By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

Details on how the number of councillors could be slashed as part of the major restructure of local government have been revealed.

 

New larger unitary authorities are set to take on all council services in Hampshire from 2028.

Elections for shadow authorities to prepare for this major change are due to be held in May next year.

Under the plans approved by government, Southampton will be served by a council which will also cover Eastleigh, the Waterside area of the New Forest and southern Test Valley wards.

A report to Southampton City Council’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday, June 16, said the proposed number of councillors for the new authority was 82 based on the business case previously submitted to government.

This number used a 1:4000 councillor-to-elector ratio and could lead to some wards across the authority being represented by a single councillor.

The report by director of strategy and communications David Courcoux said the indicative councillor numbers per existing council area for the South West Hampshire authority were:

• Southampton: 40 (currently 51 city councillors)
• Eastleigh: 25 (currently 39 borough councillors)
• New Forest Waterside: 14
• Test Valley southern wards: 3

Direct comparisons for the Waterside and Test Valley areas are not possible due to the new authority using parish council boundaries rather than district council wards.

Mr Courcoux’s report said existing councils have until June 30 to send submissions to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed structural change order, which includes the councillor number arrangements.

The city council used a set of principles to guide its response.

The cabinet report said: “Application of these principles across Southampton would mean Southampton wards would elect 40 councillors, approximately 49 per cent of the total membership of the South West Hampshire authority.

“This reflects its 49 per cent share of the overall electorate.

“As Southampton is not parished, it must rely on existing ward boundaries.

“As such Southampton would need to be represented by 40 councillors across 17 two and three member wards dependent on their electorate sizes.”

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has said it cannot undertake a full boundary review until an authority legally exists.

This means warding arrangements for the May 2027 elections have to be based on existing boundaries at a parish, ward or divisional level.

The final decision on councillor numbers rests with secretary of state Steve Reed and parliament.

Councillors elected in 2027 would serve one year on the shadow authority and four years on the new council before all out elections took place every four years.