Hampshire County Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 1889 |
Leadership | |
Carolyn Williamson since 19 July 2021 [2] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 78 councillors [3] |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 6 May 2021 |
Next election | 1 May 2025 |
Meeting place | |
The Castle, Upper High Street, Winchester, SO23 8UJ [4] | |
Website | |
www | |
Constitution | |
Hampshire County Council - The Constitution |
Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. The county council acts as the upper tier of local government to approximately 1.4 million people. [5] It is one of 21 county councils in England.
Whilst they form part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire, the two cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are unitary authorities, independent from Hampshire County Council. The county council comprises 78 elected councillors, who meet in the city of Winchester, which is the county town. [6]
Since 1997, the council has been controlled by the Conservatives. [7]
Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the Quarter Sessions. The boroughs of Portsmouth and Southampton were both considered large enough to provide their own county-level services, so they became county boroughs, independent from the county council. The county council was elected by and provided services to the remainder of the county outside those two boroughs, which area was termed the administrative county. [8]
The first elections were held in January 1889, and the council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at Winchester Castle. George Sclater-Booth, Lord Basing, a Conservative peer and former Member of Parliament, was appointed the first chairman of the council. [9]
The Isle of Wight was covered by Hampshire County Council when it was created in 1889, but soon after it was decided that the island should have its own county council, and so it was made a separate administrative county with effect from 1 April 1890. [10] Bournemouth was made a county borough in 1900, removing it from the administrative county of Hampshire. [11]
The council's legal name until 1959 was the "County Council of the County of Southampton", although the name "Hampshire County Council" was used informally from the council's creation in 1889. [9] The name was officially changed to Hampshire County Council with effect from 1 April 1959. [12]
Local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which made Hampshire a non-metropolitan county. As part of the 1974 reforms it ceded an area in the south-west of the county including Christchurch to Dorset, but the county council gained authority over Portsmouth and Southampton. The lower tier of local government was rearranged at the same time, with the county being divided into thirteen non-metropolitan districts. [13]
The council was granted a coat of arms in 1992. [14]
In 1997 Portsmouth and Southampton regained their independence from the county council when they were made unitary authorities following a review by Local Government Commission for England. [15] They remain part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire for the purposes of lieutenancy. [16] In 2015 the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association unanimously agreed to support a 'pan-Hampshire' combined authority, but the bid was eventually unsuccessful. [17]
In November 2022, the county council warned it may face bankruptcy within 12 months due to austerity cuts, alongside similar warnings from Kent County Council. [18]
Hampshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's eleven district councils. [19]
The ceremonial county is divided into thirteen districts, with the county council having responsibility for the eleven districts excluding the two unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which area is formally called the non-metropolitan county. [20]
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1997.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [21]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
No overall control | 1974–1977 | |
Conservative | 1977–1985 | |
No overall control | 1985–1989 | |
Conservative | 1989–1993 | |
No overall control | 1993–1997 | |
Conservative | 1997–present |
The leaders of the council since 1976 have been:
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Freddie Emery-Wallis | Conservative | 1976 | 1993 | |
Mike Hancock | Liberal Democrats | 1993 | 1997 | |
Freddie Emery-Wallis | Conservative | 1997 | 1999 | |
Ken Thornber [22] | Conservative | 1999 | May 2013 | |
Roy Perry [23] [24] | Conservative | 23 May 2013 | 17 May 2019 | |
Keith Mans [25] [26] | Conservative | 17 May 2019 | 19 May 2022 | |
Rob Humby [27] [28] | Conservative | 19 May 2022 | 23 May 2024 | |
Nick Adams-King [29] | Conservative | 23 May 2024 |
Following the 2021 election and changes of allegiance and by-elections up to December 2024, the composition of the council was:
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 51 | |
Liberal Democrats | 19 | |
Independent | 3 | |
Labour | 3 | |
Green | 1 | |
Whitehill and Bordon Community Party | 1 | |
Total | 78 |
Two of the independent councillors and the Whitehill and Bordon Community Party councillor sit together as the "Independent Group". [30] The other independent councillor does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2025.
The council's main offices and meeting place are at Winchester Castle, parts of which date back to 1067. The council's part of the castle complex is known as Castle Hill and comprises more recent buildings added to the historic castle site, notably in 1895, 1912 and 1933. [31] [32] The council also has area offices in Basingstoke, Farnborough, Havant and Totton. [33]
Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has comprised 78 councillors, representing 76 electoral divisions, with two divisions electing two councillors and the rest electing one each. Elections are held every four years. [34]
The Borough of Fareham is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Fareham. Other places within the borough include Portchester, Hill Head, Sarisbury, Stubbington, Titchfield and Warsash. The borough covers much of the semi-urban area between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation. The neighbouring districts are Eastleigh, Winchester, Portsmouth and Gosport. The district's southern boundary is the coast of the Solent.
Winchester, or the City of Winchester, is a local government district with city status in Hampshire, England.
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Lyndhurst, although the largest town is Totton. The district also includes the towns of Fordingbridge, Lymington, New Milton and Ringwood. The district is named after and covers most of the New Forest National Park, which occupies much of the central part of the district. The main urban areas are around the periphery of the forest. The district has a coastline onto the Solent to the south and Southampton Water to the east.
Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southampton has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Hampshire County Council.
Isle of Wight Council, known between 1890 and 1995 as Isle of Wight County Council, is the local authority for the Isle of Wight in England. Since 1995 it has been a unitary authority, being a county council which also performs the functions of a district council. It is based at County Hall in Newport. The council has been under no overall control since 2021, being led by a coalition of independent, Green, and Our Island councillors called the Alliance Group.
Reading Borough Council is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
The Borough of Hartlepool is a unitary authority area with borough status in County Durham, England. Hartlepool Borough Council became a unitary authority in 1996; it is independent from Durham County Council. It is named after its largest settlement, Hartlepool, where the council is based. The borough also includes a rural area to the west of the town. The population of the borough at the 2021 census was 92,571, of which over 95% (87,995) lived in the built-up area of Hartlepool itself.
Middlesbrough Council, formerly Middlesbrough Borough Council, is the unitary authority covering the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Following the 2023 local elections, Labour has held majority control of the council, which meets at the Town Hall. It is led by the directly-elected Mayor of Middlesbrough. The council is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a unitary authority, being a county council which also performs the functions of a district council. The non-metropolitan county of Somerset is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset.
Northumberland County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having also taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished.
Gosport Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Gosport, in the county of Hampshire, England. The council consists of 28 councillors, two or three for each of the 14 wards in the town. It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, led by Peter Chegwyn. The borough council is based at Gosport Town Hall.
Exeter City Council is the local authority for the city of Exeter in Devon, England. Exeter has had a city council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a non-metropolitan district council. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. It meets at Exeter Guildhall and has its main offices at the Civic Centre on Paris Street.
Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and has been under Conservative majority control since 2001. The council meets at County Hall in the centre of Chelmsford. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
Rutland County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, legally being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election was held in 2021.
Portsmouth City Council is the local authority of the city of Portsmouth, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Portsmouth has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Hampshire County Council.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lancashire County Council.
Durham County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham in North East England. The council is a unitary authority, being a non-metropolitan county council which also performs the functions of a non-metropolitan district council. It has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham.
Derby City Council is the local authority for the city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. Derby has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2024 the council has been a member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
Buckinghamshire Council is the local authority for Buckinghamshire (district), a non-metropolitan county in England. It is a unitary authority, performing both county and district-level functions. It was created on 1 April 2020, replacing the previous Buckinghamshire County Council and the councils of the four abolished districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe. The territory of the Council is about four-fifths of Buckinghamshire and has about two-thirds of its population.