East Hampshire District Council is scheduled to meet on 25 September 2025 to discuss local government reorganisation, the delegation of planning functions to the South Downs National Park Authority, and a review of proportionality and allocation of committee places. Councillors will also consider questions regarding electric vehicle charging points, affordable housing, and the council's tree and woodland strategy. The meeting will also include portfolio holder reports, committee recommendations, and a finance update.

Local Government Reorganisation

The council is scheduled to consider a report and appendices regarding the English Devolution White Paper and local government reorganisation, and to recommend them to the cabinet for a decision.

A Strategic Business Case is included in the report pack.

A finance update on the local government review is also scheduled to be discussed. Councillors will be asked to approve the creation of an earmarked reserve¹ for continued transformation to support local government reorganisation from the Financial Stability Reserve. They will also be asked to approve drawing down a fund limited to £400,000 for this financial year, delegating the drawdown to the Chief Finance Officer to fund the implementation and delivery costs identified for this financial year. A summary of SEHF 2 Savings for 202526 is included in the report pack.

South Downs National Park Authority

The council is scheduled to discuss the delegation of planning functions to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNP). Councillors will be asked to note the current arrangements and ratify the 2022 agreement for the existing arrangements with SDNP. They will also be asked to agree to extend the present agreement until September 2026.

The report pack indicates that officers will enter into discussions with SDNP to explore the future of these arrangements, and to bring a paper back to the council if the recommendation is to continue with service provision to SDNP past September 2026.

Questions From Councillors

Councillor Ginny Boxall is scheduled to ask Councillor Robert Mocatta about electric vehicle (EV) charging sockets in East Hampshire. Councillor Boxall's question references an Alton Herald article from 8 September 2025, which stated that dozens of government-funded EV charging sockets have been installed in East Hampshire since 2022. She also mentions a previous article from November 2024 noting 38 public chargers per 100,000 people in the district, and another Alton Herald article from July 2025 reporting on Hampshire raising EV charging tariffs. Councillor Boxall is expected to ask how many government-funded chargers have been installed in East Hampshire, where in the district they have been installed, and how much the tariffs have been increased.

Councillor Dr John Smart is scheduled to ask Councillor Angela Glass about the recent cabinet decision on the Boyneswood development in Medstead. Councillor Smart is expected to express disappointment that affordable homes for rent will not now be made available on this development, and to ask whether Councillor Glass agrees that the council needs to prioritise providing affordable secure homes for those living and working in East Hampshire who cannot afford to buy. Councillor Smart is also expected to ask Councillor Glass to confirm that all measures were taken to ensure that such homes would be made available, and whether working with other local councils or local housing associations to achieve this goal has been fully investigated.

Councillor Louise Bevan is scheduled to ask Councillor Angela Glass and Councillor Robert Mocatta about the council's strategy for the planning, planting, and management of the district's trees and woodland. Councillor Bevan is expected to ask why the strategy was never adopted, and why the draft strategy was not brought to the attention of the officers responsible for preparing/updating East Hampshire District Council's Climate and Environment Strategy 2024-2029. Councillor Bevan is also expected to ask how many trees have been planted across the district since October 2019, how many have been felled, what the net increase in tree cover is, how many have been planted by the District Council, and how many by third parties. Finally, Councillor Bevan is expected to ask whether the council will now adopt East Hampshire District Council's Tree and Woodland Strategy 2021-2026, extending it to cover the remaining life of this council, i.e., until 2028.

Councillor Bevan's question references a Petersfield Post article about the council planting the first of 120,000 trees, and a Find a Tender notice for Arboricultural and Countryside Management Services in areas covered by East Hampshire District Council. The question also notes that East Hampshire District Council has committed to seeing 120,000 trees planted in the district, and that the council made the pledge as part of a motion to declare a climate emergency in July 2019.

Portfolio Holder Reports

The council is scheduled to receive reports from the following portfolio holders:

• Councillor Richard Millard, Leader of the Council
• Councillor Andy Tree, Deputy Leader of the Council & Portfolio Holder Whitehill & Bordon Area
• Councillor Adeel Shah, Portfolio Holder, Community Development and Engagement
• Councillor Tony Costigan, Portfolio Holder - Property
• Councillor Nick Drew, Portfolio Holder, Legal & Governance and Change & Performance
• Councillor Charles Louisson, Portfolio Holder, Finance

Committee Recommendations

The council is scheduled to consider recommendations from the Licensing Committee, the Audit Committee, and the Standards Committee.

The Licensing Committee recommends that the proposed draft revision of the statement of principles as contained in Appendix A to the report be adopted.

The Audit Committee recommends that the Annual Audit Committee report 2024/25 be noted.

The Standards Committee recommends that Mr Rodney Duggua be appointed as Independent Person for East Hampshire District Council and a member of the Independent Remuneration Panel, commencing on 1 October 2025.

Review of Proportionality and Allocation of Committee Places

The council is scheduled to discuss the proportional allocation of seats on the principal committees of the council in accordance with the political proportionality of the council, as detailed in Appendix 1.

Amendments to the Constitution

The council is scheduled to note the amendments to the Constitution made by the Monitoring Officer under their delegated authority since the last meeting of the council. The covering report and appendix detail these changes.

Appointments to Outside Bodies

The council is scheduled to note that the item reported to the last council meeting on 17 July 2025 contained an error which incorrectly reported that Councillor David Podger had been appointed to the Southern Area Road Safety Council. The council is also scheduled to note that Councillor John Hutchinson had been appointed to the Southern Area Road Safety Council by the Monitoring Officer under their delegated authority and the records have been updated to this effect.