Exeter City Council

Last updated

Exeter City Council
Coat of Arms of Exeter.jpg
Coat of arms of Exeter
Exeter City Council logo.svg
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Kevin Mitchell,
Liberal Democrat
since 16 May 2023 [1]
Philip Bialyk,
Labour
since 14 May 2019 [2]
Bindu Arjoon
since March 2023 [3]
Structure
Seats39 councillors
Exeter City Council political make up.svg
Political groups
Administration (24)
  Labour (24)
Other parties (15)
  Green (7)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
  Conservative (3)
  Independent (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Exeter - High Street, Guildhall.jpg
Guildhall, 203 High Street, Exeter, EX4 3EB
Website
exeter.gov.uk

Exeter City Council is the local authority for the city of Exeter in Devon, England. Exeter has had a city council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a non-metropolitan district council. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. It meets at Exeter Guildhall and has its main offices at the Civic Centre on Paris Street.

Contents

History

Exeter was an ancient borough with city status. It was historically governed by a corporation, also known as the city council. The city was given the right to appoint a mayor by King John in the early thirteenth century. [4] In 1537 the city was made a county corporate with its own sheriff and quarter sessions, making it administratively separate from the surrounding county of Devon. [5]

The city council was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Exeter" but informally known as the corporation or city council. [6] When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 Exeter was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from Devon County Council. [7]

The city was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming a lower-tier district authority with Devon County Council providing county-level functions to the city for the first time. The city kept the same outer boundaries, but gained control of the "Devon County Buildings Area", being three separate exclaves of Devon surrounded by the city, containing Devon County Hall, Rougemont Castle and the county judges' lodgings at Larkbeare House. [8] [9] Exeter's city status was re-conferred on the reformed district, allowing the council to take the name Exeter City Council. [10] The city's mayor was raised to the status of a lord mayor in 2002. [11]

In 2010 the government proposed that the city should become an independent unitary authority, like nearby Plymouth and Torbay. The statutory orders to set up the unitary authority were passed in Parliament and a new unitary city council was due to start in Exeter on 1 April 2011. However, following the change of government at the 2010 general election the reorganisation was cancelled. [12] [13]

Governance

Exeter City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council. [14] There are no civil parishes in Exeter; the entire city is an unparished area. [15]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2012.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: [16]

Party in controlYears
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1983
No overall control 1983–1995
Labour 1995–2003
No overall control 2003–2012
Labour 2012–present

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Exeter is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1983 have been: [17]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Chester Long [18] Labour 19831999
Roy Slack Labour 19996 May 2007
Pete Edwards Labour 15 May 200713 May 2008
Adrian Fullam Liberal Democrats 13 May 200821 Sep 2010
Pete Edwards Labour 21 Sep 20105 May 2019
Philip Bialyk Labour 14 May 2019

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was: [19]

PartyCouncillors
Labour 24
Green 7
Liberal Democrats 4
Conservative 3
Independent 1
Total39

The Greens and Liberal Democrats sit together as the "Progressive Group". The next election is due in May 2026.

Premises

Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 1JN Civic Centre, Exeter - geograph.org.uk - 3552280.jpg
Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 1JN

Full council meetings are generally held at the city's Guildhall at 203 High Street, which was built around 1470. The council's main offices are at the Civic Centre, a 1970s building on Paris Street in the city centre. [20] [21]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016, the council has comprised 39 councillors, 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) being elected at a time for a four-year term. Devon County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no elections to the city council. [22]

Wards and councillors

The wards of the city for City Council purposes are listed below. [23]

Following the May 2022 elections, David Harvey (Pinhoe) left the Labour group, and subsequently sits as an Independent. [24]

WardPartyMemberElection
AlphingtonLabourYvonne Atkinson 2023
LabourBob Foale 2022
LabourSteve Warwick 2021
Duryard & St JamesLiberal DemocratsKevin Mitchell 2022
Liberal DemocratsMichael Mitchell 2023
LabourMartin Pearce 2021
ExwickLabourPhil Bialyk 2021
LabourGraeme Knott 2022
LabourSusannah Patrick 2023
HeavitreeGreenCarol Bennett 2023
LabourBarbara Denning 2021
GreenCatherine Rees 2022
Mincinglake & WhiptonLabourNaima Allcock 2022
LabourEmma Morse 2021
LabourRuth Williams 2023
Newtown & St LeonardsLabourRichard Branston 2021
GreenAndy Ketchin 2023
LabourMatthew Vizard 2022
PennsylvaniaLabourZion Lights 2021
LabourJosie Parkhouse 2022
LabourMartyn Snow 2023
PinhoeIndependent [24] David Harvey 2021
LabourMollie Miller 2023
LabourDuncan Wood 2022
PrioryLabourMarina Asvachin 2022
LabourJane Begley 2023
LabourTony Wardle 2022
St DavidsGreenDiana Moore 2023
GreenTess Read 2022
GreenAmy Sparling 2021
St LoyesConservativeAlison Sheridan 2023
ConservativePeter Holland 2022
ConservativeAnne Jobson 2021
St ThomasLabourRob Hannaford 2021
Liberal DemocratsAdrian Fullam 2023
LabourLaura Wright 2022
TopshamConservativeAndrew Leadbetter 2021
LabourMatthew Williams 2023
LabourJoshua Ellis-Jones 2022

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References

  1. ↑ Henderson, Guy (16 May 2024). "Cllr Kevin Mitchell gets second term as Exeter Lord Mayor". Midweek Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "Council minutes, 14 May 2019" (PDF). Exeter City Council. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Exeter City Council appoints new chief executive". BBC News. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ↑ Lysons, Daniel; Lysons, Samuel (1822). Magna Britannia. London: T. Cadell & W. Davies. pp. 177–234. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Exeter Borough". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4 c. 76)
  7. ↑ "Exeter Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 June 2023
  9. ↑ "Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map, Sheet SX99". National Library of Scotland. 1967. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "No. 46255". The London Gazette . 4 April 1974. p. 4400.
  11. ↑ "Crown Office". London Gazette. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "The Coalition: our programme for government" (PDF). HM Government, United Kingdom. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  13. ↑ Hennessy, Patrick (22 May 2010). "The Queen's Speech: Bill by Bill". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  14. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  15. ↑ "Election maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "English local elections 2007: Exeter". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  17. ↑ "Council minutes". Exeter City Council. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "From the Grassroots: An oral history of community politics in Devon". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  20. ↑ Historic England. "The Guildhall, 203 High Street, Exeter (Grade I) (1103905)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  21. ↑ "Council agenda, 19 July 2022". Exeter City Council. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  22. ↑ "The Exeter (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2016/65, retrieved 22 June 2023
  23. ↑ "Your Councillors by Ward". Exter City Council. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  24. 1 2 "Councillor details - Councillor David Harvey". committees.exeter.gov.uk. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
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