There are more warnings that a major shake-up of Hampshire’s councils will bring disruption and uncertainty – though there could eventually be some benefits.

It comes as Hampshire County Council approved the joint submission of the interim local reorganisation plan.

In collaboration with 11 districts and boroughs and the three unitary authorities in Hampshire, the county council has developed the interim plan, which will be jointly submitted to the government on behalf of all 15 councils by March 21.

After this, further work will take place collectively over the coming months to agree on final proposals to be submitted in the autumn as the government wants to replace the current mix of two-tier systems and unitary councils across the country with larger unitaries that will deliver all of an area’s services.

Hampshire County Council has established a set of guiding principles for local government reorganisation that reflect its role as the region’s primary provider of local government services.

These principles included delivering “efficient” and “high-quality” public services and enhancing service delivery through reforms while avoiding “unnecessary fragmentation”, the council said.

The council also said it is dedicated to protecting users, especially vulnerable children and adults.

To ensure financial sustainability and resilience, the new authorities should be “large enough” to endure financial challenges and manage significant cost drivers such as demographic changes and social deprivation – and the government is setting the minimum number of residents at 500,000.

Cabinet papers said that no preferred proposal is being recommended, but three early options for Hampshire’s ‘mainland’ have been evaluated—meaning the councils would be merged into two, three, or four new authorities.

Rows have broken out at several councils over the plans, including at New Forest District Council where there are fears the area could be split in two.

Speaking at the county council cabinet meeting, Carolyn Williamson, chief executive, said the decision marked “an important first milestone” for Hampshire and the Solent area.

Mrs Williamson said that with the rise in demand for services such as adult and child care or educational needs, LGR won’t solve that crisis—“we know that”— but “it will help the local government system to be more efficient and effective through transformation and removal of duplication”.

Responding to the question about the mayor’s responsibilities, to be introduced under separate devolution plans, Mrs Williamson said there is a lot of confusion about “who is going to do what in the new landscape”.

After the debate, council leader Nick Adams-King said that although local government reorganisation will “eventually” bring benefits, in the short term, it will also create an “additional burden for us” and “inevitably” bring “disruption” and “uncertainty”.

All 15 councils agreed to submit one plan today, March 21. In the meantime, councils will continue to deliver business-as-usual, which remain unchanged until reorganisation is complete.

At today’s county council cabinet, the council also approved the submission of the response in relation to the consultation launched by the government about the establishment of the mayoral combined authority.

The timeline provided by the government includes the following milestones about local government reorganisation (LGR) for councils included in the devolution priority programme:

− April-September 2025: feedback from government on interim plans and to support final proposal development.
− September 26 2025: submission of final LGR proposal.
− January-April 2026: Government decision on LGR proposals.
− May 2026: Mayoral election.
− July-August 2026: LGR legislation prepared and laid.
– A year of shadow combined authority from May 2027 to May 2028.
− May-December 2027: Any transitional legislation needed to be prepared and laid.
− April 2028: new Unitary Authorities go live.