In March the Government chose a new structure for local government in Hampshire that would see four new unitary authorities on the mainland. Most of East Hampshire was to join forces with the areas covered by Winchester City Council, Test Valley Borough Council, and New Forest District Council. Horndean, Rowlands Castle and Clanfield would be incorporated in the new South East Unitary Authority. Today (Monday 7th Sept) the Government has put a hold on this restructuring and withdrawn the order to progress it.

EHDC Leader Cllr Richard Millard accused the Government of wasting millions of pounds of public money after it pulled plans for local government reorganisation.
He said the Government’s restructure of local government was doomed from the outset and that councils should be recompensed for resources spent on a ‘pie-in-the-sky idea’.
In March, the Government decided to dissolve the 14 councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and re-form them into five unitary authorities, to be started in 2028. The decision was intended to make local government in the county simpler and more efficient. However, on Monday, all councils received a letter to say that the process was being paused and the decision withdrawn.
Cllr Richard Millard, Leader of EHDC, said: “What a colossal waste of tax payers’ money. The Government’s approach to LGR has been one costly, chaotic car crash.
The amount of work and resources involved in unifying the services of councils across Hampshire has been absolutely astronomical. It is difficult to overstate the volume of resources it has soaked up.
I said on the day the decision was made that the option chosen by the Government was not right for Hampshire, that it did not follow the Government’s own criteria and that it was the worst option for Hampshire. They didn’t listen to any of the Hampshire politicians who said from the outset that it wouldn’t work. Instead, they arrogantly pressed on, completely disregarding dissenting voices. They have ploughed their own furrow, but it is the people of Hampshire that will reap the bitter harvest of this costly fiasco.”

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