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The Partnership
The Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) is currently a voluntary Partnership of eleven local authorities in South Hampshire:
- The unitary City Councils of Portsmouth and Southampton
- The Borough Councils of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Test Valley
- The District Councils of East Hampshire and New Forest
- Winchester City Council
- Hampshire County Council
During 2003 the eleven local authorities decided to work more closely to tackle the economic challenges of South Hampshire. A further catalyst to closer working came in 2004 when the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) commissioned the County and City Councils to provide advice on sub-regional aspects of the draft South East Plan. It was agreed this advice should be provided for South Hampshire under the banner of PUSH.
In October 2006, PUSH was selected by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to be one of 29 “New Growth Points” in England. This is a long-term partnership with Government which, subject to our proposals for growth being endorsed through the Regional Spatial Strategy, will mean continued support and funding from Government to enable us to achieve our growth ambitions.
PUSH is also one of eight “Diamonds for Investment and Growth” identified in the Regional Economic Strategy prepared by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).
How we work
The PUSH structure prior to the formation of the Joint Committee is shown in the organisation chart 
. Referred to in this structure is the Leaders’ and Chief Executives' Panel which has now formalised into the Joint Committee. This is the governing body for PUSH. It meets approximately bi-monthly with the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), SEERA and SEEDA represented as observers.
At officer level, PUSH’s work programme is led by the Working Group, which is chaired by the Chief Executive of Southampton City Council. The group comprises Chief Officers from the principal authorities, the Lead Officer for each of the theme groups and the PUSH Project Director.
Theme groups lead on different aspects of the PUSH work programme and comprise mainly local authority officers. In the case of the economic development theme, formal sub-groups have been established, including representatives from other public services, the private sector, universities and business.
The Economic Development Theme Group is overseen formally by the Leaders’ and Chief Executives’ Panel. Advisory Panels comprising local authority Members have been established to oversee the work on housing, planning and sustainability. The PUSH work programme is coordinated by the Project Director.
Transport issues in PUSH are led by Transport for South Hampshire (TFSH), which is a Joint Committee of the three strategic transport authorities (Southampton CC, Portsmouth CC and Hampshire CC). TFSH works with key stakeholders (including the train and bus operating companies, Network Rail, ports and airport and Highways Agency) through the Solent Transport Partnership. There is therefore a ‘dotted line’ relationship between PUSH and TFSH.
Contact details for the key officers and Panel Chairmen.
How we are evolving
PUSH has now formalised the partnership into a Joint Committee, through a Joint Agreement under Local Government Acts. This was subject to approval by all the partner Councils, and came into being in November 2007. This process was to strengthen PUSH’s democratic accountability and transparency. Meetings of the Joint Committee are open to members of the public and its agenda, papers and reports published (these will appear on this website under the Joint Committee tab on the left hand side). Alongside the Joint Committee, an Overview and Scrutiny Committee has been created, comprising a nominated Councillor from each of the eleven PUSH authorities.
The next step is to broaden and deepen our engagement with others who have a part to play in the future growth and prosperity of South Hampshire, particularly the business sector. We are in the process of evolving our structures to focus on delivery of our ambitious strategy incorporating national, regional and local partners.