South Gloucestershire Council

South Gloucestershire Council is the local authority of South Gloucestershire, England, covering an area to the north of the city of Bristol. As a unitary authority it has the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is administratively separate from the county of Gloucestershire.

South Gloucestershire Council
South Gloucestershire Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1996
Preceded byAvon County Council
District councils
  • Kingswood Borough Council
  • Northavon District Council
Leadership
Mike Drew,
Liberal Democrat
since 24 May 2023
Claire Young[1],
Liberal Democrat
since 24 May 2023
Dave Perry[2]
since 12 December 2018
Structure
Seats61 councillors
South Gloucestershire Council composition
Political groups
Administration (37)[1][3]
  Liberal Democrat (20)
  Labour (17)
Opposition (24)[3]
  Conservative (23)
  Independent (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023[3]
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood, BS15 9TR
Website
www.southglos.gov.uk

The council area elects 61 councillors from 28 wards. Following the May 2023 local elections, South Gloucestershire Council the council is run by a Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition.[1] The chief executive is Dave Perry, appointed on 12 December 2018.[2]

Responsibilities

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation.[4] For the purposes of local government, South Gloucestershire is a non-metropolitan area of England.[5] As a unitary authority,[6] South Gloucestershire Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, and is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council, it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

South Gloucestershire Council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1996. Political control since 1996 has been as follows:[7]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1996–1999
Liberal Democrats1999–2003
No overall control2003–2015
Conservative2015–2023
No overall control2023–present

Leadership

Since 2023, the council has been led by Claire Young of the Liberal Democrats, with co-leader Ian Boulton of Labour serving as her deputy,[1] ending 16 years of Conservative leadership.

The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:[8]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Neil Halsall[9] Liberal Democrats199913 Jul 2005
Ruth Davis Liberal Democrats13 Jul 20056 Jun 2007
John Calway Conservative6 Jun 2007Aug 2014
Matthew Riddle[10] Conservative1 Sep 201416 May 2018
Toby Savage Conservative16 May 20187 May 2023
Claire Young[1] Liberal Democrats24 May 2023

Chair

The chair of the council is chosen from among the councillors and is usually held by a different councillor each year. They are expected to maintain a politically neutral stance, although they do get a casting vote in the event of a tied vote. The chairs have been:[11]

  • 1995–1996: Eddie Gadsby
  • 1996–1997: Les Bishop
  • 1997–1998: Sue Hope
  • 1998–1999: Rudi Springer
  • 1999–2001: Arthur Adams
  • 2001–2002: Alan Bracey
  • 2002–2003: Jeanette Ward
  • 2003–2004: Sue Walker
  • 2004–2005: June Lovell
  • 2005–2006: Alan Lawrance
  • 2006–2007: Jim Cullimore
  • 2007–2008: Sandra O'Neil
  • 2008–2009: Brian Freeguard
  • 2009–2010: Shirley Holloway
  • 2010–2011: Janet Biggin
  • 2011–2012: Mike Drew
  • 2012–2013: Janet Biggin
  • 2013–2014: Ian Boulton
  • 2014–2015: Howard Gawler
  • 2015–2017: Erica Williams
  • 2017–2018: Ian Blair
  • 2018–2019: Rachael Hunt
  • 2019–2020: Brian Allinson
  • 2020–2021: June Bamford
  • 2021–2022: Ruth Davis
  • 2022–2023: Sanjay Shambhu
  • 2023–2024: Mike Drew

Premises
Council Offices, Badminton Road, Yate

The council generally holds its meetings in the council chamber at the Civic Centre on High Street, Kingswood. When the council was created in 1996 it inherited the Kingswood Civic Centre from Kingswood Borough Council and offices at Castle Street in Thornbury from Northavon District Council. In 2010 the council opened a new office on Badminton Road in Yate, which houses many of the council's administrative functions.[12] The Thornbury building was subsequently closed and redeveloped.[13] In addition to the two main buildings at Kingswood Civic Centre and Badminton Road in Yate the council also has a number of smaller offices and one-stop shops in Yate and Patchway.[14]

See also

References
  1. Adam Postans (19 May 2023). "Lib Dems and Labour agree coalition to run South Gloucestershire Council". Bristol Live.
  2. "New Chief Executive chosen". South Gloucestershire Newsroom. 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  3. "South Gloucestershire election result". BBC News. May 2023.
  4. "Local Government Act 1972". Legislation. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  5. "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". Legislation. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  6. "South Gloucestershire Council". West of England Growth Hub. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  7. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  8. "Council minutes". South Gloucestershire Council. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. "Council elects new Lib Dem leader". BBC News. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  10. "Matthew Riddle to become new Leader of South Gloucestershire Council". South Gloucestershire Council. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  11. "Council minutes". South Gloucestershire Council. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. Womack, Alexandra (12 April 2010). "New South Gloucestershire Council offices are formally opened". Gazette. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  13. "Thonbury Civic Centre, Castle Street, Thornbury - Consultation on the future of the property". South Gloucestershire Council. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  14. "Find our building locations". South Gloucestershire Council. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
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