In brief
Goodbye Barncroft, Battins, Warren Park and Bondfields, hello Leigh Park East and Leigh Park West, Langstone heads south of the bridge, St Faiths takes small nibbles out of Bedhampton and Emsworth‘s green space, while Emsworth gains the rest of Saxon Corner.
The details
The Local Government Boundary Commission draft report recommends that Havant should be represented by 36 councillors spread across 12 wards, that’s a reduction from the 38 councillors who represent 14 wards today. To achieve this, the boundaries of all but Hart Plain, Purbrook and Stakes will need to change.
The plan view below shows the current Havant Borough Council Ward boundaries on the left in blue, with the proposed boundaries for 2024 shown in red on the right. Click the image to view it at a larger resolution.
We highlight the main changes below, however if you want to read the full 38 page report, click on the image and it will open in a separate browser tab.
The main changes proposed
Barncroft, Battins, Bondfields and Warren Park wards will all disappear. The four currently separate Leigh Park wards would be merged into two new wards, Leigh Park West and Leigh Park East, each having three Councillors. This means that the number of Councillors supporting cases raised by the residents of Leigh Park would be cut from the current eight down to six.
South of the A27, Langstone would move from St. Faith’s and be merged into a new ward of ‘Hayling West and Langstone‘, while the current Hayling East would shrink in land area to occupy just the south east corner of the island.
Bedhampton would now stretch to the north, with Purbrook Way now forming its northern boundary, taking in the southernmost parts of the current Barncroft ward. In the east, Bedhampton loses a few streets to a small land grab from St. Faith’s.
St. Faith’s stretches to the west, taking from Bedhampton the area around Havant College, the lower part of Barncroft Way and the streets north of West Street and west of Park Road North. To the east, St. Faith’s would extend to include the whole of the ‘Southleigh gap’.
Apart from a curious extension to cover two properties at Warblington and the rest of Saxon Corner, Emsworth remains unchanged.
To compare the changes with a focus on St Faith’s and the surrounding wards, here’s a little more detail as a slide overlay. As a reminder, the current boundaries are in blue, with the proposed boundaries in red.
Have Your Say
You have the opportunity to add your comments on the Local Government Boundary Commission proposals by taking this link. If you take the link, a web page will open with full instructions on how to submit your comments. The consultation is open until 18th July.
Looking forward to 2024
The upshot of this is that at the 2024 local elections, all of the council seats will be up for re-election, which might just offer a little food for thought.
As St Faith’s residents demonstrated so effectively on May 5th, change is possible.
Havant Civic Society 
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