Basingstoke and Deane is no longer due to be abolished in April 2028. The government withdrew the North Hampshire Council decision on 7 September.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is no longer due to be abolished on 1 April 2028. On Monday 7 September the government withdrew its decision to merge the borough with Hart and Rushmoor into a new North Hampshire Council.

The next local elections change with it. Polls due in May 2027 will now go ahead on existing council boundaries. Under the withdrawn plan they would have been the first elections to the new council.

The withdrawal is in a letter to council leaders from Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth. (Programme review and decisions withdrawal letter, 7 September 2026)

What has been withdrawn

The government decided Hampshire’s new map on 25 March 2026. It would have replaced the county’s councils with four new ones on the mainland, plus a standalone Isle of Wight. (Decision letter, 25 March 2026)

For Basingstoke, the plan meant:

  • a North Hampshire Council covering Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor
  • the borough council and Hampshire County Council both abolished on 1 April 2028
  • the new council taking over bins, planning, roads, schools and social care in one body

An implementation letter followed on 31 March. It said North Hampshire would have 85 councillors, first elected in May 2027 for a five-year term. Those elections would “replace any scheduled local elections in May 2027”. Each new council was to get £900,000 towards the cost of the change. (MHCLG implementation letter, 31 March 2026)

All of that is now off.

Timeline: the government decides on a North Hampshire Council on 25 March 2026; the implementation letter on 31 March sets 85 councillors and first elections in May 2027; borough and county elections are held on 7 May 2026; the council starts its annual canvass on 10 August; the decision is withdrawn on 7 September; May 2027 elections go ahead on existing boundaries; the 1 April 2028 start is no longer scheduled.
Just under 24 weeks from decision to withdrawal. Graphic by Basingstoke Online.
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

What the government says

Hampshire is one of four areas whose March decisions were withdrawn. The others are Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock; Norfolk; and Suffolk.

The letter gives two reasons:

  • the government has “listened to representations about the approach and pace of reorganisation”
  • the Secretary of State acted “following updated legal advice”

“Now is the time to pause and reflect,” Mr McMahon wrote. “It is important that this is done right.”

He will lead a review of the whole programme, including 14 decisions made in July for other parts of England. The letter sets no date for the review to finish. It promises only that “next steps are communicated early and clearly”.

It does not say reorganisation is cancelled. A new decision could still bring back a different map.

What Basingstoke’s leader says

The borough’s leader, Councillor Paul Harvey, responded the same day. (Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, news release 10791, 7 September 2026)

“It is deeply disappointing the government has decided to withdraw its decision for local government reorganisation in Hampshire,” he said. “There is no excuse for the government’s mishandling of this process.”

He said the council had been given no warning. He also said the decision was withdrawn “only 28 weeks” after it was made. By the dates, it was just under 24 weeks: 25 March to 7 September.

The council still wants the plan it backed. The March decision was based on proposals from 11 of the 15 councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, including Basingstoke and Deane. (Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, local government reorganisation)

“We believe in our proposal for North Hampshire because it gets the balance right,” Cllr Harvey said. “Any proposal for a larger council covering more of Hampshire would be wrong for our area.”

The council’s own page still says 2028

On 11 September, the council’s reorganisation page still said a North Hampshire Council “will be created in April 2028”. Its key dates table still lists:

  • “Elections to new shadow unitary councils” in May 2027
  • 1 April 2028 as vesting day for the new councils

Treat both as out of date.

Your vote in May 2027

The borough has 54 councillors in 18 wards. (Basingstoke and Deane councillors) In both May 2024 and May 2026, each ward elected one councillor. That is the pattern of a council that elects by thirds. (2026 results, 2024 results)

On that pattern, May 2027 would be an ordinary borough election for one seat in each ward. The council has not yet said so publicly.

Hampshire County Council is not part of it. Its election was postponed from 2025 and held on 7 May 2026, the same day as the borough poll. (Hampshire County Council, elections and voting)

What else leaned on 2028

The council began its annual canvass of the electoral register on 10 August. It framed the canvass around “the first elections for a new unitary council for north Hampshire next year”. (News release 10787) That framing has gone. The canvass itself has not, and canvassers still start calling at homes that have not replied from mid-October.

The Local Plan is the bigger one. On 8 September, the day after the letter, Cabinet agreed to restart the plan under the new planning system. Adoption is now set for September 2029. (Cabinet decision, 8 September 2026)

The report behind that decision was written before the withdrawal. It listed reorganisation among the reasons for the delay. It also warned that a new North Hampshire Council “may decide not to adopt” the borough’s plan. The printed decision does not mention reorganisation at all. It can be called in until 16 September. We covered the plan in detail on 31 August and have updated that article.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes to your services. The borough still runs bins, planning and council tax collection. Hampshire County Council still runs roads, schools and social care. The bin changes from 12 October are the borough’s own decision and go ahead.
  • May 2027 is no longer a vote for a new council. It goes ahead on your current ward.
  • Still answer the canvass. You need to be on the register for any election, and the register is also used for credit checks.
  • This may not be the end of it. The review has no deadline, and the leader’s own statement suggests larger councils are one option in play.

Our council tax bands and planning news pages have been updated to match. We will report the review’s outcome for Basingstoke when it is published.

Sources