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Gloucester City Council

Gloucester City Council
Coat of arms or logo
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Lorraine Campbell,
Conservative
since 20 May 2024[1]
Jeremy Hilton,
Liberal Democrats
since 20 May 2024
Jon McGinty
Structure
Seats39 councillors[2]
Political groups
Administration (17)
  Liberal Democrats (17)
Other parties (22)
  Conservative (11)
  Labour (7)
  Independent (4)
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.gov.uk

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 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

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 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

Composition

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.

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.

Guildhall, 23 Eastgate Street: Council's headquarters 1892–1986.

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]

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.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 20 May 2024". Gloucester City Council. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Councillors - Gloucester City Council".
  3. ^ Herbert, N. M. (1988). A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 4. London: Victoria County History. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  4. ^ Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4 c. 76)
  5. ^ "Gloucester County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  6. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 June 2023
  7. ^ "The Gloucestershire (District Boundaries) Order 1991", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1991/281, retrieved 28 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. ^ Garcia, Carmelo (21 May 2024). "'Gloucester through and through' Lib Dem Jeremy Hilton elected City Council leader 42 years after first becoming a councillor". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Local elections: Gloucester". BBC News. 4 May 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Council minutes". Gloucester City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Your councillors by party". Gloucester City Council. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Gloucester". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  17. ^ Historic England. "Guildhall, 23 Eastgate Street (1271663)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  18. ^ Land Registry title number GR76944: North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2FB. Purchased by Gloucester City Council on 23 August 1985.
  19. ^ Historic England. "North Warehouse, The Docks (1245466)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  20. ^ "City Council moves out - to the docks". Gloucester News. 11 July 1986. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  21. ^ Historic England. "Herbert Warehouse, The Docks (1245605)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  22. ^ Historic England. "Kimberley Warehouse, The Docks (1245606)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  23. ^ Historic England. "Phillpotts Warehouse, The Docks (1245467)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Office hand-over". Gloucester News. 6 October 1988. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Cabinet report, 6 November 2019" (PDF). Gloucester City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  26. ^ "New gateway to Gloucester City Council to open in the city centre". Gloucester City Council. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  27. ^ Codd, Toby (6 August 2022). "Eastgate Shopping Centre to be new headquarters of Gloucester City Council". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  28. ^ "The Gloucester (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2015/2026, retrieved 28 August 2023
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