“In a couple of years there will be no Hampshire County Council or East Hampshire District Council. Instead the government insists local services must be run by new unitary councils, bigger than Districts but smaller than Counties.
“The government’s plan puts most of East Hampshire into a large ‘Mid Hampshire’ unitary council, along with Winchester, and much of the New Forest and Test Valley.
"But it splits East Hampshire district. The parishes of Clanfield, Horndean and Rowlands Castle instead become part of a new ‘South East Hampshire’ council area centring on Portsmouth, along with Fareham, Gosport and Havant.
“This is a top-down enforced reorganisation of local government. Local people never wanted it or sought it.
“It also wasn’t in the Labour manifesto and I have never understood why with a majority as big as they have, of all the things they could do they would choose this as a priority.
“I’ve consistently argued in parliament that while we know there will be major costs from reorganisation, the hoped-for gains are far from certain. To the extent gains could exist, that’s about scale economics. But what the government is now bringing in means councils that do not meet the government’s own stated scale requirement.
“Decisions about key things that really matter to local people – like housing development planning – will in future be taken further away from them.
“I very much regret the government ploughing on with this, despite all the calls for caution.”
Damian Hinds
25th March 2026
Links:
Written statement from the Secretary of State:
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
See a map of the future council areas here:
Local Government Reorganisation | About the Council | Hampshire County Council
Damian’s recent article ‘Bins, Bills and Boundaries’:
Damian’s Westminster Hall speech on local government reorganisation in Hampshire: