Local Government Re-organisation (LGR) and Devolution in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
The government has asked local councils to look at ways of reforming the current system of two tier county and district councils and replace it with unitary authorities who deliver all local government services. Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight are already unitary authorities. However, the government is requiring unitary councils in future to be larger organisations than those unitary authorities that already exist in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The requirement is for each authority to cover a minimum of 500,000 people. There are 15 councils which cover Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (Hampshire County Council, three unitary authorities and 11 district councils. All 15 councils did begin to work together to draw up proposals for the new unitary authorities to cover Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. All councils agreed that the Isle of Wight is a special case and should stand alone, despite not being large enough to comply with the requirement to serve 500,000 people. However, agreement soon broke down with Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council setting out their proposal and the other councils proposing a rival proposal.
Both Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council are currently consulting the public about their rival proposals and it is vital that you have your say. Explanatory information and maps of the proposed authorities are available on both consultation websites.
The consultation period for Winchester City Council proposals ends on 27th July
The consultation period for Hampshire County Council proposals ends on 17th August 2025
Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution – Winchester City Council
Local Government Reorganisation | About the Council | Hampshire County Council
Along side LGR, the government is also devolving new powers and funding down to the local level to create Strategic Authorities run by an elected mayor. This is a separate process which is running along side the local government reforms.
We are yet to receive any clarity on what this will mean for the future of parish and town councils. You know as much as we do! When information becomes available we will share it with residents via our usual channels (noticeboard, website, Facebook and parish magazine).