The Fareham Borough Council Executive met to discuss and approve the submission of a proposal for local government reorganisation (LGR) in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to the government. The Executive supported the base case proposal and agreed to submit it on behalf of the council, including a request to modify the proposal to support option 1A, conditional on government approval. Authority was delegated to the Chief Executive Officer to make minor changes to ensure legal compliance and reflect the support of the 12 councils involved.

Local Government Reorganisation

The main item discussed was the proposal for local government reorganisation in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, with a submission deadline to the government of 26 September 2025.

The Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution required principal councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to develop proposals for reorganisation of local government structures in the area. An interim submission was made by all 15 councils, and a range of options were developed. As the case developed, three councils withdrew from the joint work, but the remaining 12 councils continued to work together to prepare a joint base case proposal for four unitary councils on the mainland with the Isle of Wight remaining in its current form.

The report summarised the process of developing the LGR proposal for submission by Fareham Borough Council and other local authorities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It sought approval from the Executive to submit the proposal in line with government requirements, with the preferred option being the option 1A boundary change option (referenced as option 3 in the published proposal).

The Executive was asked to consider the six criteria against which the government will assess proposals:

• A proposal should seek to achieve for the whole of the area concerned the establishment of a single tier of local government.
• Unitary local government must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.
• Unitary structures must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens.
• Proposals should show how Councils in the area have sought to work together in coming to a view that meets local needs and is informed by local views.
• New unitary structures must support devolution arrangements.
• New unitary structures should enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment.

The report also noted the alternative proposal developed by Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council, stating that it:

raises doubts about the effectiveness of representing and meeting the differing needs of local people (criteria 4 and 6). Managing a diverse range of services across such a large and varied area is complex and expensive, which could affect both their financial sustainability and reduce the quality of services they are able to deliver (criteria 2 and 3).

The report recommended that the Executive:

• Supports the base case proposal for local government reorganisation as set out in appendix 4;
• Agrees to submit the base case proposal on behalf of Fareham Borough Council and supports option 1A (option 3 in the published case) but wholly conditional upon a formal request to Government as part of the Council's submission to undertake a modification to permit option 1A as outlined in the proposal documents; and
• Delegates authority to the Chief Executive Officer, following consultation with the Executive Leader, to agree minor changes on behalf of the Council, where such minor changes are considered necessary to ensure legal compliance and accurately reflects the support of each of the 12 councils.

The Executive agreed to the recommendations.

The report noted that the cost of preparing the full proposal has been shared equally by 12 Councils and is not expected to exceed £40,000 for this Council, and that the Council has received government funding of £20,416 towards these costs.

Councillor Simon Martin, Executive Leader & Executive Member for Policy and Resources, was delegated the authority to make minor changes to the proposal.

The full base case proposal, entitled Close enough to be local big enough to stay strong , sets out the case for creating a new local government structure in Hampshire that comprises four mainland unitary councils. The four new unitary Councils would serve an average population size of 500,000, provide scale where it is needed to reduce costs, while still being connected to the communities they serve.

The report also included a briefing paper from Andrew Wannell, Chief Executive Officer, that provided further detail on the proposal, including:

• The background to the LGR process
• The approach taken to developing the proposal
• The case for change
• Consultation and engagement activities
• Alternative options
• Legal considerations
• Financial implications
• Next steps
• Environmental considerations

The briefing paper noted that the option that is considered to be the most balanced and offering the broadest marginal benefits is option 3 in the case for change.

The briefing paper also noted that a range of consultation and engagement activities has been carried out to inform the proposal, including engagement with residents, businesses, key partners and stakeholders.

The briefing paper set out the alternative options considered, including:

• Do Nothing
• An Alternative Structure

The briefing paper stated that the proposal developed by Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council can be found at www.hants.gov.uk.

The briefing paper concluded that the Executive should approve the full proposal for submission, including the Council's primary support for option 3 within the proposal, to government as it best meets the government criteria and will best support communities in Fareham and across the county into the future.

Executive Leader's Announcements

The Executive Leader made announcements regarding the council website and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The Executive Leader was pleased to share that the Council website has undergone a significant redesign, bringing a host of improvements that will benefit both residents and local businesses.

Fareham Borough Council is proud to announce that Cremer Mall, located on West Street Fareham, will be illuminated in Gold throughout September in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The Executive Leader recognised the recent achievement of Councillor Fred Birkett, Executive Member for Housing, who had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Charity Sophie's Legacy.

Motions

The Executive considered a motion on Protecting local Climate and Nature by making Devolution work for Climate and Nature and agreed to support the motion and report its decision back to Council.

Housing

The Executive considered a number of items related to housing, including the adoption of the Fareham Housing Allocations Policy, the Fareham Borough Council Vulnerability Policy, the Fareham Housing Battery Powered Mobility Aids Policy, the acquisition of land at Wynton Way and funding for self/custom build plots at Sea Lane, and the Fareham Housing Later Living Strategy.

Health and Public Protection

The Executive approved the Air Quality Strategy 2025 - 2030 for adoption, delegating authority to the Director of Neighbourhoods to make any final amendments prior to publication.