City of Winchester | |
---|---|
Non-metropolitan district, Borough, City | |
Winchester Guildhall
|
|
Winchester shown within Hampshire |
|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Non-metropolitan county | Hampshire |
Status | Non-metropolitan district, Borough, City |
Admin HQ | Winchester |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Winchester City Council |
• Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Conservative) |
• MPs | Steve Brine |
Area | |
• Total | 255.20 sq mi (660.97 km2) |
Area rank | 59th (of 326) |
Population (mid-2015 est.) | |
• Total | 120,700 |
• Rank | 185th (of 326) |
• Density | 470/sq mi (180/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 97.8% White |
Time zone | GMT (UTC0) |
• Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
ONS code | 24UP (ONS) E07000094 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | SU485295 |
Website | www |
Winchester (/ˈwɪntʃᵻstər/) is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with city status. It covers an area of central Hampshire including the city of Winchester itself, and neighbouring towns and villages including New Alresford, Colden Common and Bishops Waltham.
The current city boundaries were set on 1 April 1974 when the City of Winchester merged with Droxford Rural District and part of Winchester Rural District.
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. 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. Subsequently, two Conservative councillors defected to the Liberal Democrat group, placing the council under No Overall Control. Following local elections on 7 May 2015, the Conservatives re-gained majority control of the council.