Havering London Borough Council, also known as Havering Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Havering in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under no overall control since 2014; since 2022 it has been run by a coalition of the Havering Residents Association and Labour. The council is based at Havering Town Hall in Romford.

The borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former Municipal Borough of Romford and Hornchurch Urban District. The area was transferred from Essex to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs.^[2]

Romford had been a local board district from 1851.^[3] It was converted into an urban district in 1894, was enlarged in 1934 to take in the neighbouring parishes of Havering-atte-Bower and Noak Hill, and was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1937.^[4] The parish of Hornchurch had been made an urban district in 1926, which was enlarged in 1934 to take in the parishes of Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and Wennington.^[5]

The new borough was named after the former Royal Liberty of Havering, which had covered a similar area. The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Havering".^[6]

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (incluing Havering) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Havering has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.^[7]

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.^[8]

In September 2023, the leader of the council warned the authority could be six months away from triggering a Section 114 notice because of the increasing cost of social care and housing.^[9][10] The council managed to set a budget in 2024, but only through relying on an exceptional £54 million loan from the government.^[11]

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions plus levies on behalf of the East London Waste Authority, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and others.^[12][13] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.^[14]

Leadership

See also: List of mayors of Havering

The role of mayor in Havering is largely ceremonial, usually being held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:^[16][17]

More information Councillor, Image ...

Councillor	Image	Party		From	To
Jack Moultrie			Conservative	1965	1971
Michael Ward			Labour	1971	1974
Jack Moultrie			Conservative	1974	1977
William Sibley			Conservative	1977	1978
Jack Moultrie			Conservative	1978	1984
Roger Ramsey			Conservative	1984	1990
Arthur Latham		Labour	1990	1996
Louise Sinclair			Residents' Association	1996	1997
Wilf Mills			Labour	1997	1998
Ray Harris			Labour	1998	2002
Eric Munday			Conservative	2002	2004
Michael White			Conservative	2004	29 Jan 2014
Steven Kelly		Conservative	29 Jan 2004	11 Jun 2014
Roger Ramsey			Conservative	11 Jun 2014	23 May 2018
Damian White		Conservative	23 May 2018	25 May 2022
Ray Morgon		Havering Residents Association	25 May 2022

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The council is based at Havering Town Hall on Main Road in Romford, which was completed in 1937 as 'Romford Town Hall' for the old Romford Urban District Council. It was formally opened on 16 September 1937, on which day Romford was also presented with its charter of incorporation turning the urban district into a borough.^[22] The building was subsequently extended in 1960 and 1988.^[23]

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[24]

As part of the process of reviewing the boundaries leading up to the 2022 changes, there were accusations that the Conservative administration was attempting to gerrymander the new boundaries. The council's then leader, Damian White, was secretly recorded outlining plans to modify ward boundaries to the advantage of the party. White reportedly said the Local Government Boundary Commission had so few staff it was "highly unlikely they'll put in the effort" to scrutinise the changes and that "they only look at what was discussed... at the full council meeting. So there will be only one option."^[25] Following the emergence of the recording there was a local outcry. The Local Government Boundary Commission consequently revised its proposals for the new wards and carried out further public consultation, which led to notable changes in the final boundaries from the earlier draft proposals.^[26]

The current composition of Havering Council's Cabinet is as follows.