Gloucester City Council Explained

Gloucester City Council
Coa Pic:CoA of City of Gloucester (minor).svg
Coa Res:90px
Logo Pic:Gloucester City Council.svg
Logo Res:250px
House Type:Non-metropolitan district
Leader1:Lorraine Campbell
Election1:20 May 2024[1]
Leader2:Jeremy Hilton
Election2:20 May 2024
Leader3:Jon McGinty
Members:39 councillors[2]
Political Groups1:
Administration (17)
  • Other parties (22)
  • Conservative (11)
  • Labour (7)
  • Independent (4)
  • Next Election1:4 May 2028
    Session Room:Gloucester city council offices North warehouse - geograph.org.uk - 121623.jpg
    Session Res:250px
    Meeting Place:North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL12EP

    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.

    History

    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]

    Governance

    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]

    Political control

    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 controlYears
    1974–1984
    1984–1987
    1987–1990
    1990–1995
    1995–2002
    2002–2011
    2011–2012
    2012–2015
    2015–2024
    2024–present

    Leadership

    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 22 May 1995 Sep 1995
    Jon Holmes 26 Oct 1995 17 May 1999
    Kevin Stephens 17 May 1999 4 May 2003
    Bill Crowther 13 May 2003 27 Nov 2003
    Mary Smith 27 Nov 2003 22 Jun 2004
    Mark Hawthorne 22 Jun 2004 6 May 2007
    Paul James 21 May 2007 21 Nov 2019
    Richard Cook 21 Nov 2019 7 May 2024
    Jeremy Hilton 20 May 2024

    Composition

    Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:[14] [15]

    PartyCouncillors
    17
    11
    7
    4
    Total39
    The four independent councillors sit together as the "Community Independent Group".[16] The next election is due in 2028.

    Premises

    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. In 1985 the council purchased North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks, which had been built in 1826.[17] 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.[18] 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. The Herbert Warehouse building was completed in 1988.[19]

    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.[20] [21] The council's offices moved from Shire Hall to the Eastgate Shopping Centre in 2022.[22]

    Elections

    See also: Gloucester City Council elections. 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.[23]

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Council minutes, 20 May 2024 . Gloucester City Council . 27 August 2023.
    2. Web site: Councillors - Gloucester City Council.
    3. Book: Herbert . N. M. . A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 4 . 1988 . Victoria County History . London . 1–4 . 28 June 2022.
    4. [Municipal Corporations Act 1835]
    5. Web site: Gloucester County Borough . A Vision of Britain through Time . GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth . 28 June 2022.
    6. si. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972. 1972. 2039. 22 June 2023.
    7. si. The Gloucestershire (District Boundaries) Order 1991. 1991. 281. 28 August 2023.
    8. act. Local Government Act 1972. 1972. 70. 31 May 2023.
    9. Web site: Election maps . Ordnance Survey . 26 August 2023.
    10. News: Garcia . Carmelo . 'Gloucester through and through' Lib Dem Jeremy Hilton elected City Council leader 42 years after first becoming a councillor . 4 July 2024 . Gloucestershire Live . 21 May 2024.
    11. Web site: Compositions calculator . The Elections Centre . 26 May 2023.
    12. News: Local elections: Gloucester . 27 June 2022 . BBC News . 4 May 2006.
    13. Web site: Council minutes . Gloucester City Council . 27 June 2022.
    14. Web site: Your councillors by party . Gloucester City Council . 28 August 2023.
    15. News: Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England . 21 May 2024 . The Guardian . 4 May 2024.
    16. Web site: Gloucester . Local Councils . Thorncliffe . 4 July 2024.
    17. Land Registry title number GR76944: North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2FB. Purchased by Gloucester City Council on 23 August 1985.
    18. News: City Council moves out - to the docks . 27 June 2022 . Gloucester News . 11 July 1986.
    19. News: Office hand-over . 28 June 2022 . Gloucester News . 6 October 1988.
    20. Web site: Cabinet report, 6 November 2019 . Gloucester City Council . 27 June 2022.
    21. Web site: New gateway to Gloucester City Council to open in the city centre . Gloucester City Council . 27 June 2022 . 26 July 2019.
    22. News: Codd . Toby . Eastgate Shopping Centre to be new headquarters of Gloucester City Council . 28 August 2023 . Gloucestershire Live . 6 August 2022.
    23. si. The Gloucester (Electoral Changes) Order 2015. 2015. 2026. 28 August 2023.