Test Valley

Test Valley
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Andover Town Centre
Test Valley shown within Hampshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Hampshire
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Andover
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Test Valley Borough Council
•  MPs	Kit Malthouse Caroline Nokes
Area
• Total	242.3 sq mi (627.6 km2)
• Rank	57th (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	132,871
• Rank	181st (of 296)
• Density	550/sq mi (210/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
•  Ethnic groups	List 93.1% White 3.3% Asian 1.8% Mixed 1.1% Black 0.8% other
Religion (2021) [1]
•  Religion	List 50.5% Christianity 40.6% no religion 5.7% not stated 0.9% Islam 0.8% Hinduism 0.5% Buddhism 0.5% other 0.4% Sikhism 0.1% Judaism
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	24UN (ONS) E07000093 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SU3560537973

Test Valley is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. The council is based in the borough's largest town of Andover. The borough also contains the town of Romsey and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. A small part of the borough at its southern end lies within the New Forest National Park, and part of the borough north of Andover lies within the North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The neighbouring districts are Basingstoke and Deane, Winchester, and Eastleigh to the east, Southampton and New Forest to the south, Wiltshire to the west and West Berkshire to the north.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts which were all abolished at the same time: ^[2]

• Andover Municipal Borough
• Andover Rural District
• Romsey Municipal Borough
• Romsey and Stockbridge Rural District

The new district was named Test Valley after the River Test which flows through the area. ^[3] The district was awarded borough status on 22 October 1976, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. ^[4]

Governance

Test Valley Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	Gordon Bailey, Conservative since 14 May 2025 [5]
Leader	Phil North, Conservative since 10 May 2017
Chief Executive	Andy Ferrier since 15 June 2020 [6]
Structure
Seats	43 councillors
Political groups	Administration (26)   Conservative (26) Opposition (17)   Liberal Democrat (17)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, Andover, SP10 3AJ
Website
www.testvalley.gov.uk

Test Valley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Hampshire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. ^[7]

In the part of the borough within the New Forest National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the New Forest National Park Authority. The borough council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 22-person National Park Authority. ^[8]

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows: ^[9]

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1974–1976
	No overall control	1976–1979
	Conservative	1979–1995
	No overall control	1995–1999
	Conservative	1999–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Test Valley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1980 have been: ^[10]

Councillor	Party		From	To	Notes
John Morgan		Conservative	1980	1985
Roy Perry		Conservative	1985	4 May 1994
Eileen Haselden [11]		Conservative	4 May 1994	17 May 1995
Eileen Haselden		Conservative	17 May 1995	14 May 1997	Joint leaders
Mark Cooper		Liberal Democrats
Mark Cooper [12]		Liberal Democrats	14 May 1997	6 May 1998
Norman Arnell [13]		Conservative	6 May 1998	19 May 1999
Ian Carr [14] [15]		Conservative	19 May 1999	10 May 2017
Phil North [16]		Conservative	10 May 2017

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: ^[17]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	26
	Liberal Democrats	17
Total		43

The next election is due in 2027. ^[18]

Elections

See also: Test Valley Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 43 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. ^[19]

Premises

Andover Guildhall, one of the council's meeting places.

The council has its main offices at Beech Hurst in Andover. The site had previously been a large house built in the 1850s, which had been purchased in 1947 by the old Andover Borough Council to use as its headquarters. The house continued to serve as offices for Test Valley after the new council's creation in 1974 until 1990 when it was demolished and replaced by a modern building on the same site, retaining the Beech Hurst name. ^[20] The council also maintains a smaller office at the former Magistrates' Court on Church Street in Romsey. ^[21] Full council meetings are held alternately at Andover Guildhall and at Crosfield Hall in Romsey. ^[22]

Geography

Test Valley covers some 250 square miles (650 km²) of western Hampshire, stretching from boundaries with Southampton in the south to near Newbury in the north. Test Valley is a predominantly rural area. It includes part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The River Test is the centrepiece of the Test Valley; the river is a chalk stream of particular beauty known for its fishing, salmon and trout, which Lord Crickhowell (onetime chairman of the National Rivers Authority) said "should be treated as a great work of art or music". Stockbridge is home of the Houghton Fishing Club, an exclusive fishing club founded in 1822, which meets in the Grosvenor Hotel.

Demographics

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Test Valley were the 8th most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 26.9% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. ^[23]

In March 2012 Test Valley was ranked 14th best rural area to live out of 119 local authority areas in Great Britain by the Halifax. This was based on factors including employment and income levels, the weather, health and life expectancy, education, crime, broadband access and other things. ^{[24] [25]}

Towns and parishes

See also: List of civil parishes in Hampshire

The whole borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Andover and Romsey have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Whilst Stockbridge is a post town it has a parish council rather than a town council. Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. The parishes of Frenchmoor and West Tytherley share a grouped parish council. ^[26]

Name [27]	Status	Population	Area (ha)	Population denisty (people/ha)	Ward/s [28]
Abbotts Ann	Civil Parish	1,331	1281.75	1.02	Anna; Andover Millway
Ampfield	Civil Parish	1,762	966.32	1.81	Ampfield & Braishfield
Amport	Civil Parish	1,228	1619.52	0.76	Anna
Andover	Town	50,887	2087.37	24.43	Andover Downlands; Andover Harroway; Andover Romans; Andover St Mary's; Andover Winton; Andover Millway; Anna
Appleshaw	Civil Parish	606	584.76	1.03	Bellinger
Ashley	Civil Parish	68	764.74	0.09	Mid Test
Awbridge	Civil Parish	767	482.7	1.58	Blackwater
Barton Stacey	Civil Parish	1,049	2031.51	0.52	Harewood
Bossington	Civil Parish	58	607.71	0.1	Mid Test
Braishfield	Civil Parish	688	983.19	0.7	Ampfield & Braishfield
Broughton	Civil Parish	1,079	1533.58	0.7	Mid Test
Buckholt	Civil Parish	16	350.42	0.05	Mid Test
Bullington	Civil Parish	110	661.22	0.17	Harewood
Charlton	Civil Parish	2,048	245.19	8.41	Charlton & the Pentons
Chilbolton	Civil Parish	978	1267.71	0.77	Harewood
Chilworth	Civil Parish	1,177	1062.6	1.15	Chilworth, Nurslings & Rownhams
East Dean	Civil Parish	239	433.2	0.54	Mid Test
East Tytherley	Civil Parish	187	1061.37	0.18	Mid Test
Enham Alamein	Civil Parish	773	346.58	3	Bourne Valley; Andover Romans
Faccombe	Civil Parish	96	1079.44	0.09	Bourne Valley
Frenchmoor	Civil Parish	45	153.81	0.29	Mid Test
Fyfield	Civil Parish	338	224.38	1.52	Bellinger
Goodworth Clatford	Civil Parish	747	1141.87	0.65	Anna
Grateley	Civil Parish	664	627.82	1.06	Anna
Houghton	Civil Parish	467	1081.72	0.44	Mid Test
Hurstbourne Tarrant	Civil Parish	855	1957.09	0.44	Bourne Valley
Kimpton	Civil Parish	365	1122.16	0.33	Bellinger
King's Somborne	Civil Parish	1,627	2722.87	0.6	Mid Test
Leckford	Civil Parish	133	915.92	0.15	Mid Test
Linkenholt	Civil Parish	44	434.02	0.1	Bourne Valley
Little Somborne	Civil Parish	82	783.83	0.1	Mid Test
Lockerley	Civil Parish	825	624.02	1.33	Mid Test
Longparish	Civil Parish	653	2156.02	0.3	Harewood
Longstock	Civil Parish	467	1207.97	0.39	Mid Test
Melchet Park and Plaitford	Civil Parish	389	754.42	0.51	Blackwater
Michelmersh and Timsbury	Civil Parish	915	1127.85	0.81	Blackwater; Ampfield & Braishfield
Monxton	Civil Parish	279	449.97	0.62	Anna
Mottisfont	Civil Parish	406	1185.36	0.34	Mid Test
Nether Wallop	Civil Parish	895	2983.05	0.3	Mid Test
North Baddesley	Civil Parish	7,164	779.88	9.19	North Baddesley
Nursling and Rownhams	Civil Parish	5,605	1169.78	4.72	Chilworth, Nurslings & Rownhams
Over Wallop	Civil Parish	2,429	1891.28	1.28	Anna; Mid Test
Penton Grafton	Civil Parish	794	763.37	1.04	Charlton & the Pentons
Penton Mewsey	Civil Parish	394	431.06	0.94	Charlton & the Pentons
Quarley	Civil Parish	150	648.25	0.22	Anna
Romsey	Town	21,540	3623.53	5.94	Blackwater; Romsey Cupernham; Ampfield & Braishfield; Romsey Tadburn; Romsey Abbey; Chilworth, Nurslings & Rownhams
Sherfield English	Civil Parish	707	850.78	0.83	Blackwater
Shipton Bellinger	Civil Parish	1,493	1034.62	1.45	Bellinger
Smannell	Civil Parish	495	589.14	0.49	Bourne Valley; Andover Romans
Stockbridge	Civil Parish	553	585.72	0.96	Mid Test
Tangley	Civil Parish	542	1615.97	0.34	Bourne Valley
Thruxton	Civil Parish	620	632.97	0.97	Bellinger
Upper Clatford	Civil Parish	1,613	937.18	1.72	Anna
Valley Park	Civil Parish	7,381	273.73	27	Valley Park; North Baddesley; Chilworth, Nurslings & Rownhams
Vernham Dean	Civil Parish	488	1585.02	0.31	Bourne Valley
Wellow	Civil Parish	3,409	1565.22	2.16	Blackwater
West Tytherley	Civil Parish	568	1180.36	0.48	Mid Test
Wherwell	Civil Parish	454	1469.98	0.31	Harewood

Transport

Rail

There are three rail lines in service in Test Valley; these being the West of England line, Wessex Main Line and Eastleigh–Romsey line. On the West of England line are Andover railway station and Grateley railway station. From Andover there are half-hourly trains to London Waterloo via Basingstoke, plus half-hourly trains to Salisbury, with some continuing to destinations such as Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction. Grateley operates hourly trains in both directions. Both of these stations are only served by SWR. On the Wessex Main line are Romsey railway station and Mottisfont & Dunbridge railway station, plus Dean railway station which is located just across the Wiltshire border in West Dean. All three stations are operated by SWR, Romsey is also served by GWR. Mottisfont & Dunbridge and Dean are served by trains towards Salisbury, and trains towards Romsey, where they loop either towards Chandler's Ford first (on the Eastleigh-Romsey line) or Redbridge, going on to call at both Southampton Central and Eastleigh, eventually looping back to Romsey, either terminating there or continuing to Salisbury. Romsey also has GWR services towards Portsmouth Harbour via Southampton and Fareham. And GWR towards Cardiff Central via Salisbury, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads and Newport.

Bus & Coach

A number of bus operators operate in Test Valley. Stagecoach South ^[29] has a depot in Andover, and operates most of the routes in north Test valley and Andover. Salisbury Reds ^{[30] [31]} and Bluestar ^[32] (including Unilink ^[33] ), both Go-Ahead Group companies, operate most of the routes in south Test valley and Romsey.

Bus	Operator	Between	Via (only in Test Valley)	Via (major outside Test Valley)
1 / N1 [34]	Bluestar	Winchester - Southampton	Chilworth
1 [35]	Stagecoach	Internal Andover	King Arthur's Way, Roman Way, Cricketers Way, Tesco Extra
C1	Hampshire Community Transport	Appleshaw - Andover	Clanville, Penton, Andover train station
2 [36]	Stagecoach	Internal Andover	East Anton
3 [37]	Stagecoach	Internal Andover	Charlton, Saxon Way, Artist's Way, Picket Twenty, (sometimes) Andover train station
4 [38]	Bluestar	Romsey - Southampton	North Baddesley, Rownhams, Nursling
4 [39]	Stagecoach	Internal Andover	Harrow Way, The Drove, Picket Piece, Tesco Extra, (sometimes) Andover train station
5 [40]	Bluestar	Romsey - Eastleigh	North Baddesley, Valley Park *
5 [41]	Stagecoach	Andover - Andover	Monxton, Amport, Grateley, Grateley train station, Quarley, Thructon, Weyhill, (sometimes) Portway indutrial estate
7 [42]	Stagecoach	Andover - Newbury	Tesco Extra, Enham Alamein, Hurstbourne Tarrant	Highclere
7 [43]	Stagecoach	Winchester - Sparsholt & Salisbury	Stockbridge	Sparsholt, Sparsholt College
X7 [44]	Salisbury Reds	Salisbury - Southampton	Plaitford, Wellow	Totton
X7R [44]	Salisbury Reds	Salisbury - Southampton	Shootash, Romsey	Totton
Activ8 [45] [46]	Stagecoach & Salisbury reds	Andover - Salisbury	Andover train station, Weyhill	Ludgershall, Tidworth, Amesbury
U8 [47]	Unilink	University - Science Park	Chilworth
16 [48]	Stagecoach	Winchester - Stockbridge	Little Somborne, King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Houghton
17 [49]	Bluestar	Weston - Southampton - Adanac Park	Nursling
032 [50]	National Express [51]	London - Salisbury	West Wellow	Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke, Heathrow
35 [52]	Bluestar	Romsey - Braishfield
37 [53]	Salisbury Reds	Salisbury - Lockerley	East Dean, West Tytherley, Lockerley	West Dean
46	Hampshire Community Transport	Chilworth - Lords Hill	Rownhams
46 [54]	Stagecoach	Winchester - North Baddesley	Valley Park
54	Hampshire Community Transport	Romsey - Wherwell	Houghton, King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Longstock, Chilbolton, Wherwell
61 [55]	Bluestar	Bevois Valley - Nursling Industrial Estate		Southampton Central
66 [56]	Stagecoach	Romsey - Winchester	Ampfield
66 [57]	Salisbury Reds	Shipton Bellinger - Salisbury		Porton, Laverstock
66 [58]	Stagecoach	Shipton Bellinger - Salisbury		Porton, Laverstock
67 / X67 [58]	Stagecoach	Tidworth - Salisbury	Shipton Bellinger	Porton, Laverstock
68 [59]	Stagecoach	Winchester - Salisbury	Stockbridge	Peter Symonds College
75 [59] [60]	Stagecoach	Andover - Winchester	Bullington	Sutton Scotney, South Wonston
76 [61]	Stagecoach	Andover - Basingstoke		Whitchurch, Overton, Oakley
87 [58]	Stagecoach	Andover - Salisbury	Anna Valley, Kentsboro, Middle Wallop	Lopcombe, Winterslow
87 [62]	Salisbury Reds	Winterslow - Salisbury	Middle Wallop	Lopcombe, Winterslow
Andover [63]	Broughton & Mottisfont Community Bus	Dunbridge - Andover	Mottisfont, Broughton, Stockbridge
RMS [63]	Broughton & Mottisfont Community Bus	Stockbridge - Romsey	Houghton, Broughton, Mottisfont, Dunbridge, Awbridge
Salisbury [63]	Broughton & Mottisfont Community Bus	Dunbridge - Salisbury	Mottsfont, Broughton, Over Wallop
Southampton [63]	Broughton & Mottisfont Community Bus	Stockbridge - Southampton	Houghton, Broughton, Mottisfont, Dunbridge, Timsbury
Winchester [63]	Broughton & Mottisfont Community Bus	Dunbridge - Winchester	Mottisfont, Broughton, Stockbridge

* Specific journeys start in Shootash, and stop at Sherfield English; Plaitford; Wellow and rejoins in Romsey, but doesn't serve Romsey bus station

Media

Television

The area is served by BBC South and ITV Meridian with television signals received from either Rowridge or Hannington TV transmitters. ^{[64] [65]}

Radio

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Berkshire
• BBC Radio Solent
• Heart South
• Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire & North Hampshire
• Andover Radio (serving Andover)

References

1. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Test Valley Local Authority (E07000093)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
4. Alterations of Area and Status (PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1976. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
5. "Council minutes, 14 May 2025". Test Valley Borough Council. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
6. "New Chief Executive for Test Valley". Test Valley Borough Council News. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
7. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
8. "Members". New Forest National Park. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
9. "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Test Valley" in search box to see specific results.)
10. "Past leaders of the council". Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
11. "Council minutes, 4 May 1994". Test Valley Borough Council. 4 May 1994. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
12. "Council minutes, 14 May 1997" (PDF). Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
13. "Council minutes, 6 May 1998" (PDF). Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
14. "Council minutes, 19 May 1999" (PDF). Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
15. Robinson, James (23 March 2017). "Test Valley Borough Council leader Ian Carr to stand down after 18 years in role". Andover Advertiser. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
16. "Council minutes, 10 May 2017" (PDF). Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
17. Voce, Antonio; Leach, Anna; Hoog, Niels de; Torpey, Paul; Clarke, Seán (9 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
18. "Test Valley". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
19. "The Test Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2018/36, retrieved 14 November 2023
20. Borrett, David (20 February 2021). "Andover History: The tale of the mighty Beech Hurst". Andover Advertiser. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
21. "Test Valley Borough Council" . Retrieved 14 November 2023.
22. "Council minutes". Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
23. "Sport England Active People Survey National Factsheet". 2007. Archived from the original (XLS) on 15 March 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
24. "Test Valley Scores in Top 20 Rural Areas to Live, Says The Halifax". Inspired Community. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
25. "Halifax Survey Ranks Test Valley as 14th Best Rural Area to Live". Inspired Community.
26. "Parish Council contact details". Test Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
27. "Parish Profiles - Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC)". www.testvalley.gov.uk. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
28. "Map referred to in the Test Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 2017" (PDF). www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
29. "Stagecoach". Stagecoach. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
30. "Salisbury Reds Rural Map" (PDF). Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
31. "Salisbury Reds". Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
32. "Bluestar". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
33. "Unilink". Unilink. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
34. "Bluestar 1, N1". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
35. "Stagecoach Andover Route 1" (PDF). Stagecoach.
36. "Stagecoach Andover 2" (PDF).
37. "Stagecoach Andover 3" (PDF).
38. "Bluestar 4". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
39. "Stagecoach Andover 4" (PDF).
40. "Bluestar 5". Bluestar 5. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
41. "Stagecoach Andover 5" (PDF).
42. "Stagecoach Andover 7, 7A" (PDF). 7 April 2021.
43. "Stagecoach Winchester 7" (PDF).
44. "Salisbury Reds X7, X7R". Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
45. "Salisbury Reds Activ8". Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
46. "Stagecoach Andover Activ8" (PDF). Stagecoach.
47. "Unilink U8". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
48. "Stagecoach Winchester 16" (PDF).
49. "Bluestar 17". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
50. "National Express 032". National Express. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
51. "National Express". National Express. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
52. "Bluestar 35". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
53. "Salisbury Reds 37". Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
54. "Stagecoach Winchester 46" (PDF).
55. "Bluestar 61". Bluestar. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
56. "Stagecoach Winchester 66" (PDF).
57. "Salisbury Reds 66, X66". Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
58. "Stagecoach Andover 66, 67, X67, 667, 87, 201" (PDF).
59. "Peter_Symonds_College_BusGuide_2024_25_V3" (PDF).
60. "Stagecoach Andover & Winchester 75" (PDF).
61. "Stagecoach Andover & Basingstoke 76" (PDF).
62. "Salisbury Reds 87, 88". Salisbury Reds. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
63. "Broughton and Mottisfont Community Bus Timetable" (PDF). www.broughtonvillage.net. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
64. "Full Freeview on the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter". May 2004.
65. "Hannington (Hampshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter". May 2004.

External links

• Test Valley Borough website

51°08′22″N1°29′28″W / 51.1394°N 1.491°W / 51.1394; -1.491