The Basingstoke and Deane Council cabinet was scheduled to meet on 16 September 2025 to discuss a range of issues, including local government reorganisation, nutrient mitigation, and the adoption of a landscape management plan. The meeting was also scheduled to cover Greenham Trust land disposal, and the Manydown North budget.

Here's a summary of the key topics that were expected to be covered:

Local Government Reorganisation

The cabinet was scheduled to consider the final proposal for local government reorganisation for submission to the government. The report pack included a letter from Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, from 5 February 2025, inviting the council to submit proposals for local government reorganisation.

The report pack also included an interim plan approved by all 15 councils in March 2025, and feedback on that interim plan from May 2025.

The recommendation to the cabinet was to approve the full proposal to government, including the council's primary support for option 1 within the proposal, for submission to government by the 26 September 2025 deadline. It was also recommended that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive in liaison with the Leader of the Council to make any final amendments to the full proposal in advance of submission to the government.

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 allows the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to invite any principal authority in the county of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to submit a proposal for a single tier of local government. The letter included six criteria the government would consider proposals against:

• A proposal should seek to achieve for the whole of the area concerned the establishment of a single tier of local government.
• Unitary local government must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.
• Unitary structures must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens.
• Proposals should show how Councils in the area have sought to work together in coming to a view that meets local needs and is informed by local views.
• New unitary structures must support devolution arrangements.
• New unitary structures should enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment.

The documentation also noted that Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council were expected to submit a competing proposal for 3 unitary councils for mainland Hampshire with the Isle of Wight remaining separate as an island unitary. Gosport Borough Council also left the joint process as they could not support any option in principle.

The remaining 12 councils, encompassing the 3 existing unitary councils and 9 district and borough councils, have turned this data led process into a full proposal for government. The 12 councils are:

• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
• Eastleigh Borough Council
• Fareham Borough Council
• Hart District Council
• Havant Borough Council
• Isle of Wight Council
• New Forest District Council
• Portsmouth City Council
• Rushmoor Borough Council
• Southampton City Council
• Test Valley Borough Council
• Winchester City Council

To take this work forward, the 12 Councils continued to work collaboratively (all 15 councils agreed to continue to share data), to develop this full proposal with three similar variations of four-new mainland unitaries with the Isle of Wight remaining independent. Each variation is based on establishing a unitary council centred around the four urban economies and population centres of Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester and Basingstoke.

All three variations include a North Hampshire Unitary Council encompassing the existing boroughs and districts of Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor which is supported by all 12 councils. Two of the variations are based on amalgamating existing council areas whilst the third includes some potential boundary changes. Such amendments would not affect the new North Hampshire Council.

Local Nutrient Mitigation Funding

The cabinet was scheduled to discuss a report seeking agreement for the council to become a Benefiting and Host authority to receive funding to enable the upgrading of three council owned wastewater treatment works and any additional maintenance costs beyond that required for standard specification.

The report pack noted that the Habitat Regulations require local planning authorities to make an assessment before deciding to undertake, or give any consent, permission or other authorisation for, a plan or project as to whether it is likely to have a 'significant effect' on wildlife sites in The Solent and River Itchen that are designated as internationally important. New developments that include overnight accommodation (such as new homes and tourist accommodation) with wastewater discharging in the River Test or Itchen catchments, must demonstrate to the council that they are nutrient neutral for the council to meet its statutory duties under the Habitats Regulations.

The three treatment works to be upgraded were listed as:

• Biblefields, Dummer
• Chapel Close, Dummer
• Stenbury Drive, Preston Candover

The report pack stated that the upgrade works are predicted to generate a maximum of 298 nitrogen credits and 10.6 phosphorus credits. The nitrogen credits could be used to enable developments across the Test and Itchen catchment, whilst the phosphorus credits could provide mitigation for development downstream in the Itchen catchment.

Adoption of North Wessex Downs National Landscape Management Plan

The cabinet was scheduled to consider the adoption of the updated management plan for the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, covering the period 2025-2030. The National Landscape designation (formally known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) stretches across parts of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, and covers about a third of the borough.

The report pack noted that all relevant councils have a statutory duty to have a management plan in place and with the current plan becoming out of date by the end of this calendar year the adoption of a replacement plan is now required. The new Management Plan (2025-2030) has been produced on behalf of all authorities within the National Landscape and has involved a suitable level of consultation.

The report pack stated that the updated Management Plan sets the vision for the North Wessex Downs National landscape, and that the National Landscape will be a place where land use, management and development are driven by an overarching principle of long-term stewardship of the protected landscape, where economic activity is in harmony with maintenance of the landscape, conserving and enhancing the valued qualities of the North Wessex Downs and prioritising high-quality habitats that reflect the distinctive character of the area.

Disposal of Joule Road Industrial Estate

The cabinet was scheduled to discuss a report seeking approval to dispose of land at Joule Road Industrial Estate at less than open market value to Greenham Trust who have agreed, once the site has been redeveloped, to provide new premises to the Community Furniture Project by granting a lease for 15 years at a discounted rent without excluding the security of tenure provisions.

The report pack stated that the Community Furniture Project has been based at the Joule Road Industrial Estate since 2004, currently occupying four units totalling 8,000 sq ft across two terraces, and that the project provides significant social value benefits to local communities through the provision of low-cost household furniture and white goods to low-income families, pensioners and vulnerable residents across North Hampshire and Berkshire.

Manydown North - MDV LLP Annual Budget 2025/26

The cabinet was scheduled to discuss a report seeking approval for the MDV LLP 2025/26 budget as an update to the MDV LLP Overarching Business Plan and approval of the MDV LLP Annual Business Plan.

The report pack stated that in July 2018 cabinet and Hampshire County Council approved the establishment of the Manydown Garden Communities LLP as the joint venture vehicle to own the freehold interest in the Manydown North development site and which would also be the 50% partner with Urban&Civic and The Wellcome Trust in the Manydown Development Vehicle LLP, established in July 2020, that will deliver development on Manydown North.

The report pack also stated that in October 2024, following complex negotiations the councils acquired the freehold for the Manydown North land from Manydown 2018 Ltd following which the councils transferred the development site to MGC LLP enabling development to go ahead, and that MGC's development partner Urban&Civic has now commenced work to prepare the site for development including access for construction, roads and installation of utilities, before new homes will be built.

Other Matters

The agenda also included:

• Apologies for absence
• Declarations of interest
• Urgent matters
• Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2025
• Leader and Portfolio Holders Announcements
• Motion referred from Council - Backing Local Voices: Standing Up for Neighbourhood Planning
• Motion referred from Council - Enhancing Local Resilience and Emergency Preparedness
• Recommendations from the Resources Committee - Quarter 4 Key Performance Indicator Review
• Exclusion of press and public
• Confidential/ exempt items for information

Councillor John Izett, Chair of the Resources Committee, was scheduled to present a report detailing the response and recommendations from the Resources Committee in relation to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The report pack noted that the Resources Committee requested that the cabinet provide the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an opportunity to provide feedback on how KPI 3.36 could be shaped and further developed following any committee discussions on the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR). KPI 3.36 is the 'Total number of homes delivered per annum'.

The report pack also noted that the Resources Committee recommended to cabinet that:

Work is undertaken to develop the suite of KPI's so that, where appropriate, they include a cost benefit analysis whilst balancing the need for both quantitative and qualitative data, taking into consideration the impact on Officer workload and how the information can be reported back to the Committee.

The agenda also included consideration of whether any of the remaining items were likely to involve the disclosure of exempt or confidential information within the terms of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and confidential/ exempt items for information relating to Disposal of Joule Road Appendices 2 and 4, and Manydown North MDV LLP Appendix 1.