Local Government Reorganisation

I am opposed to the government's enforced local reorganisation plan for Hampshire, which would split East Hampshire District Council, with Rowlands Castle, Horndean and Clanfield becoming part of a new Portsmouth-centred council area, and the rest of East Hants district joining a vast new 'Mid Hants Unitary Authority'. The Candovers would be in a 'North Hampshire' council.  

I continue to question whether there is really a rationale for these changes at all.   For a start, Ministers need to explain how they came to the decision they did. 

News

Hidden plan for higher density housing in government consultation

It is well known that East Hampshire has been subject to a huge increase in the house building target handed to it by central government.Less widely known, thus far, is a new government plan for higher housing densities near railway stations.

Why is this top down reorganisation being forced on us?

Hampshire voters will shortly be going to the polls in important County Council elections.  Who manages and delivers services for us locally really matters.But there’s a big change coming in the shape of the government’s ‘reorganisation’ of Hampshire’s local authorities.  As you will have

Take out the trash day

If you were a viewer of The West Wing, you may recall the phrase ‘Take out the trash day’.  It’s a day when either the news is so dominated by one story that other news doesn’t get much noticed, or for other reasons there is just not as much scrutiny of announcements as

Making sense of the local government shake up

Last Thursday and Friday, I joined Hampshire County Council leader, Nick Adams-King, at public meetings in Alton and Rowlands Castle to discuss the upcoming plans for devolution and local government reorganisation.It’s important to clarify that these are two distinct processes, though they are often