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Cheltenham Borough Council

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min

Cheltenham Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Paul Baker,
Liberal Democrat
since 20 May 2024[1]
Rowena Hay,
Liberal Democrats
since 7 December 2020
Gareth Edmundson
since 2019[2]
Structure
Seats40 councillors[3]
Political groups
Administration (36)
  Liberal Democrat (36)
Other parties (4)
  Green (3)
  People Against Bureaucracy (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Municipal Offices, Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 9SA
Website
www.cheltenham.gov.uk

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.

History

[edit]

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]

Governance

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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]

Political control

[edit]

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

Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Cheltenham. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Andrew McKinlay[12] Liberal Democrats 10 May 2002 May 2006
Duncan Smith[13] Conservative 11 May 2006 May 2008
Steve Jordan[14][15] Liberal Democrats 8 May 2008 7 Dec 2020
Rowena Hay[15] Liberal Democrats 7 Dec 2020

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2024 election,[16][17][18] the composition of the council is:

Party Councillors
Liberal Democrats 36
Green 3
People Against Bureaucracy 1
Total 40

The next election is due 7 May 2026.

Premises

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The council is based at the Municipal Offices on the Promenade.[19] 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.[20]

Elections

[edit]
See also: Cheltenham Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2024 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.[21]

Coat of arms

[edit]

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.

Escutcheon

[edit]

Or, 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.

Motto

[edit]

SALUBRITAS ET ERUDITIO

[22][23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Mayor". Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. ^ Sandey, Katie. "New chief executive appointment is announced". www.cheltenham.gov.uk.
  3. ^ Cheltenham Borough Council (8 November 2020). "Your Councillors". democracy.cheltenham.gov.uk.
  4. ^ "Cheltenham Borough Records". The National Archives. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  5. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs, 28 March 1974". Hansard. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  7. ^ "The Gloucestershire (District Boundaries) Order 1991", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1991/281, retrieved 27 August 2023
  8. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  9. ^ "Election maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Cheltenham" in search box to see specific results.)
  11. ^ "Cheltenham". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Council minutes, 10 May 2002" (PDF). Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Council minutes, 11 May 2006" (PDF). Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Council minutes, 8 May 2008" (PDF). Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Council minutes, 7 December 2020". Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Cheltenham election result". BBC News. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  17. ^ Lockyer, Chris (3 May 2024). "Lib Dems retain control of Cheltenham Borough Council". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Cheltenham Borough Council Elections - Thursday, 2nd May, 2024". 3 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Contact us". Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  20. ^ Historic England. "Numbers 47 to 83 and Attached Railings with Low Walls and End Piers to Numbers 71 and 73 (1387631)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  21. ^ "The Cheltenham (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2023/820, retrieved 27 August 2023
  22. ^ "Civic heraldry, Local Achievements and Coats-of-Arms - Gloucestershire Archives". www.gloucestershire.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  23. ^ Ingram, Jennie. "Arms of Insignia of the Borough". www.cheltenham.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
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