On 16 April 2026, press coverage by BBC Berkshire and the Daily Telegraph highlighted Bracknell Forest Borough Council’s troubled rollout of the Arcus planning system, prompting a detailed online apology to Bracknell Forest residents. click the image to read the full statement from Bracknell Forest Borough Council This may be the first time that problems … Continue reading Planning system failures at Havant and Bracknell raise wider concerns over local authority strategic cloud deployments
Category: Council
Local Government Reorganisation Update
On 25 March, the Government announced its decision on the arrangements for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Havant Borough Council (HBC) has updated its LGR web page (Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)) in a cursory and rather unhelpful way, so this article draws on the more informative Hampshire … Continue reading Local Government Reorganisation Update
Southleigh Development Consultation Forum – 27 January – Tickets now closed
Please noteThe venue for this meeting has now been changed to the Civic Plaza and all tickets for the event have now been fully allocated. Havant Borough Council has decided to hold a Development Consultation Forum (DCF) to consider the following Bloor Homes development proposals for Southleigh: Southleigh Strategic SiteUp to 1,800 new homes, a … Continue reading Southleigh Development Consultation Forum – 27 January – Tickets now closed
Havant takes a fresh, colourful step forward
IntroductionWatch the 15 May Annual Council Meeting Introduction For many of the borough residents this is a chart that has been long overdue. It's almost a quarter of a century since the council chamber last saw a change in political direction and Phil Munday's achievement in bringing together a progressive alliance between the recently elected … Continue reading Havant takes a fresh, colourful step forward
HBC Election 2024 – Personal reflections on the outcome
On 22 April 2024, in a one-to-one meeting with a senior executive at Havant Borough Council, it was suggested to me that while Havant Civic Society was accepted as a valuable contributor to local matters and local debate, it was ‘well known’ that the Society was ‘anti-Conservative’. Now that’s a statement which could not go … Continue reading HBC Election 2024 – Personal reflections on the outcome
St. Faith’s election hustings – Saturday 27 April at 7:30pm
The finest and oldest town centre venue with the perfect host. (There's really nothing for us to add to this!) Many thanks to Canon Tom, once again, for working so hard for Havant's St. Faith's community.
How is Amazon getting away without paying business rates?
Update: 1 February, 2024 On 23 January 2024, after almost a year's delay, the Valuation Office Agency published a valuation for the DPO1 site, backdated to 1 April 2023 with no interest payable. The reason for the delay is not available. Perhaps rather more to the point, what is Havant Borough Council doing about it? While we're … Continue reading How is Amazon getting away without paying business rates?
Newsflash! Havant Regeneration has finally taken off
A shot in the arm for the regeneration of Havant and the voters' verdict on the lack of transparency and shocking decision-making that put Amazon into the town centre rather than out at Dunsbury Park. Thanks to the voters of Bedhampton, Emsworth, Hayling and St. Faith's for finally kick-starting the regeneration of Havant, and our … Continue reading Newsflash! Havant Regeneration has finally taken off
Levelling-up funding – Disappointment for Havant
Southampton and Farnborough win £20 Million each, but once again, there's nothing for Havant. Despite our rather tongue in cheek 'new year' post, we did hold out a slim hope that HBC would be more successful second time around. Click to view - Levelling Up fund bid results - January 18 2023 Sadly, the result … Continue reading Levelling-up funding – Disappointment for Havant
Regeneration ‘Take 3’ – Where’s the plan?
It's good to see the cranes over Havant Town Centre. However, these are not signs of HBC's long-awaited Regeneration programme firing up, but the results of hard graft and funding by private developers following lengthy process delays in planning. The bigger crane to the left rises above the Prince George Street development site while the … Continue reading Regeneration ‘Take 3’ – Where’s the plan?