Romsey Town and Romsey Extra set to merge on 1 April 2023
by Cllr John Parker, Chair of Romsey Extra Parish Council
Ever since Romsey Extra Parish Council (REPC) was established in 1894, newly built areas in the parish have gradually been moved into the Romsey Town Council (RTC) area. In July last year Romsey Town Council felt it was time to reassess whether new developments at Abbotswood, Cupernham Lane and Ganger Farm would be better served being part of Romsey Town. Consequently, a request was made to Test Valley Borough Council to conduct a Community Governance Review. The Borough Council has completed that review together with two periods of public consultation and has published its proposals. RTC and REPC have both agreed to these proposals.
The following changes will be made with effect from 1 April 2023. REPC will cease to exist. Most of Romsey Extra will transfer to RTC. Stanbridge Earls and houses close by will transfer to Awbridge Parish Council.
RTC will then comprise four wards: Abbey, Tadburn and Cupernham wards will be enlarged so that the boundaries are the same as the Test Valley wards. Abbotswood, Ganger Farm and the new developments along Cupernham Lane will all become part of the larger Cupernham ward. The remaining parts REPC will form a new sparsely populated ward called Romsey Extra. The elections scheduled for May 2023 will see four councillors elected for each of Abbey and Tadburn wards, six councillors for Cupernham ward and one for Romsey Extra ward.
The merging of the two councils will present a more powerful, unified voice for Romsey and will allow the benefits from the new developments to be shared across all of Romsey.
You can view Romsey Town Council's website here.
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Romsey Extra is a large Parish of 3,306 hectares with a population of 4,826 (2010), which surrounds the town of Romsey and includes the villages of Abbotswood, Ashfield, Lee, Moorcourt, Skidmore, Pauncefoot, Halterworth and Stanbridge Earls. The latter village was a royal possession in Saxon times, and the 17th Century house is said to be on the site of King Aethelwulf's manor house.
Broadlands House is set on the River Test immediately to the South of Romsey and Viscount Palmerston employed Lancelot ("Capability") Brown to improve the mansion in 1767-8. Further alterations were made by Holland in 1788. Lord Palmerston, the Victorian Prime Minister was born here, and the house was the home of the late Earl Mountbatten of Burma.