Bitter row breaks out over Hampshire's future

But Hampshire County Council Roy Perry has defended the use of the public money claiming it is vital to ensure thousands of residents can have their say on a series of masterplans changing the political landscape of the county forever.

He claims residents could reap the rewards of his investment by the county securing £40million savings in the future as part of landmark devolution plans which could see a huge “super council” created.

Now rival local authority leaders have condemned him for spending the public money in this way, claiming it could be put to better use.

It comes as civic leaders across the county meet for a crunch meeting to debate two opposing deals for devolution of political powers from Westminster as part of radical powers aimed at giving local regions more control over decision-making and shaping their own futures.

It is the latest round of a long-running battle sparked by the government’s decision to negotiate a devolution deal with the Solent region, instead of all of Hampshire.

As reported Cllr Perry announced that a new report by consultants Deloitte, commissioned by the county council, spelled out six options for how Hampshire could be governed in the future.

They included creating one huge council for the whole of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, including Southampton; creating a unitary council but excluding Southampton and Portsmouth; and creating four or five new unitary councils to cover the “Greater Southampton”, “Greater Portsmouth”, “North Hampshire”, “Central Hampshire” and Isle of Wight areas.

The report says the changes could save tens of millions of pounds every year, as well as reducing council tax bills.

However, the plans were attacked by the leaders of the Solent group, which remains in discussions with the government about its devolution deal, which could see the development of the so-called ‘Solent City’, which would include Southampton, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant and East Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

If agreed this summer could see £30m extra funding given to the region each year as well as greater responsibility for areas such as transport, skills and housing.

A second devolution bid has been handed in to government which could see Winchester, New Forest, Test Valley, Rushmoor and Basingstoke and Deane form a “Heart of Hampshire” combined authority.

Both new combined authorities would have directly-elected mayors.

Now Cllr Perry has revealed that his report cost £89,000 to commission, but stresses that the report’s findings, which will be put to the public for their feedback, could result in a new deal that will make potential savings of £40 million a year in future.

But he stresses he is not putting forward one particular plan for one large authority and says it should be up to the people.

He said: “The purpose of commissioning the report from Deloitte was to provide residents with a comprehensive and independent assessment of all the options for future local government in the county.”

“In a time of austerity with very hard financial settlements to come, it must be right that we look at the options that are the most beneficial financially.

"We should all be arguing together that if there is a case for new infrastructure cash for the area then government should provide it regardless of the shape of government.”

He said that the £30 million in the Solent deal would only be guaranteed at the end of the Parliament in 2020 compared to the savings of Deloitte that would exceed £40 million alone and said the Solent deal would be “disruptive” to local politics.

But he stressed it is important for the public to have their say, and added: “We are not putting forward any single proposal at this point and we will be led in our decision-making by the people of Hampshire.”

He also said there would be a “tremendous” opportunity to enhance the roles of town and parish councils.

Cllr Perry hosted a meeting yesterday with political leaders from across the county to discuss a way forward.

But afterwards Southampton City Council leader Cllr Simon Letts said: “People could have had their say without having to spend £89,000.

"We will be consulting our residents over devolution and looking more at bread and butter issues like who empties your bins and runs Sure Start centres rather than a complex report like Roy.”

But Test Valley Council leader Ian Carr, who did not attend the meeting, said: “It is a reasonable use of money as you need to pay if you want to assess options and sometimes it costs a lot of money.”

But he is against the ‘super council’ idea and added: “It would be too far away from the public and local people.”

As previously reported, the leaders of Southampton, Portsmouth, Fareham, Eastleigh, Gosport, East Hampshire and Havant councils have issued a joint statement responding to Cllr Perry’s previous announcement.

In it, the seven leaders say the plans “amount to localism in reverse”, adding: “It exceeds the Government’s own standards for scale and manageability, is a clear threat to town and parish councils and would further distance our populations from the services they and their communities rely on.”