Andover News is an independent news and information site for Andover, Romsey and the rest of Test Valley. We work from public records, we link to them, and we have no connection to the council or to anyone we report on.
Two towns, one council
Test Valley was drawn in 1974 and named after the river that runs the length of it. The name never took hold as a place because there is no such place: Andover in the north and Romsey in the south are about twenty-five miles apart and share almost nothing except an authority. Andover is much the larger and the council is based there, at Beech Hurst. Romsey looks south to Southampton. In between are Stockbridge, Whitchurch, Chilbolton, Wherwell, Longparish, Upper and Goodworth Clatford, and at the southern end North Baddesley, Nursling, Ampfield and Timsbury. We name the actual town or village in every story rather than writing “Test Valley” and leaving you to work it out.
What we report
Planning applications and decisions from Test Valley Borough Council, its committee papers and budgets, licensing notices, police.uk crime data, HM Land Registry sold prices, Food Standards Agency hygiene ratings, Environment Agency flood warnings for the Test, the Anton and the Pillhill Brook, and company filings in The Gazette. Roads, schools and social care belong to Hampshire County Council rather than the borough, and we say so instead of sending you to the wrong place.
The council’s future
Test Valley Borough Council was due to be abolished in April 2028 and split between a new Mid Hampshire council and a South West Hampshire one. The government withdrew that decision on 7 September 2026 and is reviewing reorganisation across England, with no end date. We will report each stage from the published papers and keep the practical pages pointing at whoever is actually responsible on the day you read them.
Tips and corrections
Email hello@andovernews.co.uk with a tip, an event worth listing, or a correction. Tips are treated in confidence, and corrections are made quickly and noted on the page.
Andover News is published by the GOB Media Group.