Hampshire campaigners celebrate as council change plans shelved

Figure caption, "Crying happy tears" as council reorganisation shelved "They got scared we were coming," joked the Hampshire campaigners whose timing could not have been better. I travelled with the group from New Forest Together, who had sent a coach load of residents to Westminster for a rally in Parliament Square. They had been due to deliver a 32,500 signature petition to Downing Street in the afternoon against local government reorganisation (LGR) in the forest. Then, I saw a text on my phone. Angela Rayner, the Communities Secretary, would make a statement later that day, withdrawing the LGR plan for Hampshire - the group was quiet as I read it out - then erupted in cheers. Image caption, Holbury resident Jayne Phillips shed tears of joy, calling it "the best day ever" Jayne Phillips, from Holbury, said she was "ecstatic" and it had been "the best day ever". "Thank God they've listened to us and power to the people," she said through tears of joy. The plans would have seen parts of the current New Forest council area, the Waterside villages and Totton paired with Southampton and Eastleigh in a new South Hampshire council. It also included some parishes from Test Valley. Caroline Nokes, the MP for Southampton North and Test Valley, had been at the rally. "I want to say thank you to the PM and to Angela Rayner for listening to local voices," she said. She said it had always felt like "an urban-driven reorganisation" that "wouldn't understand the importance of gaps between settlements, wouldn't understand the challenges around rural service provision". Image caption, Ronni Harris said she was "amazed" by the news, after travelling to London with fellow campaigners James Hartley-Binns, the leader of the New Forest Together campaign, said the timing of the announcement "couldn't have been better". "The campaign doesn't stop, we've got more work to do now to help shape that next stage and we're going to put forward a really positive vision to keep the New Forest together in the new unitaries," he said. "Congratulations to the prime minister for listening to the people, the politicians have promised and they've come through." Ronni Harris, from Hythe, was one of those who made the trip to London and she said she was "absolutely, unbelievably amazed" to hear the news. She said it was great that the voices of the people had been heard, calling it a moment to "believe in democracy again". "What a place for it to happen, outside parliament, there is justice," Harris said. Nick Adams-King, leader of Hampshire County Council, which threatened a judicial review into the decision, also welcomed the announcement. "Getting LGR wrong would have cost Hampshire residents tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds over the coming decade and damaged front line services," he said. "Taking the time to get it right is infinitely preferable." Sarah Bogle, Southampton City Council leader, she she supported the government's choice to review the current programme and hoped it would be a "quick process". "Whatever the outcome of government's review, Southampton will continue to play a leading role in shaping the future of our region," she added. Image caption, James Hartley-Binns, the leader of the New Forest Together campaign, said the timing of the announcement "couldn't have been better" But there was not universal support for the withdrawal of the plan. The Liberal Democrat leader of Eastleigh borough council, Keith House, said councils had spent a huge amount of time, effort and public money developing detailed proposals and gathering evidence. "To change direction again creates more cost, more confusion and more uncertainty for residents and council staff," he said. Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, Angela Rayner, said the review was necessary due to legal considerations and the need to "fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and a new prime minister". Elsewhere in the South, planned changes to the way that Oxfordshire and west Berkshire are governed were delayed. Elections will now take place in May 2027 to the existing councils. Hampshire & Isle of Wight New Forest District Council