A council leader has defended the authority’s borrowing strategy after accounts showed its total debt had risen above £620 million.
Cllr Keith House said Eastleigh Borough Council’s investment and borrowing approach had been in place for nearly two decades and would continue to fund infrastructure, housing and future income.
His comments follow figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which show that the council’s borrowing stood at £620.1 million at the end of March this year – up from £585.3 million a year earlier.
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The total included £280.1 million in short-term borrowing and £340 million in longer-term loans.
The council also paid £13.2 million in external interest during 2025/26, equivalent to more than £36,000 a day.
Mr House said: “The council’s investment and borrowing strategy has been in place for nearly 20 years.
“It has and will continue to deliver excellent results to secure infrastructure and income for the council.
“Housing is funded over 50 years with a strong business plan that is already on existing projects delivering super results better than in our budgets, including much-needed affordable rented homes for local people.”
He said the strategy would continue after the local authority is replaced as part of local government reorganisation in 2028.
Eastleigh is set to merge with Southampton, the Waterside area of the New Forest, and southern parts of Test Valley to form the South West Hampshire Council.
Mr House added: “All of this work will continue into the new council in 2028 and help put the new organisation in a stronger financial position given the vast budget deficit that will be inherited from Hampshire County Council.”
His comments come after Conservative Hamble Valley MP Paul Holmes criticised the council’s borrowing and claimed services had been cut to fund “vanity housing projects such as One Horton Heath”.
The council previously said its borrowing is managed through a formal treasury strategy and supported by assets and forecast future income, rather than relying on council tax alone.
One Horton Heath was linked to £184 million of borrowing as of January 2026, according to the council’s external auditors, while the authority has forecast potential interest costs of £174.4 million over the lifetime of the scheme.
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