City of Winchester | |
|---|---|
Winchester shown within Hampshire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Hampshire |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district, Borough, City time immemorial |
| Admin HQ | Winchester |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Winchester City Council |
| • Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Liberal Democrat) |
| • MPs | Steve Brine Flick Drummond |
| Area | |
| • Total | 255.20 sq mi (660.97 km2) |
| • Rank | 60th (of 309) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 127,444 |
| • Rank | 183rd (of 309) |
| • Density | 500/sq mi (190/km2) |
| • Ethnicity | 97.8% White |
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 24UP (ONS) E07000094 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | SU485295 |
| Website | www |
The City of Winchester (/ˈwɪntʃɪstər/) is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with a city status.
The district covers the ancient settlement of the city of Winchester itself, but also covers a large area of central Hampshire including Bishop's Waltham, Denmead, New Alresford, and Kings Worthy (for a full list of these, see the "Settlements and parishes" section below), for a total area of 255.2 square miles (661 km2). The 2011 Census recorded the population of the district as 116,600.[1]
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the City of Winchester with Droxford Rural District and part of Winchester Rural District. It borders Basingstoke and Deane to the north, East Hampshire to the east, the Borough of Havant and the unitary authority area of Portsmouth to the south-east, the Borough of Fareham to the south, the Borough of Eastleigh to the south-west, and Test Valley to the west.
The city traces its history to the Roman Era, developing from the town of Venta Belgarum. It saw historic significance from its reconstruction under Alfred the Great in the 9th century, and grew in prominence until London replaced it as capital; Winchester saw a decline after plague swept the country, but began to recover from the 19th century.
The City of Winchester is made up of two parliamentary constituencies. Winchester constituency covers the north-eastern part of the city, as well as Chandler's Ford, which is part of Eastleigh. The remainder constitutes Meon Valley, which also covers part of East Hampshire and Havant. Winchester constituency has been represented by Steve Brine since 2010, whilst Meon Valley has been represented by Flick Drummond since the 2019 general election.
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Main article: Winchester local elections |
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See also: Mayor of Winchester |
Elections to the council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats on the council being elected at each election. From 1995 to the 2004 election the Liberal Democrats had a majority on the council, but after 2 years when no party held a majority the 2006 election saw the Conservative party gain control.[2] The elections on 6 May 2010 saw the Liberal Democrats re take control of the council, however the council soon switched to NOC a year later in 2011. In 2012, the Conservative Party made their only Council gain of the entire English local elections and won a majority in Winchester once again.[3] Subsequently, two Conservative councillors defected to the Liberal Democrat group, placing the council under No Overall Control.[4] Following local elections on 7 May 2015, the Conservatives re-gained majority control of the council.[5] Since the 2016 council election, in which new boundaries were introduced, no other parties than the Conservative and Liberal Democrats have held seats on the council. After the local elections on 2 May 2019, the Liberal Democrats gained majority control. Three independent councillors were elected as Conservatives. Cllr Weston resigned from the party in late 2019.[6] Cllr Clementson was suspended from the party pending an investigation.[7] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled 2020 local elections were postponed until 2021, when they took place alongside elections for Hampshire County Council. In November 2020 Alresford & Itchen Valley councillor Lisa Griffiths resigned from the Conservative Party to sit as an independent.[8] In September 2020, Liberal Democrat Councillor Kim Gottlieb (who joined the party after leaving the Conservatives) resigned as a Councillor, leaving one of the three St Michael seats vacant. The vacancy was subsequently won in 2021 City Council election by the Liberal Democrats, who retained an overall majority on the council despite losing a seat to the Conservatives.
The council is currently led by a Liberal Democrat administration. The make up of the council as of February 2022 is:[6]
| Ward | Party | Member | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alresford & Itchen Valley | Liberal Democrat | Margot Power | 2018 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Russel Gordon-Smith | 2019 | ||
| Conservative | Fiona Isaacs | 2021 | ||
| Badger Farm & Oliver's Battery | Liberal Democrat | Brian Laming | 2018 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Hannah Williams | 2019 | ||
| Conservative | Jan Warwick | 2021 | ||
| Bishops Waltham | Conservative | Steve Miller | 2018 | |
| Conservative | David Mclean | 2019 | ||
| Conservative | Michael Kurn | 2021 | ||
| Central Meon Valley | Green | Malcolm Wallace | 2022 | |
| Independent | Victoria Weston | 2019 | ||
| Conservative | Frank Pearson | 2021 | ||
| Colden Common and Twyford | Conservative | Susan Cook | 2018 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Tony Bronk | 2019 | ||
| Denmead | Conservative | Caroline Brook | 2018 | |
| Independent | Judith Clementson | 2019 | ||
| Conservative | Michael Read | 2016 | ||
| Southwick and Wickham | Liberal Democrat | Neil Cutler | 2018 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Therese Evans | 2019 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Angela Clear | 2021 | ||
| St Barnabas | Liberal Democrat | James Batho | 2022 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Mike Craske | 2019 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Kelsie Learney | 2021 | ||
| St Bartholomew | Liberal Democrat | Kathleen Becker | 2018 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Paula Ferguson | 2019 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | John Tippett-Cooper | 2021 | ||
| St Luke | Liberal Democrat | Derek Green | 2019 | |
| Conservative | Jamie Scott | 2021 | ||
| St Michael | Liberal Democrat | Charles Radcliffe | 2021 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Chris Edwards | 2021 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Mark Reach | 2022 | ||
| St Paul | Liberal Democrat | Lucille Thompson | 2018 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Martin Tod | 2019 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Chris Westwood | 2021 | ||
| The Worthys | Liberal Democrat | Jackie Porter | 2022 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Jane Rutter | 2019 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Steve Cramoysan | 2021 | ||
| Upper Meon Valley | Conservative | Neil Bolton | 2022 | |
| Conservative | Hugh Lumby | 2019 | ||
| Whiteley & Shedfield | Liberal Democrat | Anne Small | 2022 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Johnathan Fern | 2019 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Vivian Achwal | 2021 | ||
| Wonston & Micheldever | Conservative | Patrick Cunningham | 2018 | |
| Conservative | Caroline Horrill | 2019 | ||
| Conservative | Stephen Godfrey | 2021 | ||
Hampshire County Council holds elections every four years. Several Councillors are members of both the City and County Councils. In the 2021 elections the Winchester City district area elected seven representatives, out of 78:
| Ward | Party | Member[9] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winchester Eastgate | Liberal Democrat | Dominic Charles Alan Hiscock | |
| Winchester Downlands | Conservative | Jan Warwick | |
| Winchester Westgate | Liberal Democrat | Martin Tod | |
| Winchester Southern Parishes | Conservative | Patricia Stallard | |
| Itchen Valley | Liberal Democrat | Jackie Porter | |
| Meon Valley | Conservative | Hugh Lumby | |
| Bishop's Waltham | Conservative | Rob Humby | |
A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed the City of Winchester as the third most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the Borough of Waverley and Mole Valley.[10]
| Ethnic Group | 1991[11] | 2001[12] | 2011[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 95,427 | 99% | 104,907 | 97.8% | 111,577 | 95.7% |
| White: British | – | – | 101,689 | 94.8% | 107,070 | 91.8% |
| White: Irish | – | – | 750 | 733 | ||
| White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | 263 | |
| White: Other | – | – | 2,468 | 3,511 | ||
| Asian or Asian British: Total | 563 | 0.6% | 1,063 | 1% | 2,639 | 2.3% |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | 144 | 382 | 665 | |||
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 31 | 44 | 92 | |||
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 80 | 180 | 222 | |||
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 142 | 324 | 745 | |||
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 166 | 133 | 915 | |||
| Black or Black British: Total | 147 | 0.2% | 270 | 0.3% | 457 | 0.4% |
| Black or Black British: Caribbean | 54 | 118 | 147 | |||
| Black or Black British: African | 41 | 126 | 250 | |||
| Black or Black British: Other Black | 52 | 26 | 60 | |||
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | 708 | 0.7% | 1,626 | 1.4% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | 142 | 321 | ||
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | 86 | 180 | ||
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | 283 | 684 | ||
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | 197 | 441 | ||
| Other: Total | 249 | 0.3% | 274 | 0.3% | 296 | 0.3% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 110 | |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | 249 | 0.3% | 274 | 0.3% | 186 | |
| Total | 96,386 | 100% | 107,222 | 100% | 116,595 | 100% |
Settlements in the district include:
| Council | Equivalent City Ward |
|---|---|
| Badger Farm | Badger Farm & Olivers Battery |
| Beauworth | Upper Meon Valley |
| Bighton | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Bishop's Waltham | Bishop's Waltham |
| Bishops Sutton | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Boarhunt | Southwick & Wicham |
| Bramdean and Hinton Ampner | Upper Meon Valley |
| Cheriton | Upper Meon Valley |
| Chilcomb | Upper Meon Valley |
| Colden Common | Colden Common & Twyford |
| Compton & Shawford | Badger Farm & Oliver's Battery |
| Corhampton & Meonstoke | Upper Meon Valley |
| Crawley | Wonston & Micheldever |
| Curdridge | Whiteley & Shedfield |
| Denmead | Denmead |
| Droxford | Central Meon Valley |
| Durley | Bishop's Waltham |
| Exton | Upper Meon Valley |
| Hambledon | Central Meon Valley |
| Headbourne Worthy | The Worthys |
| Hursley | Badger Farm & Oliver's Battery |
| Itchen Stoke & Ovington | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Itchen Valley | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Kilmeston | Upper Meon Valley |
| Kings Worthy | The Worthys |
| Littleton and Harestock | Wonston & Micheldever |
| Micheldever | Wonston & Micheldever |
| New Alresford (Town) | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Newlands | Denmead |
| Southwick & Wickham | |
| Northington | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Old Alresford | Alresford & Itchen Valley |
| Oliver's Battery | Badger Farm & Oliver's Battery |
| Otterbourne | Badger Farm & Oliver's Battery |
| Owslebury | Upper Meon Valley |
| Shedfield | Whiteley & Shedfield |
| Central Meon Valley | |
| Soberton | Central Meon Valley |
| South Wonston | Wonston & Micheldever |
| The Worthys | |
| Southwick & Widley | Southwick & Wickham |
| Sparsholt | Wonston & Micheldever |
| Swanmore | Central Meon Valley |
| Tichborne | Upper Meon Valley |
| Twyford | Colden Common & Twyford |
| Upham | Upper Meon Valley |
| Warnford | Upper Meon Valley |
| West Meon | Upper Meon Valley |
| Whiteley | Whiteley & Shedfield |
| Wickham | Southwick & Wickham |
| Wonston | Wonston & Micheldever |
