British administrative body and municipal art collection
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]
In May 2022, Rob Humby was elected as
leader of the council
.
[1]
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
.
[8]
History
[
edit
]
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
.
[9]
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.
[10]
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.
[11]
Bournemouth
was made a county borough in 1900, removing it from the administrative county of Hampshire.
[12]
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.
[10]
The name was officially changed to Hampshire County Council with effect from 1 April 1959.
[13]
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
.
[14]
The council was granted a
coat of arms
in 1992.
[15]
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
.
[16]
They remain part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire for the purposes of
lieutenancy
.
[17]
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.
[18]
Governance
[
edit
]
Hampshire County Council provides
county-level
services.
District-level
services are provided by the area's eleven district councils.
[19]
The county council has authority over the pink area, formally called the non-metropolitan county. The wider
ceremonial county
of Hampshire additionally includes the two unitary authorities of Southampton (8) and Portsmouth (12) shown in yellow.
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]
- Test Valley
- Basingstoke and Deane
- Hart
- Rushmoor
- Winchester
- East Hampshire
- New Forest
- Southampton
(unitary)
- Eastleigh
- Fareham
- Gosport
- Portsmouth
(unitary)
- Havant
Political control
[
edit
]
The council has been under
Conservative
majority control since 1997.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:
[21]
Leadership
[
edit
]
The
leaders of the council
since 1976 have been:
[22]
Composition
[
edit
]
Following the
2021 election
and changes of allegiance and by-elections up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:
Two of the independent councillors and the Whitehill and Bordon Community Party councillor sit together as the "Independent Group".
[24]
The other independent councillor does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2025.
Premises
[
edit
]
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.
[25]
[26]
The council also has area offices in
Basingstoke
,
Farnborough
,
Havant
and
Totton
.
[27]
Elections
[
edit
]
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.
[28]
Notable members
[
edit
]
- Henry Paulet, 16th Marquess of Winchester
, Chairman 1904?1909
- James Harris, 5th Earl of Malmesbury
, Chairman 1927?1937
- Sir Charles Chute, Baronet
, Chairman 1938?1955
- Sir John Crowder
, member 1931?1946
- Francis Manners, 4th Baron Manners
[29]
- Horace King, Baron Maybray-King
, member 1946?1965
- John Denham
, member 1981 to 1989, later a member of parliament
- Mike Hancock
, Leader 1989 to 1997, later a member of parliament
- Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon
, Chairman 1973 - 1977
- Alexander Baring, 6th Baron Ashburton
, member 1945-1972
- Roy Perry
, Leader 2013-2019
- Percivall Pott
, elected member, 1949, later member of parliament for
Devizes
in
Wiltshire
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Council minutes, 19 May 2022"
(PDF)
. Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
18 July
2022
.
- ^
"Chief Executive Officer of Hampshire County Council"
. Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
24 March
2022
.
- ^
"Your Councillors"
. Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
22 September
2020
.
- ^
"Map"
(PDF)
. Hampshire County Council. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 22 February 2016
. Retrieved
2 September
2017
.
- ^
"Hampshire Population"
. Retrieved
23 March
2022
.
- ^
"Your Councillors"
.
democracy.hants.gov.uk
. 23 March 2022
. Retrieved
23 March
2022
.
- ^
Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (2015).
Hampshire County Council Election Results 1973-2009
(PDF)
. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University
. Retrieved
18 July
2022
.
- ^
"Hampshire and Kent councils warn they could go bankrupt in less than a year"
.
ITV News
. 14 November 2022
. Retrieved
14 November
2022
.
- ^
"Local Government Act 1888"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, 1888 c. 41
, retrieved
27 August
2023
- ^
a
b
"Hants County Council: Settling down to business"
.
Evening News
. Portsmouth. 2 April 1889. p. 2
. Retrieved
29 August
2023
.
- ^
"Local Government Board's Provision Order Confirmation (No. 2) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 177)"
.
legislation.gov.uk
. The National Archives
. Retrieved
29 August
2023
.
- ^
"Bournemouth Municipal Borough / County Borough"
.
A Vision of Britain through Time
. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth
. Retrieved
29 August
2023
.
- ^
"Hampshire will be Hampshire - officially"
.
Hampshire Telegraph and Post
. Portsmouth. 27 February 1959. p. 8
. Retrieved
29 August
2023
.
- ^
"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1972/2039
, retrieved
31 May
2023
- ^
"Hampshire County Council brand permissions: Coat of arms"
. Retrieved
28 February
2021
.
- ^
"The Hampshire (Cities of Portsmouth and Southampton) (Structural Change) Order 1995"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1995/1775
, retrieved
30 August
2023
- ^
"Lieutenancies Act 1997"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, 1997 c. 23
, retrieved
30 August
2023
- ^
"Coast joint authority plan dropped"
.
BBC News
. 30 June 2015
. Retrieved
22 September
2020
.
- ^
"Local Government Act 1972"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, 1972 c. 70
, retrieved
31 May
2023
- ^
"About the Council | Government in Hampshire"
. Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
22 September
2020
.
- ^
"Compositions calculator"
.
The Elections Centre
. 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
10 August
2022
.
- ^
"Council minutes"
.
Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
18 July
2022
.
- ^
"Hampshire's former council leader Ken Thornber dies"
.
BBC News
. 5 November 2017
. Retrieved
18 July
2022
.
- ^
"Your councillors by political grouping"
.
Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
30 August
2023
.
- ^
Historic England
.
"Castle Hill Offices, County Hall (1167140)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
7 September
2019
.
- ^
Historic England
.
"Castle Avenue Offices, County Hall (1167078)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
7 September
2019
.
- ^
"Office locations and directions"
.
Hampshire County Council
. Retrieved
30 August
2023
.
- ^
"The Hampshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2016"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 2016/1223
, retrieved
30 August
2023
- ^
Problems and Progress in Old People's Welfare: Report of the Third National Conference on the Care of Old People, 26th & 27th November, 1948
(National Old People's Welfare Committee, 1949), p. 2
Local authorities in Hampshire
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County council and unitary authorities
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District councils
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