Cheltenham Borough Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Gareth Edmundson since 2019 [2] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 40 councillors [3] |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 6 May 2022 |
Next election | 2 May 2024 |
Meeting place | |
Municipal Offices, Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 9SA | |
Website | |
www |
Cheltenham Borough Council is the local authority for Cheltenham, a non-metropolitan district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The council is based at the Municipal Offices on the Promenade.
The neighbouring districts are Tewkesbury and Cotswold.
The town of Cheltenham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1876, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Cheltenham", but generally known as the corporation or town council. Prior to 1876 the town had been administered by a body of improvement commissioners which had been established in 1786. [4]
The borough was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming a non-metropolitan district and absorbing the area of the former Charlton Kings urban district at the same time. [5] Cheltenham kept its borough status, allowing the council to take the name Cheltenham Borough Council and letting the chair of the council take the title of mayor, continuing Cheltenham's series of mayors dating back to 1876. [6]
The borough was further enlarged in 1991 when it gained the parishes of Leckhampton, Prestbury, Swindon and Up Hatherley, all of which had previously been in Tewkesbury Borough. [7]
Cheltenham Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council. [8] Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. The rest of the borough, roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 municipal borough, is an unparished area. [9]
The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2010.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [10] [11]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1979 | |
No overall control | 1979–1991 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1991–1999 | |
No overall control | 1999–2000 | |
Conservative | 2000–2002 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2002–2004 | |
No overall control | 2004–2010 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2010–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Cheltenham. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2001 have been: [12]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Duncan Smith | Conservative | 10 May 2002 | ||
Andrew McKinlay | Liberal Democrats | 10 May 2002 | 11 May 2006 | |
Duncan Smith | Conservative | 11 May 2006 | 8 May 2008 | |
Steve Jordan | Liberal Democrats | 8 May 2008 | 7 Dec 2020 | |
Rowena Hay | Liberal Democrats | 7 Dec 2020 |
Following the 2022 election, [13] [14] a subsequent by-election in February 2023 and changes of allegiance up to August 2023, [15] [16] the composition of the council was:
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 30 | |
Conservative | 5 | |
Green | 2 | |
People Against Bureaucracy | 1 | |
Independent | 1 | |
Vacant | 1 | |
Total | 40 |
A by-election may be called for the vacant seat. [17] Otherwise, the next election is due in 2024.
The council is based at the Municipal Offices on the Promenade. [18] The building was built as a row of 19 terraced houses called Harward's Buildings between 1823 and 1840. Seven houses in the terrace were acquired by Cheltenham Borough Council in 1916 and converted to become their offices, with the other houses being acquired later. [19]
Since the last boundary changes in 2002 the council has comprised 40 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. Elections are held in alternate years, with half the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term of office. [20] New ward boundaries have been drawn up and will take effect for the 2024 election. [21]
Cheltenham’s coat-of-arms were granted in 1877, and are still in use by the council.
Armorial achievement | Blazon | References |
---|---|---|
Crest Upon a mount between two branches of oak proper, a fountain thereon a pigeon proper. EscutcheonOr, a chevron engrailed gules between two pigeons argent in chief and an uprooted oak tree in base proper; atop, a chief azure under a cross flory argent between two open books proper binding. MottoSALUBRITAS ET ERUDITIO | [22] [23] |
West Devon is a local government district with borough status in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tavistock, the borough's largest town. The borough also includes the towns of Hatherleigh, North Tawton and Okehampton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Nottingham City Council is the local authority for Nottingham, a unitary authority with city status. Nottingham is in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England, but as a unitary authority the city council is administratively independent from the surrounding Nottinghamshire County Council. The city council consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. The council is led by David Mellen, of the majority Labour Party.
Cambridge City Council is the local authority for the city of Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Cambridgeshire, England.
Gloucestershire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in England. The council was created in 1889. The council's principal functions are county roads and rights of way, social services, education and libraries, but it also provides many other local government services in the area it covers. The council's administrative area does not include South Gloucestershire, which is a unitary authority with all the functions of a county and a non-metropolitan district. The council is based at Shire Hall in Gloucester.
Luton Borough Council is the local authority of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Luton is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined.
Derby City Council is the local authority for Derby, a unitary authority with city status in the East Midlands region of England.
Hastings Borough Council is the local authority for Hastings, a non-metropolitan district with borough status in East Sussex, England. The council is based at Muriel Matters House on the seafront.
Wakefield Council, formally the City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, is the local authority of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield is a metropolitan borough with city status. The council and provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, town planning, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. Wakefield is divided into 21 wards, electing 63 councillors. A third of the council is elected for three of every four years.
Wokingham Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
Wirral Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Wirral is a metropolitan borough, one of five in Merseyside, and provides the majority of local government services in Wirral. The council is a constituent member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Blackpool Council is the local authority of the Borough of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county council and district council combined.
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The council styles itself Calderdale Council. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England. It provides the majority of local government services in Calderdale. Since 2014 the council has been a constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Gloucester City Council is the local authority for Gloucester, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Gloucestershire, England.
Tewkesbury Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, England. The whole council is elected together every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2019, a total of 38 councillors have been elected from 20 wards.
Tewkesbury is a local government district and borough in Gloucestershire, England. Named after its main town, Tewkesbury, the borough had a population of 85,800 in 2015. Other places in the borough include Ashchurch, Bishop's Cleeve, Churchdown and Winchcombe. It is administratively distinct from the parish of Tewkesbury, which is served by Tewkesbury Town Council.
The Borough of Chesterfield is a non-metropolitan district with borough status in Derbyshire, England. It is named after the town of Chesterfield, its largest settlement, and also contains the town of Staveley and the large village of Brimington.
The 1991 Cheltenham Council election took place on 2 May 1991 to elect members of Cheltenham Borough Council in Gloucestershire, England. Due to local authority boundary changes a number of areas had been transferred from the Borough of Tewkesbury to the Borough of Cheltenham. Although most wards were unchanged, and continued to elect by thirds, three new wards were created, and had an all-up election: Leckhampton with Warden Hill, Prestbury and Swindon. Furthermore, the ward of Hatherley was abolished and recreated as Hatherley & The Reddings, and the number of councillors it elected was increased from three to four. This ward also had an all-out election.