A legal challenge has been made over the creation of ‘super councils’ in Hampshire

A disagreement has emerged over a £500,000 legal challenge against plans to redraw the map of local government across Hampshire.

Senior councillors have traded opposing views over the county’s ongoing local government reorganisation (LGR), which will replace existing councils with new unitary authorities.

Speaking at a full Eastleigh Borough Council meeting on July 20, Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Keith House criticised Hampshire County Council’s decision to pursue a judicial review against the Government’s proposals.

placeholder image — Keith House. Image: LDRS | LDRS

He said: “The process is underway, regardless of Hampshire’s waste of half a million pounds for a judicial review on something that won’t change by them spending half a million pounds, but onwards we go.”

But Conservative county council leader Cllr Nick Adams-King has argued that the challenge is necessary to protect the financial future of the wider area.

He said: “Keith House’s comments underline just how political this reorganisation has become.

“The Government’s proposals deliver a significant financial and strategic advantage to Southampton and Eastleigh, while transferring valuable communities, major development sites and future income away from the proposed Mid Hampshire Council.

“That may suit Cllr House, but it threatens the financial resilience and long-term sustainability of the new authority that would be left behind.”

Under the LGR plans, Hampshire’s current two-tier system of county and district councils would be scrapped in favour of a smaller number of larger unitary authorities responsible for all local services.

Cllr Nick Adams-King, leader of Hampshire County Council. Image: LDRS | LDRS

Eastleigh is set to merge with Southampton, the Waterside area of the New Forest and southern parts of Test Valley to form the South West Hampshire Council. Meanwhile Portsmouth will merge with Havant, Fareham and Gosport councils as well as the villages south of Butser Hill and the Newlands area of Waterlooville.

The current LGR timeline will see elections for shadow authorities take place in May next year before the new councils go live in April 2028.

The new local government reorganisation map for Hampshire showing the councils under LGR | Contributed

Cllr Adams-King said the county council’s legal challenge was focused on forcing greater transparency.

He said: “Our judicial review is not about preserving existing councils or protecting political positions.

“It is about requiring the Government to explain the financial evidence behind its decision and testing whether that decision was reached lawfully.”

He added that while the legal budget is capped at £500,000, the stakes are far higher.

Cllr Adams-King added: “That is a substantial sum, but it must be considered against the tens, potentially hundreds, of millions of pounds that residents could ultimately lose through a structurally unsustainable reorganisation.”