A greater role for town and parish councils has been called for by Alton Town Council in its response to a local government reorganisation consultation.

Alton Town Council was giving its views to Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council, who have worked together to create one proposal for the future of local government in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight from April 2028.

The county council and East Hampshire envisage a future with four unitary authorities covering the area, while 12 other councils - Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Havant, Fareham, Winchester, Eastleigh, Hart, Rushmoor, Basingstoke & Deane, New Forest and Test Valley - have combined on plans for five unitaries. Gosport is refusing to take part in the process.

In a letter to Hampshire and East Hampshire, from Alton town clerk Tom Horwood, Alton Town Council says it is “concerned that structural reorganisation into larger unitary councils will reduce the voice of the community in public services and make government more remote”.

The letter adds: “We would want to see the principles of local democratic mandate and strong community voice embedded within the policies, processes and culture of our new unitary council from the start.”

Alton Town Council is offering to work with the current county and district councils, and with other parishes, to develop an effective model of community empowerment.

It says this would be based on the “building blocks” of existing parish councils, which already “have a clear statutory and democratic mandate to advocate for their communities and provide services”.

The unitary, county, district and borough councils are due to put their submissions to the government in September. A mayor and a strategic authority are expected to be created to cover all of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Town and parish councils will continue to be the most local tier of government.