Agenda item

To consider the Leader of the Council’s Report No. MD2602 (copy attached), which sets out proposed Local Government Reorganisation interim ward arrangements for the new North Hampshire Council in response to Government. The Committee is asked to consider options for recommendation to the Extraordinary Council Meeting on 18th June.

The Committee considered the Leader of the Council’s Report No. MD2603, which presented options on interim warding arrangements for the new North Hampshire Council in response to the Government and preparations for local government reorganisation. 

It was noted that the interim warding arrangements should reflect local communities and would be implemented for the elections to the shadow North Hampshire Council in May 2027. The interim ward boundaries would remain in place until the permanent arrangements were independently reviewed by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which would take place after the new Council had legally formed in April 2028.

The Report set out the basis on which the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had asked for proposed interim ward arrangements – and it was noted that the councils forming the new authority had been asked to work to a total unitary council membership of 85 councillors, unless there was a strong reason for a different number.

Initial work carried out between the councils had indicated that a total council membership of 88 councillors would give a fairer representation across North Hampshire than 85 councillors. In this way, a series of options based on both 85 and 88 councillors had been prepared by officers, as attached to the report, which involved the merging of existing wards in varying combinations.

During consideration of the report, the point was raised that while a total membership of either 85 or 88 councillors would allow both Basingstoke and Hart councils to keep their existing wards and adjust the number of representatives, that would not be possible for Rushmoor. For Rushmoor to achieve its share of the 85 or 88 councillors it was necessary to combine wards to achieve fair electoral representation.

The strong view of the Committee was a preference to keep the current ward boundaries in Rushmoor intact. Members emphasised that it would make the new arrangements for elections to shadow councils easier for residents to understand and trust if using boundaries that residents were already familiar with. There was concern that if the council proposed to change its own boundaries by joining wards, it could lead people to think that the changes lacked impartiality.  

The Committee therefore supported an interim warding arrangement based on maintaining the 13 wards in Rushmoor and, following a proposal and discussion, endorsed an alternative option to be recommended to the Council which proposed an interim warding arrangement based on 108 councillors for the new North Hampshire Council, in place of the options for either 85 or 88 councillors. 

This would deliver representation of 26 councillors for the Rushmoor area, with each of the existing 13 wards represented by 2 councillors. Basingstoke and Hart would also have a fair share of councillors with Basingstoke having 53 councillors, and Hart having 29 councillors. Any permanent change would then be made by the Boundary Commission. 

A proposal was also tabled that the Council should make a representation relating to 26 Members in its own area and not refer to the Basingstoke or Hart area at all. However, when this was put to the vote, the Committee resolved that it should include the whole of the North Hampshire area in its submission, as requested by the MHCLG.

The Committee RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL to submit a proposal based on a 108-councillor interim warding arrangement, and agree:

·         the proposed number of councillors for each North Hampshire district as follows:

-       Basingstoke and Deane - 53 councillors.

-       Hart - 29 councillors.

-       Rushmoor - 26 councillors.

·         the proposed interim councillor distribution and warding arrangements across the new authority area to be set out in an updated Table.