Gloucester City Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Jon McGinty | |
Structure | |
Seats | 39 councillors [2] |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 4 May 2028 |
Meeting place | |
North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2EP | |
Website | |
www |
Gloucester City Council is the local authority for the city of Gloucester, in Gloucestershire, England. Gloucester has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 Gloucester has been a non-metropolitan district with city status.
The council has been under no overall control since the 2024 election, being led by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. It meets at North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks and has its main offices within the Eastgate Shopping Centre.
Gloucester was an ancient borough. In 1483 it was made a county corporate with its own magistrates, making it administratively separate from the surrounding county of Gloucestershire. Gloucester gained city status on the creation of the Diocese of Gloucester in 1541. [3]
The city was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Gloucester", but generally known as the corporation or city council. [4] When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 Gloucester was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from Gloucestershire County Council. [5]
The city was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The city kept the same boundaries but became a lower-tier district authority, with Gloucestershire County Council providing county-level services to the city for the first time. [6] The city's boundaries were enlarged in 1991, notably gaining the parish of Quedgeley from Stroud District. [7]
Gloucester City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council. [8] The Quedgeley area of the city is also a civil parish with a town council, which forms a third tier of local government. The rest of the city, roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 county borough, is an unparished area. [9]
The council has been under no overall control since 2024, being led by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. [10]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [11] [12]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1984 | |
No overall control | 1984–1987 | |
Conservative | 1987–1990 | |
No overall control | 1990–1995 | |
Labour | 1995–2002 | |
No overall control | 2002–2011 | |
Conservative | 2011–2012 | |
No overall control | 2012–2015 | |
Conservative | 2015–2024 | |
No overall control | 2024–present |
The role of Mayor of Gloucester is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1995 have been: [13]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Stephens | Labour | 22 May 1995 | Sep 1995 | |
Jon Holmes | Labour | 26 Oct 1995 | 17 May 1999 | |
Kevin Stephens | Labour | 17 May 1999 | 4 May 2003 | |
Bill Crowther | Liberal Democrats | 13 May 2003 | 27 Nov 2003 | |
Mary Smith | Labour | 27 Nov 2003 | 22 Jun 2004 | |
Mark Hawthorne | Conservative | 22 Jun 2004 | 6 May 2007 | |
Paul James | Conservative | 21 May 2007 | 21 Nov 2019 | |
Richard Cook | Conservative | 21 Nov 2019 | 7 May 2024 | |
Jeremy Hilton | Liberal Democrats | 20 May 2024 |
Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: [14] [15]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 17 | |
Conservative | 11 | |
Labour | 7 | |
Independent | 4 | |
Total | 39 |
The four independent councillors sit together as the "Community Independent Group". [16] The next election is due in 2028.
The council meets at North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks. Its main offices are at the Eastgate Shopping Centre in the city centre, and the main public reception is at The Gateway at 92-96 Westgate Street.
Between 1892 and 1986 the council was based at the Guildhall at 23 Eastgate Street. [17] In 1985 the council purchased North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks, which had been built in 1826. [18] North Warehouse was reconfigured internally to provide a civic suite and council chamber, as well as office space for the council. The council vacated Guildhall and moved to North Warehouse in 1986. [19] [20] Around the same time, the council also leased from the Canal & River Trust three nearby warehouses called Herbert Warehouse, Kimberley Warehouse and Philpotts Warehouse, which had all been built in 1846. The former Kimberley and Philpotts warehouses were incorporated into Herbert Warehouse via glazed linking sections being added between them, with a public house and retail uses on the ground floor and additional council offices on the upper floors. [21] [22] [23] The Herbert Warehouse building was completed in 1988. [24]
In 2019 the council vacated Herbert Warehouse, instead leasing office space for its staff within Shire Hall and also acquiring a former shop at 92–96 Westgate Street to be the council's main public reception, called "The Gateway". The council's meeting place remains the council chamber and civic suite in North Warehouse. [25] [26] The council's offices moved from Shire Hall to the Eastgate Shopping Centre in 2022. [27]
Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [28]
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Gloucester is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited 19 miles (31 km) east of Monmouth and 17 miles (27 km) east of the border with Wales. Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary.
Tewkesbury is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
Stroud District is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. The district is named after its largest town of Stroud. The council is based at Ebley Mill in Cainscross. The district also includes the towns of Berkeley, Dursley, Nailsworth, Stonehouse and Wotton-under-Edge, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Over half of the district lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Gloucester is a constituency centred on the cathedral city and county town of the same name, represented in the House of Commons of the UK by Alex McIntyre of the Labour Party
Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It has been under Labour majority control since 2011. In 2024 the council became a member of the North East Combined Authority. The council is based at Newcastle Civic Centre.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local authority for Bath and North East Somerset, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2017 the council has been a member of the West of England Combined Authority.
Cambridge City Council is the local authority for Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Cambridgeshire, England. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014. It meets at Cambridge Guildhall. The council is a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
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 non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, the latter additionally including South Gloucestershire. The council went under no overall control following a change of allegiance in May 2024, having previously been under Conservative majority control. It is based at Shire Hall in Gloucester.
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.
Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. Its headquarters are at County Hall in Worcester, the county town. The council consists of 57 councillors and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party.
Portsmouth City Council is the local authority of the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It 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.
Walsall Council, formally Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The town of Walsall had been a borough from medieval times, which was reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.
South Gloucestershire Council is the local authority of South Gloucestershire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, covering an area to the north of the city of Bristol. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Gloucestershire County Council. Since 2017 the council has been a member of the West of England Combined Authority.
Kingsway Village is an area adjacent to the town of Quedgeley and suburb of Tuffley in Gloucester, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is built upon the old RAF Quedgeley site.
The Borough of Tewkesbury is a local government district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The borough is named after its largest town, Tewkesbury, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Winchcombe and numerous villages including Bishops Cleeve, Ashchurch, Churchdown, Innsworth and Brockworth as well as other hamlets and surrounding rural areas. Parts of the district lie within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Eastgate Shopping Centre is a two-story indoor shopping centre in Gloucester, England. It opened its portico entrance on 3 July 1973.
Gloucester Guildhall is a former municipal building in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, which is now used as an arts and theatre venue. It is a Grade II listed building.
The 2021 Gloucester City Council election took place on 6 May 2021 to elect members of Gloucester City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. There were held elections for all 39 of the City Council’s seats, Quedgeley Town Council and for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, all of which were postponed from May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eastgate Street is one of the ancient streets in Gloucester, so named because its eastern end was originally the location of the east gate in the city's walls. The part beyond the gate as far as GL1 leisure Centre was part of Barton Street It runs from the crossroads of Northgate, Eastgate, Southgate and Westgate Streets in the West to Barton Street in the East.