No decision yet on replacing Basingstoke and Deane; one is promised by early 2027. Leader Paul Harvey says North Hampshire is still the best choice.

The government has still not decided whether Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council will be replaced. But it has now promised an answer by early next year.

If a new council does go ahead, it would take over on 1 April 2029. That is a year later than the 2028 start set out in March.

Both points are in a letter sent on Thursday 29 October by Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, to the leaders of councils in six areas. Hampshire is one of them. (MHCLG, review letter to 6 areas, 29 October 2026)

What the letter says

“We can confirm that no new decisions have been taken in your areas so far,” the minister wrote. “For the avoidance of doubt, all options and proposals in your area will remain under consideration as part of the review.”

For Basingstoke, that means:

  • No decision yet. The North Hampshire Council plan withdrawn on 7 September has not been brought back, and nothing has replaced it.
  • Every option is still open. That includes the North Hampshire plan the borough backed, and the larger councils its leader has argued against.
  • An answer by early 2027. The government says some of the 15 areas under review will get an outcome by Christmas, and “every area will have an outcome announced by early next year”. It does not say which areas come first.
  • May 2027 elections go ahead to the existing borough council.
  • If reorganisation happens, the first elections to new councils would be in May 2028, with the new councils taking over on 1 April 2029.

The minister also said the review had concluded that “the basis of the programme is robust”. The government “remains committed to delivering Local Government Reorganisation”, using the criteria it set in February 2025.

Timeline. 25 March 2026: decision to create a North Hampshire Council, vesting 1 April 2028. 7 September 2026: decision withdrawn and programme review begins. 29 October 2026: no new decision for Hampshire, all options still open. By Christmas: outcomes for another set of the 15 areas under review. Early 2027: every area, Hampshire included, has an outcome announced. May 2027: elections go ahead to the existing borough council. May 2028: first elections to any new councils. 1 April 2029: vesting day, a year later than planned.
Graphic by Basingstoke Online. Source: MHCLG letters to council leaders, 25 March, 7 September and 29 October 2026.
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How Hampshire got here

On 25 March the government decided to replace the county’s councils with four new ones on the mainland. Basingstoke and Deane would have joined Hart and Rushmoor in a North Hampshire Council from 1 April 2028. (Decision letter, 25 March 2026)

That decision was withdrawn on 7 September, along with those for Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. We reported the withdrawal at the time.

Thursday’s letter adds nine more areas to the review. Their decisions, made in July, were withdrawn the same day. Among them are Kent, Hertfordshire and Devon. Five other areas were given “minded to” decisions instead. (MHCLG, review update letters to council leaders, 29 October 2026)

So Hampshire is now one of 15 areas waiting for an answer.

The money

The borough has spent money on the reorganisation already. A motion put to full council on 15 October said the chief executive had confirmed £239,000 in net direct costs committed so far, “including invoices and work commissioned but not yet paid for”. The motion asked the leader to write to the Prime Minister seeking that money back. (Council updates, amendments and questions, 15 October 2026) The council has not yet published the minutes recording how members voted on it.

The letter offers part of an answer. Each new council named in the March decision was due £900,000 in transition support. The government will now pay half of that, £450,000 per new council, “in the coming weeks”. It says the money is guaranteed and “not contingent on the outcome of the Review”. The rest follows only when final decisions are made.

The letter does not say how the money will be shared between the councils in each area.

What the council says

The borough’s leader, Councillor Paul Harvey, responded on Friday 30 October with a call for ministers to back the North Hampshire plan. (News release 10810, 30 October 2026)

“The case for a North Hampshire unitary council is still the strongest and best choice to meet the needs of Basingstoke and Deane residents and businesses,” he said.

“We have made a thorough and robust case for a North Hampshire unitary council, and this was overwhelmingly supported by our residents, businesses, community and voluntary sector, and public service partners. This proposal was also backed by most of the councils and MPs in Hampshire.”

The March decision would have replaced Hampshire’s 14 county, city, borough and district councils with four unitary councils. Cllr Harvey argued a council the size of North Hampshire could reshape services the county runs now:

“Local government reorganisation gives the opportunity to bring services together and rethink how they are delivered. This would mean important services currently provided by Hampshire County Council, including social care and education, could be redesigned around the specific needs of North Hampshire, rather than currently being based on ‘one size fits all’ across a huge and diverse county.”

He also warned the government against the county council’s own proposal:

“The government would be rowing back on everything it has said about growth in every postcode, empowering communities and devolving power to local areas if, after the review, it were to go with the much larger and more remote unitary council for our area proposed by the county council.”

The minister told Parliament on Thursday: “I have committed to this being a full, considered review, and to giving colleagues in councils and local people clarity on their future as soon as possible.”

On 30 October the borough’s reorganisation page still said a North Hampshire Council “will be created in April 2028”, under a note that the decision had been withdrawn. Treat that date as out of date.

When the decision was withdrawn in September, Cllr Harvey said the council still believed in its North Hampshire proposal “because it gets the balance right”. “Any proposal for a larger council covering more of Hampshire would be wrong for our area,” he said. (News release 10791, 7 September 2026)

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes to your services this winter. The borough still runs bins, planning and council tax collection. Hampshire County Council still runs roads, schools and social care.
  • You vote for the borough council in May 2027, on your current ward. Make sure you are on the electoral register.
  • The earliest any new council could take over is now 1 April 2029.
  • Watch for Christmas. If Hampshire is in the first group of outcomes, the shape of the new map could be known within weeks.

We will report the outcome for Basingstoke when the government publishes it. Our council tax bands and planning news pages carry the current arrangements.

Sources