Winchester, or the City of Winchester, is a local government district with city status in Hampshire, England. The district is named after its main settlement of Winchester, which is where the council is based and is also the county town of Hampshire. The city boundaries also encompass a large surrounding rural area, including the towns of New Alresford and Whiteley and numerous villages. Parts of the district lie within the South Downs National Park. The neighbouring districts are Basingstoke and Deane, East Hampshire, Havant, Portsmouth, Fareham, Eastleigh and Test Valley.

History

Winchester was an ancient borough, which had additionally held city status from time immemorial. 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, serving as capital city until London replaced it as capital. The office of Mayor of Winchester was created sometime between 1190 and 1200, making it the second oldest mayoralty in England, after London. Winchester saw a decline after plague swept the country, but began to recover from the 19th century. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which reformed most boroughs across the country. It had its territory enlarged at the same time to bring developing suburbs within the city boundary. The borough was significantly enlarged in 1932, absorbing Weeke and gaining territory from several other surrounding parishes. The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and parts of a third, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Winchester after its largest settlement. Winchester's borough status passed to the enlarged district from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Winchester's series of mayors dating back to the twelfth century. The city status formerly held by the municipal borough of Winchester was also transferred to the whole of the new district from its creation, allowing the council to call itself Winchester City Council.

Governance

Winchester City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Hampshire County Council. Much of the district is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. In the parts of the district within the South Downs National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the South Downs National Park Authority. The district council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 27-person National Park Authority.

Political control

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of mayor of Winchester is now largely ceremonial, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1979 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election and a subsequent by-election in July 2024, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 45 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council 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 city council elections. Since 2024, the City of Winchester has straddled three parliamentary constituencies. Winchester constituency covers most of the district area, including 13 of the 16 City Council wards of the district. Hamble Valley constituency lies mostly within the boroughs of Eastleigh and Fareham, but also includes Winchester's Whiteley and Shedfield ward. Fareham and Waterlooville constituency lies mostly in the Fareham and Havant districts, but also includes Winchester's Denmead and Southwick & Wickham wards. Since the boundaries were introduced in 2024, Winchester constituency has been represented by Danny Chambers, Hamble Valley has been represented by Paul Holmes and Fareham and Waterlooville by Suella Braverman.

Premises

The council meets at Winchester Guildhall, on the section of High Street known as The Broadway. The main building was built between 1871 and 1875. The council's main offices are in an adjoining modern building called City Offices, to the rear of the Guildhall on Colebrook Street.

Demographics

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.

Ethnicity

Parishes

Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The main part of the Winchester urban area, roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 borough, is an unparished area. The council runs a "Winchester Town Forum" for this area to discuss local matters in that area in the absence of a parish council. The parish councils for New Alresford and Whiteley have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. The parishes are: