Rushmoor is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. It covers the towns of Farnborough and

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, the former of which is the location of the council. The neighbouring districts are

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

Surrey Heath Surrey Heath is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Camberley. Much of the area is within the Metropolitan Green Belt. The ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

and Waverley.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, covering the whole area of two former districts, which were both abolished at the same time: *

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

* Farnborough

Urban District An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

The new district was named Rushmoor, taking its name from an old area of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

on the west side of the borough, known for Rushmoor Arena, a military showground constructed in 1923. The new district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. In May 2000, a referendum was held on whether to change the name of the borough. Two alternative names were suggested in place of Rushmoor: ''Aldershot and Farnborough'' or ''Farnborough and Aldershot''. In the event, more than 81% of those who voted chose to retain the name, on a turnout of 29%. The population of the area that would become Rushmoor was 1,366 in 1801, growing to 39,616 in 1901. It was over 100,000 at 2021 census.

Governance

Rushmoor Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geo ...

. There are no

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es in the borough, which is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

Political control

The council has been under Labour Party majority control since the 2024 election; the first time the party had won a majority on the council in its history. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. (Put "Rushmoor" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Rushmoor. Political leadership is instead provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. The leaders since 2001 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent changes of party allegiances up to July 2025, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2012 the council has comprised 39

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 13 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.

Hampshire County Council elections Hampshire County Council in England is elected every four years. Since the boundary changes in 2005, 78 councillors have been elected from 75 Wards of the United Kingdom, wards, with 2017 Hampshire County Council election#Boundary changes, further ...

are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.

Premises

On its creation in 1974 the council's offices were divided between the buildings inherited from its predecessor authorities, being Aldershot Town Hall and

Farnborough Town Hall Farnborough Town Hall is a municipal building in Alexandra Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Farnborough Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building. History Following significant pop ...

. Shortly afterwards the council decided to replace both buildings with a single headquarters. A site known as Elles Mess in Farnborough was bought from the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and a new building called Council Offices built there, which was completed in 1981.

Economy

Aviation

The Borough of Rushmoor stated that

Farnborough Airfield Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport covers about 8% of Ru ...

, including the RAE, historically was a major employment area in Rushmoor. In the 1960s, over 10,000 employees worked at the airport. In May 1996, 5,800 jobs, 13% of the total jobs in Rushmoor, were at the airport. In June 2009, TAG submitted an application to increase the total number of flight movements from 28000 a year to a maximum of 50,000 a year and to increase the number of flight movements at weekends and on Bank Holidays from 5,000 a year to 8,900 a year. This went to appeal and the secretary of state allowed it to go ahead in February 2011, overruling the Borough Council' refusal. The

Air Accidents Investigation Branch The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident I ...

(AAIB), the British aviation accident investigation agency, is based within the airport.

Demographics

According to the UK census in 2021, Rushmoor has the highest number of Buddhists in England and Wales, at 4.7% of the population.https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/religion/religion-tb/buddhist/ Office of National Statistics: Census maps 2021: Religion The area contains the Aldershot Buddhist Centre, a Nepali

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

temple founded by immigrant communities.

Twin towns - sister cities

Rushmoor is twinned with: *

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

''(since 2019)'' *

Gorkha Municipality Gorkha (, formerly known as Prithvinarayan Municipality) is a municipality in Gorkha District in Gandaki Province of Nepal created in 1996. It was initially named "Prithvinarayan" () after King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who was born in Gorkha and unit ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

''(since 2020)'' *

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

''(since 1974)'' *

Oberursel Oberursel (Taunus) (, , in contrast to " Lower Ursel") is a town in Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. It is located to the north west of Frankfurt, in the Hochtaunuskreis county. It is the 13th largest town in Hesse. In ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

''(since 1989)'' *

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...