# Borough of Waverley

The Borough of Waverley is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough contains the towns of Godalming, Farnham and Haslemere, as well as numerous villages, including the large village of Cranleigh, and surrounding rural areas. At the 2021 Census, the population of the borough was 128,200. The borough is named after Waverley Abbey, near Farnham. Large parts of the borough are within the Surrey Hills National Landscape. Its council, Waverley Borough Council, is based in Godalming.
The neighbouring districts are Guildford, Mole Valley, Horsham, Chichester, East Hampshire, Hart and Rushmoor.

## History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:
* Farnham Urban District
* Godalming Municipal Borough
* Haslemere Urban District
* Hambledon Rural District
The new district was named after Waverley Abbey in the parish of Farnham, which was the earliest Cistercian monastery in Britain.
For the first six years of its existence, the council was based outside the district at the former Hambledon Rural District Council's offices at Bury Fields in Guildford. In April 1980, the council moved to purpose-built headquarters at The Burys in Godalming, behind Godalming Borough Hall. The district was awarded borough status on 21 February 1984, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

## Governance

Waverley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. The whole borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.
The council has shared a chief executive with neighbouring Guildford Borough Council since 2017.

### Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019, being run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Farnham Residents, Labour and Greens. The same coalition continues to run the council following the 2023 election.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| No overall control | 1974–1976 |
| Conservative | 1976–1991 |
| No overall control | 1991–1995 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1995–1999 |
| Conservative | 1999–2003 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2003–2004 |
| No overall control | 2004–2007 |
| Conservative | 2007–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Waverley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Chris Slyfield | Liberal Democrats | 2003 | Feb 2005 |
| Gillian Ferguson | Liberal Democrats | 22 Feb 2005 | May 2007 |
| Richard Gates | Conservative | May 2007 | May 2010 |
| Robert Knowles | Conservative | 11 May 2010 | 10 May 2016 |
| Julia Potts | Conservative | 10 May 2016 | May 2019 |
| John Ward | Farnham Residents | 21 May 2019 | 27 Apr 2021 |
| Paul Follows | Liberal Democrats | 27 Apr 2021 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Liberal Democrats | 22 |
| | Farnham Residents | 13 |
| | Conservative | 10 |
| | Labour | 2 |
| | Independent | 2 |
| | Green | 1 |
| Total | Total | 50 |
The Labour and Green councillors sit together as a group. The next election is due in 2027.

### Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

## Geography

Waverley's landscape is influenced by its position within the landform of the Weald. It contains parts of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge and large parts of the borough are within the Surrey Hills AONB. It has the most green space in absolute terms in Surrey at 293.1 km$^2$ (113.2 sq mi) according to the central government-compiled Generalised Land Use database of January 2005, approximately half of which is woodland.
Blackheath Common, in the north of the borough, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as is the Devil's Punch Bowl in the south of the district.

## Demography

A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed Waverley as the most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom.

## Twinning

* Mayen-Koblenz in Germany dates from 1977.

## Civil parishes

Waverley is entirely divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Farnham, Godalming and Haslemere take the style "town council".
* Alfold
* Bramley
* Busbridge
* Chiddingfold
* Churt
* Cranleigh
* Dockenfield
* Dunsfold
* Elstead
* Ewhurst
* Farnham (town)
* Frensham
* Godalming (town)
* Hambledon
* Hascombe
* Haslemere (town)
* Peper Harow
* Thursley
* Tilford
* Witley
* Wonersh
    See List of settlements and parishes in Waverley