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Borough of Waverley
Non-metropolitan district and Borough
Waverley Abbey, after which the borough is named.
Motto(s): Oppida Rusque Una (Latin: Town and countryside in unity)
Waverley shown within Surrey
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Surrey
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Godalming
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Waverley Borough Council
• Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
• MPs	Jeremy Hunt Greg Stafford
Area
• Total	133.3 sq mi (345.2 km)
• Rank	104th (of 296)
Population
• Total	130,063
• Rank	183rd (of 296)
• Density	980/sq mi (380/km)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 93.7% White 2.8% Asian 2.2% Mixed 0.7% Black 0.6% other
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 51.9% Christianity 39% no religion 6.3% not stated 1.2% Islam 0.6% Buddhism 0.6% Hinduism 0.5% other 0.2% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BSTa)
ONS code	43UL (ONS) E07000216 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SU9660743750

The Borough of Waverley is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The council is based in the town of Godalming. The borough also contains the towns of Farnham and Haslemere and numerous villages, including the large village of Cranleigh, and surrounding rural areas. At the 2021 Census, the population of the borough was 128,200. The borough is named after Waverley Abbey, near Farnham. Large parts of the borough are within the Surrey Hills National Landscape.

The neighbouring districts are Guildford, Mole Valley, Horsham, Chichester, East Hampshire, Hart and Rushmoor.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Farnham Urban District
• Godalming Municipal Borough
• Haslemere Urban District
• Hambledon Rural District

The new district was named after Waverley Abbey in the parish of Farnham, which was the earliest Cistercian monastery in Britain.

For the first six years of its existence, the council was based outside the district at the former Hambledon Rural District Council's offices at Bury Fields in Guildford. In April 1980, the council moved to purpose-built headquarters at The Burys in Godalming, behind Godalming Borough Hall. The district was awarded borough status on 21 February 1984, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

Governance

Waverley Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	John Ward, Farnham Residents since 21 May 2024
Leader	Paul Follows, Liberal Democrat since 27 April 2021
Chief Executive	Pedro Wrobel since 8 April 2024
Structure
Seats	50 councillors
Political groups	Administration (38)   Liberal Democrats (22)   Farnham Residents (13)   Labour (2)   Green (1) Other parties (12)   Conservative (10)   Independent (2)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, The Burys, Godalming, GU7 1HR
Website
www.waverley.gov.uk

Waverley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. The whole borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

The council has shared a chief executive with neighbouring Guildford Borough Council since 2017.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019, being run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Farnham Residents, Labour and Greens. The same coalition continues to run the council following the 2023 election.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Waverley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

The Labour and Green councillors sit together as a group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Geography

Waverley's landscape is influenced by its position within the landform of the Weald. It contains parts of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge and large parts of the borough are within the Surrey Hills AONB. It has the most green space in absolute terms in Surrey at 293.1 km (113.2 sq mi) according to the central government-compiled Generalised Land Use database of January 2005, approximately half of which is woodland.

Blackheath Common, in the north of the borough, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as is the Devil's Punch Bowl in the south of the district.

Demography

A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed Waverley as the most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom.

Twinning

• Mayen-Koblenz in Germany dates from 1977.

Civil parishes

Waverley is entirely divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Farnham, Godalming and Haslemere take the style "town council".

• Alfold
• Bramley
• Busbridge
• Chiddingfold
• Churt
• Cranleigh
• Dockenfield
• Dunsfold
• Elstead
• Ewhurst
• Farnham (town)
• Frensham
• Godalming (town)
• Hambledon
• Hascombe
• Haslemere (town)
• Peper Harow
• Thursley
• Tilford
• Witley
• Wonersh

See List of settlements and parishes in Waverley

See also

• List of places of worship in Waverley (borough)
• Waverley Borough Council elections

References

1. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Waverley Local Authority (E07000216)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "Waverley (Local Authority): Key Figures for 2011 Census". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
4. "Waverley welds historic towns in a new unity". Surrey Advertiser. No. 12950. 1 April 1974. p. S2.
5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
6. Heritage Appraisal, Forum Heritage Services, November 2017, page 6 (accompanies Guildford planning application 17/P/O2341), "Buryfields House was constructed as offices for the Hambledon Rural District Council by architects Crossmaker and Armstrong in 1938."
7. "Waverley moves house". Surrey Advertiser. No. 14357. 14 March 1980. p. 1.
8. "Timeline from 1837". Godalming Museum. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
9. Harlow, Amanda (6 January 1984). "Borough plan approved by the Queen". Surrey Advertiser. No. 14609. p. 1.
10. "Waverley collects its borough charter". Surrey Advertiser. No. 14615. 17 February 1984. p. 5.
11. "John Ward elected as Mayor". Waverley Borough Council. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
12. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
13. Coady Stemp, Emily (1 November 2021). "New £150,000 joint chief executive set to be appointed to lead Waverley and Guildford councils". Farnham Herald. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
14. Coady-Stemp, Emily; Caulfield, Chris (22 December 2023). "Guildford Borough Council appoints new chief executive". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
15. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
16. "Council minutes". Waverley Borough Council. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
17. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
18. "Your councillors by political grouping". Waverley Borough Council. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
19. "The Waverley (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/1136, retrieved 5 July 2023
20. Physical Environment: Land Use Statistics Archived 11 February 2003 at the Wayback Machine. (2011 census and 2001 census) Retrieved 2015-03-27.
21. Braiden, Gerry (13 October 2016). "Scots authority named amongst UK's top 10 most prosperous – as neighbouring city props up table". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
22. Waverley twinning info Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
23. "Surrey County Council". Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.

v t e Districts of South East England
Berkshire	Bracknell Forest Reading Slough West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham
Buckinghamshire	Buckinghamshire Milton Keynes
East Sussex	Brighton and Hove Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rother Wealden
Hampshire	Basingstoke and Deane East Hampshire Eastleigh Fareham Gosport Hart Havant New Forest Portsmouth Rushmoor Southampton Test Valley Winchester
Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight
Kent	Ashford Canterbury Dartford Dover Folkestone and Hythe Gravesham Maidstone Medway Sevenoaks Swale Thanet Tonbridge and Malling Tunbridge Wells
Oxfordshire	Cherwell Oxford South Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse West Oxfordshire
Surrey	Elmbridge Epsom and Ewell Guildford Mole Valley Reigate and Banstead Runnymede Spelthorne Surrey Heath Tandridge Waverley Woking
West Sussex	Adur Arun Chichester Crawley Horsham Mid Sussex Worthing

51°11′3.45″N 0°37′3.29″W / 51.1842917°N 0.6175806°W / 51.1842917; -0.6175806

• Borough of Waverley
• Non-metropolitan districts of Surrey
• Boroughs in England