East Hampshire District Council will work in partnership with Hampshire County Council to develop a “financially sustainable proposal” for local government reorganisation.

It says it will use “robust evidence and sound methodology” to prioritise residents' needs with “efficient and effective services”.

The reorganisation will see existing councils in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight replaced with a smaller number of unitary authorities providing the same services as part of a national plan.

In March the existing councils submitted interim plans to the government, which emphasised the need for a “robust shared evidence base” to meet its criteria and also said that each council could submit its own proposal by September 26.

East Hampshire leader Cllr Richard Millard said: “I have a clear mandate from my council to pursue an evidence-based approach to develop a proposal for local government reorganisation.

“This is absolutely critical because we need to robustly analyse each of the potential options to ensure we can create efficient and effective services for our residents.”

Cllr Millard believed this process would be the legacy of East Hampshire District Council, which is scheduled to disappear in April 2028.

He added: “When I say ‘our residents’, I do not just mean the current residents of East Hampshire, but all the residents in Hampshire who will be relying on services from the new unitary councils.

“It is our duty to get this right, to create financially resilient and sustainable councils that can support our most vulnerable residents, as well as providing the day-to-day services that we all rely on.

"We remain fully committed to collaboration, transparency and data-sharing with our local authority partners and stakeholders.

“We will now work in partnership with the county council to develop a truly evidence-based model for local government reorganisation.

“Our focus is clear: delivering what’s best for residents across all our communities and securing a financially sustainable future for the services we provide.”