Tewkesbury Town Council Explained

Tewkesbury Town Council
House Type:Parish Council
Leader1 Type:Mayor
Leader1:Paul Jones
Leader2 Type:Deputy Mayor
Leader2:Alan Hayes
Leader3 Type:Town Clerk and RFO
Leader3:Debbie Hill
Members:16 councillors
Structure1 Res:130px
Seats1 Title:Independent
Voting System1:Multiple non transferable vote
Last Election1:4 May 2023
Next Election1:May 2027
Meeting Place:Town Hall, High Street, Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury Town Council is a local council covering the parish of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. It is a successor parish to the Tewkesbury Municipal Borough Council that existed prior to the reorganisation of English Local Government in April 1974. The Town Council in its original form was constituted by the Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973,[1] where Tewkesbury Town is listed in Schedule Part 1.

History

Creation of Tewkesbury Town Council

Tewkesbury Town Council, in its current form as Tewkesbury Parish Council, met informally for the first time on 19 November 1973. It met formally for the first time on 17 December 1973, during this meeting which C. Burd was appointed as chairman until 1 April 1974. During 19 November 1973 meeting it was resolved that the council should have the status of a town council from 1 April 1974. This status does not result in additional powers or funding but in accordance Section 245 (6) of the Local Government Act 1972[2] has the effect of styling the Chairman/Vice-Chairman of the Council as Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor respectively.

During the meeting of 17 December 1973 it was agreed that there was no objection to the use by the new Tewkesbury Borough Council of the Borough Coat of Arms. It was also agreed that the insignia for Tewkesbury which predated the coat of arms would be the new town council's coat of arms which are still used by the Council.

History between 1974 and 1980

Tewkesbury Town Council began its formal role as the Parish Council for Tewkesbury in April 1974. The first chairman of Tewkesbury Parish Council was C. Burd, who was also the first Town Mayor of the post 1974 Town Council. All of the six Town Mayors who served between 1974 and 1980 are outlined along with the year of service in Table 1.

Party
1974C. Burd
1975R.J. Bourton
1976D.R. Graham
1977B. Devereaux
1978B. Devereaux
1979J.W. Rennison

There were a number of miscellaneous provisions which needed to be resolved following the formation of the new Tewkesbury Borough and the new Town Council which were intended to be resolved by a statutory instrument made in April 1977. In April 1977, the Town Council received a number of properties from Tewkesbury Borough Council through the provisions of The Local Authorities etc. (Miscellaneous Provision) Order 1977.[3] These properties included the Town Hall, Severn Ham SSSI, fishing rights, land at the Mythe Railway Nature Reserve and the lordship of the manor of Tewkesbury. Some of these properties have since been disposed of by the town council.

History between 1980 and 1990

The Town Mayors during this time are outlined along with the year of service in Table 2.

Party
1980G.G Magress
1981J.W. Castle
1982P. Thorpe
1983T.R Woollatt
1984A.N. Crowther
1985F.J.O. Martin
1986J.L. Potter
1987A.L.K Cadbury
1988S.J. Greenland
1989B. Devereaux

The land at the Mythe Railway Nature Reserve which had been received from Tewkesbury Borough Council in April 1977 through the provisions of The Local Authorities etc. (Miscellaneous Provision) Order 1977 became the property of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1985.

History between 1990 and 2000

The Town Mayors during this time are outlined along with the year of service in Table 3.

Party
1990J.W. Castle
1991E.C. Heath
1992T.R. Woollatt
1993S.J. Greenland
1994G.R. Moody
1995P.J. Aldridge
1996D.C. Leng
1997H.W. Nash
1998R.C. Selby
1999P.J.Aldridge

During the 1990s the relationship between the town of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire and Tewksbury, Massachusetts was strengthened and the possibility of a formal twinning was investigated. A formal twinning arrangement between the two towns was not progressed during the 1990s although a link was maintained during this time. The relationship between these two towns resulted in the placing of the Miko Kaufman sculpture called Touching Souls at Tewkesbury Abbey.

History between 2000 and 2010

The Town Mayors during this time are outlined along with the year of service in the Table 4.

Party
2000P.J. Randell
2001B.C. Calway
2002J.A. Collip
2003G.S. Dawson
2004C.A. Danter
2005E.C. Wright
2006P.J. Aldridge
2007K.M. Powell
2008B.A. Cromwell
2009P.N. Workman

Since January 2003, there has been a special relationship between Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire and Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.

History since 2010

The Town Mayors during this time are outlined along with the year of service in Table 5. Tewkesbury Town Council has experienced a number of challenges between 2010 and the present day. Tewkesbury Town Council has also taken on additional responsibilities since 2010 including assuming ownership of two new toilet blocks in Gloucester Road and Oldbury Road in 2013.

Table 5: List of Town Mayors from 2010 to present! Years !! Mayor
2010G.R. Pope
2011M.W. Pavey
2012K.M. Powell
2013C.A. Danter
2014C.A. Danter
2015J.R. Badham
2016K.V. Brennan
2017P.A. Clatworthy
2018P.N. Workman
2018C.A. Danter
2019T. Walker
2020P. Aldridge
2021J. Raywood
2022S. Raywood
2023C.A. Danter
2024P. M. Jones

Extent of Tewkesbury Town

Since the creation of Tewkesbury Town Council, the boundaries of the Parish have slightly changed most notably to cover part of the Newtown area which was formerly part of Ashchurch Parish. The M5 motorway forms part of the eastern boundary of the Town and the western side of junction 9 is within the parish. Within Tewkesbury Town are the Town Centre and the areas of Newtown, Priors Park, Mitton, Tewkesbury Park, Upper Lode, Stonehills and the Mythe. The Wheatpeices estate, Northway, and Ashchurch are not part of the Tewkesbury Town Council area but are covered by their own Parish Councils.

Tewkesbury Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

Tewkesbury Town Council as a Parish Council is required to appoint a Proper Officer and Responsible Finance Officer. As is the case with many Parish and Town Council's the Proper Officer is titled as the Town Clerk. There have as of February 2021 been eight Permanent Clerks of Tewkesbury Town Council including the Acting Clerk Mr F. Broxton. The current Clerk, Debbie Hill is assisted by a Deputy Clerk - Jen King.[4]

Table 6: List of Town Clerks between 1973 and 2021! Years !! Clerk
November 1973 - April 1974 (Acting Clerk)F. Broxton
April 1974 - March 1981L. Athay
March 1981 - March 1993W. Blakemoore
March 1993 - 2008M.G. Wilson
2008 - 2014P.F. Clarke
2014 - March 2016A. Beirne
March 2016 - December 2017H. Railton-Price
February 2018 – PresentD. Hill

Tewkesbury Town Hall

The Town Council is based at Tewkesbury Town Hall located at 18, High Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: it is a Grade II* building.

Deaths in office of Tewkesbury town councillors

Despite Tewkesbury Town Council having been in operation since 1974 only five Councillors have died whilst holding public office. The names of Tewkesbury Town Councillors who have died in office are listed in Table 7.

Table 7: List of Councillors who died in Office since 1974! Years !! Councillor
1978D.R. Graham
1988L.F. Gurney
1990J.G. Crawford
1993J.W. Castle
1993G. Campbell-Browning

Population of the Parish of Tewkesbury Town

At the time of the 2011 Census, the population of the Parish was 10,704 [5] residents. This places Tewkesbury Town as the 492nd largest Parish or Community Council in the United Kingdom. The population of Tewkesbury Town is between that of Amesbury and Birchwood Parishes.

Membership of Tewkesbury Town Council

The Town Council is currently made up of sixteen councillors who serve a population of 10,704 according to the figures released from the 2011 census. The Town Councillors formerly represented four wards of Mythe, Priors Park, Tewkesbury Town with Mitton and Newtown. The number of wards was reduced to three wards of Tewkesbury North, Tewkesbury South and Newtown at the time of the ordinary election in May 2019.

Elections to Tewkesbury Town Council last took place in May 2023 and councillors have been co-opted since the last election. Table 8 lists the current Town Councillors grouped by the Ward they represent.

Table 8: List of current Town Councillors arranged by ward represented
WardCouncillor
Tewkesbury SouthHilarie Bowman
Philip Brookes
Cate Cody
Chris Danter
Matt Dimond-Brown
Katie Moran
Joanne Raywood
Simon Raywood
NewtownAlan Hayes
Catherine Robertson
Vernon Smith
Tewkesbury NorthJessica Baddams
Paul Jones
Rachel Langdon
Mike Sztymiak
Co-opted to Tewkesbury NorthEmma Ash

The next elections to Tewkesbury Town Council are due to take place in May 2027. These elections will occur at the same time as the ordinary elections for Tewkesbury Borough Council.

Community Service Award

Since 1983 Tewkesbury Town Council has given a community service award to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the live of the Town. As of 14 May 2018 the Town Council has made this award to sixty individuals. All individuals given this award are noted on a board on the wall of the Town Hall. These awards are presented at the Annual Meeting of the Town Council which is also known as the Mayor Making Ceremony. Those listed in Table 9 have received the Community Service Award from Tewkesbury Town Council.

Table 9: List of Community Service Award recipients ! Years !! Community Service Award receipiant
1983G.S. Brown
1984V.L. Caudle
C. Durrant
1985J.R. Griffiths
1986J. Lampitt
1987M. Bigland
A.E. Leach
1990B.K.R. Durrant
N. Newman
1991E.M. Knowle
1992R.J. Bourton
F.W. Sears
1993E.D. Horner
1994F.J.O. Martin*
C. Burd
1995E.H. Preston
M.E. Minter
1996D.H. Green
S. Haines
1997J.C. and J. Faull
G. Durrant
1998N.E. Davies
E.C. Heath
1999S.J. Goodchild
R.F. Gurney
2000B. Devereux
2001J. Morgan
2002S. Danby
D. Hobbs
2004S.J. Greenland
P. Sinnott
2005E.A. Ealand
J.R.B. Gamble
2006A.B. Cresswell
2007P.A. Clatworthy
W.G. Danter*
2008E.A. and E.E. Mills
A. Baldwin
2009A. Walker
E. Sinnott
L. Stamp
2010A.R. Lawrence
E.A. Hughes
2011H. Robertson
S. and A. Haycock
2012H. Ledge
M.F. White
2013A. Cadbury
H. Workman
2014J. Savory
H. Nash*
2015N. Morgan
2016A. Turner
S. Bailey (YA)
2017B. Reeve
2018S. Coulton
M. Wilson
P. South
S. Perry
R. Taylor - (YA)
2019H & Mrs H Walters
O. Dare (YA)
S. Gilchrist (YA)
2020J. Kinghorn
G. Pope
R. Bagley (YA)
2021M. Badham
E. Dare
H. Carver
2022I. Boskett
Recipients marked with a * were awarded posthumously.Recipients marked with a (YA) were awarded the Youth Award.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973.
  2. Web site: Local Government Act 1972.
  3. Web site: The Local Authorities etc. (Miscellaneous Provision) Order 1977.
  4. Web site: Tewkesbury Town Council. 2021-02-05. en-GB.
  5. Web site: Your data . www.nomisweb.co.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060106065631/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/asv2htm.aspx . 2006-01-06.