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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Havant Borough Council
The Borough of Havant is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Havant. Other towns and villages within the borough include Bedhampton, Cowplain, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Purbrook, Waterlooville and Widley. The borough covers much of the semi-urban area in the south east of Hampshire, between the city of Portsmouth and the West Sussex border.

History

Havant itself was an ancient parish. Until 1852 it was governed by its vestry, in the same way as most rural areas. The parish was made a local board district in 1852, governed by an elected local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894. The neighbouring parish of Warblington (which contained Emsworth) was made an urban district at the same time.

The Havant Urban District was substantially enlarged in 1932, taking in the urban district of Warblington and the parishes of Bedhampton, North Hayling, South Hayling and Waterloo, with some adjustments to the boundaries with other neighbouring areas. It was renamed the Havant and Waterloo Urban District, and the whole area was made a single urban parish called Havant.

The Havant and Waterloo Urban District was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district named just "Havant" by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974. The district was granted borough status as part of the 1974 reforms, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. No successor parish was created for the former urban district.

The Borough of Havant is twinned with Wesermarsch district in Germany and Yavoriv Raion in Western Ukraine.

Governance

Havant Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Peter Wade,
Labour
since 15 May 2024
Philip Munday,
Labour
since 15 May 2024
Steve Jorden
since April 2023
Structure
Seats36 councillors
Political groups
Administration (21)
  Labour (10)
  Liberal Democrat (7)
  Green (4)
Other parties (15)
  Conservative (13)
  Reform UK (2)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Public Service Plaza, Civic Centre Road, Havant, PO9 2AX
Website
www.havant.gov.uk

Havant Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Hampshire County Council. There are no civil parishes in the borough.

Political control

For the majority of the council's existence, the council has been under Conservative majority control, most recently for a period of over twenty years following the 2002 Havant local elections. However, following boundary changes made in 2023 the Conservatives lost majority control in the 2024 Havant Borough Council election.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1978
Conservative 1978–1990
No overall control 1990–2002
Conservative 2002–2024
No overall control 2024-present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Havant. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2001 have been:

Councillor Party From To
David Gillett Conservative 2001 2008
Tony Briggs Conservative 2008 28 May 2014
Mike Cheshire Conservative 28 May 2014 6 May 2018
Michael Wilson Conservative 9 May 2018 19 May 2021
Alex Rennie Conservative 19 May 2021 7 May 2024
Philip Munday Labour 15 May 2024

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:

Party Councillors
Conservative 13
Labour 10
Liberal Democrats 7
Green 4
Reform UK 2
Total 36

Following the election a "Progressive Alliance" was formed in May 2024, led by Philip Munday, the leader of the local Labour party. The next council election will be in May 2026.

Elections

See also: Havant Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 12 wards with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held in three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term of office. Hampshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.

Premises

Civic Offices, photographed in 2010 prior to being extended and renamed Public Service Plaza

The council is based at the Public Service Plaza on Civic Centre Road in Havant. The building was previously called Civic Offices and had been built in 1977, replacing the old Town Hall on East Street in the centre of Havant, which subsequently became The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre. A large extension was added to the Civic Offices in 2011 to incorporate some Hampshire County Council offices and space for voluntary organisations as well, after which the building was renamed Public Service Plaza.

See also

References

  1. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Havant Local Authority (E07000090)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Havant Ancient Parish / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ^ "No. 21310". The London Gazette. 16 April 1852. p. 1084.
  4. ^ Local Government Act 1894
  5. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1895. p. 276. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Relationships and changes Havant and Waterloo UD through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  7. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  8. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  9. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Increased cultural links will be formed by new town twinning | Havant Borough Council".
  11. ^ "Councillor Wade elected as new Mayor of Havant". Havant Borough Council. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  12. ^ "New Leader and Cabinet announced for Havant Borough Council". Havant Borough Council. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  13. ^ Boakye, Kwame (30 January 2023). "Job moves: New chiefs at Havant and Brent". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  15. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  16. ^ "The Havant (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2023/200, retrieved 1 March 2024
  17. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Havant". BBC News Online. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  19. ^ "Council minutes". Havant Borough Council. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  20. ^ Forero, Natalia (3 May 2024). "Local elections 2024: Huge shock as Conservatives lose Havant Borough Council - full list of results". The News. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  21. ^ Needs, Noni (15 May 2023). "Havant Borough Council run by a new coalition following shock local election results". The News (Portsmouth). Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  22. ^ "The Havant (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2023/200, retrieved 11 November 2023
  23. ^ "Our History". The Spring. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  24. ^ Cousins, Ralph (2016). A Brief History of Havant (PDF). Havant: The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre. p. 13. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
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50°51′03″N 0°58′58″W / 50.85088°N 0.98284°W / 50.85088; -0.98284

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