Unitary approves judicial review bid against Hampshire local government reorganisation

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government announced plans in March to create four new unitary authorities in Hampshire and the Solent, while retaining the Isle of Wight Council in its current form. This proposal was known as 1A.

The approach will see Portsmouth subsumed into 'South East Hampshire Council', which will also cover East Hampshire, Fareham, Gosport, and Havant.

The Government’s decision came despite protests from Portsmouth, which had requested to be excluded from LGR entirely.

Portsmouth later sent a pre-action protocol letter challenging the decision, arguing that the council was already a unitary authority, not part of a two-tier system of local government, which the government is seeking to change, and that Portsmouth was a financially sustainable authority.

It also contended that the council's population was larger than that of several existing unitary authorities excluded from the local government reorganisation process, including most Berkshire authorities, some London boroughs, and the City of York.

In addition, the letter noted that West Cumbria's population of 274,000 and Westmorland & Furness' population of 225,000 – both unitary authorities – were similar in size to Portsmouth.

Another ground claimed that any new authority delivering services to Portsmouth residents would begin in a deficit position, which would be likely to reduce current service levels.

Portsmouth's cabinet has now voted to proceed with the legal challenge shortly after the council received the Government's response to its pre-action protocol letter.

In the cabinet meeting, the council's Liberal Democrat leader, Steve Pitt, said the council had received the response "about an hour ago".

The cabinet was forced to make a decision on the litigation on Tuesday (23 June) as it had a deadline to file the claim of 24 June.

Members agreed to pursue the legal challenge after around 30 minutes of discussion. They also made the decision after receiving comments from Reform and Labour group leaders, who both opposed the legal challenge.

Cllr Graham Heaney, deputy leader of the Labour group, told the cabinet that "the chances of success are so minimal that it is not an appropriate thing for us to do".

He added: "The cabinet may wish to make a decision to make a political point and go for it, and of course, they are perfectly able to do that.

"I don't think that is necessarily a very wise thing to do, because I don't think we should be spending money on legal action when we have a pretty clear idea that we are not likely to succeed."

The council's Reform UK group leader, Emily Strudwick, also opposed advancing a challenge after suggesting that the council's prospects of success were low.

The council estimates the cost of the litigation could rise to £215,000 in the event of an unsuccessful claim.

The legal challenge comes days after Essex County Council decided to proceed with its own claim against LGR in its area.

The news also comes as a number of other councils are mulling pursuing judicial reviews, including Hampshire County Council and South Norfolk Council.

Adam Carey