North Somerset Council
North Somerset Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1996 |
| Preceded by | Avon County Council Woodspring District Council |
| Leadership | |
Jo Walker since January 2019[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 50 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | Whole council elected every four years |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1UJ | |
| Website | |
| www | |
North Somerset Council is the local authority of North Somerset, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council meets at Weston-super-Mare Town Hall.
Governance[edit]
North Somerset Council provides both county-level and district-level services. The whole area is also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.[3]
Political control[edit]
The council has been under no overall control since 2019.
The first election to Woodspring District Council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[4][5]
Woodspring district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1995 | |
| No overall control | 1995–1996 | |
North Somerset unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 1996–1999 | |
| Conservative | 1999–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–2007 | |
| Conservative | 2007–2019 | |
| No overall control | 2019–present | |
Leadership[edit]
The leaders of the council since 2005 have been:[6]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Hockridge[7] | Liberal Democrats | 2005 | 14 Apr 2007 | |
| Nigel Ashton[8] | Conservative | 2007 | 14 May 2019 | |
| Don Davies | Independent | 14 May 2019 | 10 May 2022 | |
| Steve Bridger | Independent | 10 May 2022 | 12 May 2023 | |
| Mike Bell[9] | Liberal Democrats | 12 May 2023 | ||
Composition[edit]
Following the 2023 North Somerset Council election and a by-election in November 2023, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 13 | |
| Labour | 10 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 9 | |
| Green | 8 | |
| Independent | 7 | |
| Portishead Independents | 3 | |
| Total | 50 | |
Of the independent councillors, three sit in a group with the Liberal Democrats, one sits with the Portishead Independents, two sit with the Conservatives and the other does not belong to a group.[10] The next election is due in 2027.
Elections[edit]
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 35 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.[11]
Premises[edit]
The council is based at Weston-super-Mare Town Hall on Walliscote Grove Road. The building had been the headquarters of the old Weston-super-Mare Borough Council, one of Woodspring's predecessors, having been built in 1856 for the town's improvement commissioners, predecessors of the borough council.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "Council minutes, 23 May 2023". North Somerset Council. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Wright, Tom (17 October 2018). "New chief executive appointed by North Somerset Council". Weston Mercury. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ^ "Council minutes". North Somerset Council. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ "North Somerset council boss dies". BBC News. 16 April 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ Angear, Simon (19 January 2018). "Council leader slams his own party for treating elderly 'without dignity'". Weston Mercury. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ "Partnership Administration announced for North Somerset". North Somerset Council. 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Your councillors by political grouping". North Somerset Council. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "The North Somerset (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/3291, retrieved 13 December 2023
- ^ Historic England. "The Town Hall (1138148)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
