# Borough of Havant

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 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 | May 2014 |
| Mike Cheshire | Conservative | 28 May 2014 | May 2018 |
| Michael Wilson | Conservative | 9 May 2018 | May 2021 |
| Alex Rennie | Conservative | 19 May 2021 | May 2024 |
| Philip Munday | Labour | 15 May 2024 | |

### Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 13 |
| | Labour | 10 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 7 |
| | Green | 4 |
| | Reform UK | 2 |
| Total | 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

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

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.