Hart is no longer due to be abolished in April 2028. The government withdrew the North Hampshire Council decision on 7 September; May 2027 polls stay local.

Hart District Council is no longer due to be abolished on 1 April 2028. On Monday 7 September the government withdrew its decision to merge Hart with Basingstoke and Deane and Rushmoor into a new North Hampshire Council.

That leaves Fleet, Hook, Odiham, Yateley and the rest of the district with the two councils they have now. Hart runs bins, planning and council tax. Hampshire County Council runs roads, schools and social care.

It also changes next year’s elections. Polls due in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries. Under the withdrawn plan, they would have been the first elections to the new council.

The withdrawal is in a letter to council leaders from Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth. (Programme review and decisions withdrawal letter, 7 September 2026)

What has been withdrawn

The government chose Hampshire’s new council map on 25 March 2026. It picked a five-council plan known as option 1A. Hart was one of the seven councils that put that plan forward. (Decision letter to Hampshire leaders, 25 March 2026)

For this district, the plan meant:

  • a North Hampshire Council covering Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor
  • Hart District Council and Hampshire County Council both abolished on 1 April 2028
  • 85 councillors on the new council, all elected in May 2027 for a first term of five years
  • £900,000 from the government towards each new council’s set-up costs

The last three points come from the implementation letter to council chief executives, published on 31 March. It said the all-out elections would “replace any scheduled local elections in May 2027”, with the next poll in 2032. (Implementation letter to Hampshire chief executives, published 31 March 2026)

None of that is now scheduled.

Hart and North Hampshire Council, March 2026 to May 2028 A timeline. On 25 March 2026 the government picks option 1A, putting Hart in a North Hampshire Council. On 31 March an implementation letter sets 85 councillors and all-out elections in May 2027. On 7 May 2026 Hart elects one councillor in each of its 11 wards. On 7 September the government withdraws the March decision. On 8 September Hart says reorganisation work is paused. In May 2027 elections go ahead on existing council boundaries. Hart's abolition on 1 April 2028 is no longer scheduled. The first Hampshire and the Solent mayoral election is still expected in May 2028. Just under 24 weeks from decision to withdrawal. What was planned for Hart, and what still stands, from the government's letters and Hart's own pages. 25 Mar 2026 Government picks option 1A: Hart joins North Hampshire 31 Mar Implementation letter: 85 councillors, all-out elections in May 2027 7 May Hart elects one councillor in each of its 11 wards 7 Sep Government withdraws the March decision 8 Sep Hart: reorganisation work "now paused" May 2027 Elections go ahead on existing council boundaries 1 Apr 2028 Hart and Hampshire County Council abolished No longer scheduled May 2028 First Hampshire and the Solent mayoral election, still expected Sources: MHCLG letters of 25 March, 31 March and 7 September 2026; Hart District Council. Graphic by Fleet & Hook News
The 2028 abolition date has gone. The mayoral election is a separate process and Hart still lists it.

What the government says

Hampshire is one of four areas whose March decisions were withdrawn. The others are Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock; Norfolk; and Suffolk. Surrey’s decision is not affected.

The letter says the Secretary of State withdrew the decisions “following updated legal advice”. Mr McMahon will lead a review of the whole programme, including 14 decisions made in July for other parts of England.

The letter sets no date for the review to finish. It does not cancel reorganisation either. A later decision could bring back the same map, or a different one.

What Hart says

Hart published a short statement on 8 September. It says the government “unexpectedly announced” the withdrawal, and that the announcement “came without warning while work was continuing”. (Hart District Council, Withdrawal of Local Government Reorganisation decision, 8 September)

The council says it follows “over 20 months of work” by Hart and every other council in Hampshire. It calls the news “disappointing”. It will now “review the detail of the ministerial statement and seek answers on what this means for the future of local councils”.

Its question-and-answer page is blunter about what happens next: “Work on local government reorganisation is now paused until further information is received on the future of the decision for Hampshire.” (Hart District Council, reorganisation FAQs)

Hart’s own pages still say 2028

Hart has updated its timeline and its FAQ page. On 11 September, three other pages in the same section still described the merger as settled:

  • the reorganisation hub page says Hart, Basingstoke and Deane and Rushmoor “will become one unitary council to serve north Hampshire”, and shows it was last reviewed on 26 March
  • the North Hampshire proposal page now carries a withdrawal notice at the top, but still says “From 1 April 2028, there will be five unitary councils across Hampshire” further down
  • the page on what is happening across Hampshire has no notice at all, and still says “The Government has decided there will be five unitary councils”

Treat the 2028 dates on all three as out of date.

Your vote in May 2027

Hart has 33 councillors, three for each of its 11 wards. (Hart District Council, types of election) It normally elects a third of them at a time.

The council’s own results pages show the pattern:

  • May 2022, 2023 and 2024: one councillor elected in each ward, with Fleet East filling two seats in 2024
  • May 2025: no district election, only a Hampshire County Council by-election
  • May 2026: one councillor elected in each of the 11 wards

(Hart District Council, election results, wards and boundaries; 7 May 2026 results)

On that pattern, May 2027 would be an ordinary district election for one seat in each ward, 11 in all. Hart has not yet said so publicly. Under the withdrawn plan, those 11 seats would have given way to an all-out election for 85 North Hampshire councillors.

Hampshire County Council elects every four years, and last voted on 7 May 2026.

The mayor is separate

Hart’s updated timeline, which already records the September withdrawal, still expects the first election for a mayor of the Hampshire and the Solent Strategic Authority in May 2028. (Hart District Council, reorganisation timeline) That mayor would lead a strategic authority across the wider area. It is a different body from the unitary councils that were withdrawn.

What else leaned on 2028

Several Hart plans were written around the council ending in 2028:

  • The budget. Hart’s own risk register, which went to Overview and Scrutiny on 8 September, says “2027/28 is expected to be the final budget year for Hart District Council”. We reported that on 1 September. On current plans it no longer holds.
  • The Local Plan. Hart describes writing a new plan as a 30-month process. Started in 2026, it would have finished after Hart ceased to exist. For now, Hart remains the council writing it. Our planning news page has the detail.
  • Here for Hart. The council’s community programme runs to 2028, and a 2025 peer review told it to plan how the work could carry on “in a future unitary organisation”. Our grants report has the background.

What it means for you

  • Your services do not change. Hart still collects your bins, decides planning applications and sends your council tax bill. Nothing was due to move before April 2028 anyway.
  • Your council tax still comes from Hart, with Hampshire County Council’s share on the same bill. Our council tax bands page has the figures.
  • There should be a district election in May 2027. Make sure you are on the electoral register before then.
  • Reorganisation has not been cancelled. The review has no end date, and a new decision could still put Hart into a larger council.
  • Watch Hart’s FAQ page. The council says its reorganisation pages “will be updated with more information when available”.

Bin days are unchanged too: see our Fleet bin collection days page.

Sources