmouth will be paired up with Fareham, Havant, Gosport, as well as the areas of Clanfield, Horndean and Rowlands Castle which currently sit under East Hampshire District Council, and the Newlands area of Waterlooville, also known as Berewood, which currently comes under Winchester.
This allays fears that Waterlooville would effectively remain split in two, governed by two very different councils.
Southampton, Eastleigh, the Waterside area of the New Forest and southern parts of Test Valley will form one council.
The rest of the New Forest will become part of a council with the remaining Test Valley, East Hampshire and Winchester areas.
The north of the county will see Basingstoke and Deane combined with Hart and Rushmoor.
Hampshire County Council leader Nick Adams-King revealed the details, with the government set to be announcing its decision this afternoon. It comes after months of uncertainty and rows over the best approach.
Four different merger options were put forward by the region’s existing local authorities. The option favoured by ministers was the preference of local authorities in Eastleigh, Fareham, Hart, Havant, Portsmouth and Southampton.
The only subject with unanimous backing was for the Isle of Wight staying a separate council.
New Forest District Council was strongly opposed to seeing its area split up across two new councils. The majority of councils continued to work collaboratively throughout the process, setting out the case for four local authorities on the mainland with three different configurations.
Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council focused on building their own case for a three-authority model. Gosport Borough Council refused to engage with the process and did not respond to the government’s consultation on a preferred option.
The new unitary authorities are set to take over services from April 2028.
Elections for shadow authorities, which will prepare for the implementation date, will be held in May next year.
The mergers, known as local government reorganisation, are being brought forward as part of the Labour government’s move to end the two-tier structure.
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