Proposals to merge smaller councils to form larger authorities in Hampshire are among those to be reviewed.

In March the government announced plans to blend the county’s 14 councils into four unitary authorities from 2028.

But the the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner has now with withdrawn the decision for the county along with Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk citing ‘new legal advice’.

She said ‘in light of legal advice, I want to satisfy myself firstly that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law’.

Perhaps more tellingly, she said that she wants to ‘fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and a new prime minister and any additional considerations’.

It is important that local government re-organisation is correctly considered so it is legally sound and achieves its aims but the present climbdown will lead to disappointment in some quarters while others – such as those opposed to the impact of reorganisation in the New Forest – will be pleased.

Ultimately, results of the review and subsequent next steps must be reached as soon as possible to provide much needed clarity for all concerned – including the property and planning sectors – and avoid any further confusion, delays and unnecessary expenditure.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us to find out more about how this will affect your plans or project.