The Future of Local Government in Hart
Details of what devolution and local government reorganisation means for Hart.
Published: 14 February 2025
Information from Hart District Council:
You may have seen news recently about devolution and local government organisation for Hampshire. But what is this, and what does this mean for you and the services you need?
At this point in time, nothing is changing. We will continue to deliver all the services you currently receive from us while working on plans for the future. After local government reorganisation, you’ll receive all the services you do now, but from a new unitary council.
On 6 February 2025, the Government announced that Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils and Isle of Wight Council had been successful in their joint bid for inclusion on the Government’s fast-track Devolution Priority Programme. A regional Mayor will be elected in May 2026 to head up a new Strategic Authority across the wider region.
As part of the devolution proposals, Hampshire County Council asked for the County Council elections, due this May, to be postponed for 12 months. This has now been agreed. There were no Hart District Council elections scheduled for this year so this has not been impacted.
Alongside devolution, the Government has also invited all councils in Hampshire to create new councils to replace the current two-tier council system (district and county) with several new unitary councils. This invitation is part of a wider effort to simplify and make local government more sustainable.
There is a lot of information on this and we’ll continue to share updates on what the future of local councils in Hampshire looks like as we have them. We’ve created a Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation hub on our website, where you can find all the background and latest updates as this process continues.