Councillors in Havant have backed plans for the borough to create a new South East Hampshire Unitary authority with Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport.

Members of Havant Borough Council’s Cabinet met last night (25 September) and voted in favour of supporting a proposal to replace the current two-tier council structure in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight with four new unitary authorities on the mainland whilst maintaining a fifth unitary authority council for the Isle of Wight.

The proposal was one of three prepared by a cohort of 12 councils in Hampshire (including Havant) as part of the government’s Local Government Reorganisation (LGR programme). All three options were presented to Full Council on 24 September for questions and debate by all members ahead of the Cabinet vote last night.

Find out more information about the LGR programme and the three options (Option 1A was chosen).

Whilst the proposal chosen by Havant merges the borough with the areas currently covered by Portsmouth City, Fareham Borough and Gosport Borough councils, it also recommends making some boundary changes. The government set a range of criteria around financial sustainability, population size, housing and service provision and community identity that new unitary councils must meet. Analysis of all available data related to these issues indicated that a new South East Hampshire Unitary authority would be most viable if the parishes of Newlands, Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle were included within its boundary, and this is the option supported by Havant Borough Council.

Eleven of the 12 councils who jointly produced the business case and proposals have voted on them now, with the exception of New Forest District Council, which is due to vote later today (Friday, 26 September). The Isle of Wight Council voted against submitting the business case or a preferred option. Once all votes have taken place, the business case for the three options and the voting decision from each council will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government who will choose which option to proceed with. The business case can be read by clicking on the following link: LGR business case.

Leader of Havant Borough Council, Councillor Phil Munday, said: “The reason we applied to join the government’s Devolution Priority Programme back in January 2025 was to give us the best chance of designing a new, local government structure that will deliver the best services and facilities for people in Havant.

“We wanted to work closely and proactively with our colleagues in neighbouring councils to gather the fullest evidence and build the best possible case for a new council structure that will meet the needs of our communities.

“I believe that Option 1A is in the best interests of the people in Havant and our neighbouring areas and throughout this year, we have built excellent working relationships with our colleagues in Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport that I know will stand us in excellent stead if we are given the go ahead to create a new South East Hampshire Unitary authority.

“It is fair to say that there are differences of opinion both within councils and within the wider community about LGR, what it should look like and whether it should even happen.

“It’s important that these different views are taken into consideration and that people’s doubts, concerns and questions are addressed and reflected in the final proposal. For this reason, although it was a Cabinet decision to support Option 1A, we debated it first at Full Council so that all members could inform the decision-making process.

“I hope that whatever side of the debate people are on, they know that we have done our utmost to deliver a plan that will maximise the benefits of LGR for Havant and deliver the best possible services for our residents.”

Havant Borough Council: 26 September