Stevenage Borough Council
51°54′00″N 0°12′11″W / 51.900°N 0.203°W
Stevenage Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leadership | |
Matt Partridge since 25 July 2019[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 39 councillors[4] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Daneshill House, Danestrete, Stevenage, SG1 1HN | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Stevenage Borough Council is the local authority for Stevenage, a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1974. It is based at Daneshill House on Danestrete.
History
[edit]Stevenage's first elected council was a local board established in 1873, prior to which the town had been administered by the parish vestry.[5] Such local boards were converted into urban district councils in 1894. The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Stevenage Urban District as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974.[6] The district was awarded borough status on the same date, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[7]
Governance
[edit]Stevenage Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level functions are provided by Hertfordshire County Council. There are no civil parishes in the borough.
Political control
[edit]The first elections to the borough council as reformed under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. The Labour Party has held a majority of the seats on the council since 1974:[8]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–present | |
Leadership
[edit]The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Stevenage, and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:[9]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hall | Labour | 1974 | 1975 | |
| Labour | 1975 | 1976 | ||
| Brian Hall[10][11] | Labour | 1976 | 23 May 2006 | |
| Sharon Taylor | Labour | 23 May 2006 | 31 Dec 2022 | |
| Richard Henry | Labour | 1 Jan 2023 | ||
Composition
[edit]Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was as follows:[12]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 32 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 6 | |
| Conservative | 1 | |
| Total | 39 | |
The next election is due 7 May 2026. A third of the council's seats will be up for election.
Elections
[edit]Since the last ward boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 39 councillors, with the borough being divided into 13 wards each electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing one councillor from each ward each time to serve a four-year term of office. Hertfordshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[13]
The wards are:
- Almond Hill
- Bandley Hill and Poplars
- Bedwell
- Chells
- Longmeadow
- Manor
- Martins Wood
- Old Town
- Roebuck
- St Nicholas
- Shephall
- Symonds Green
- Woodfield
Premises
[edit]The council is based at Daneshill House on Danestrete in the town centre. The building was built in 1961 for the development corporation which oversaw the development of Stevenage as a New Town between 1946 and 1980. The building was bought by the council in 1980 when the development corporation was wound up.[14]
Arms
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References
[edit]- ^ Day, Christopher (23 May 2024). "Stevenage: Jim Brown confirmed as new mayor for 2024/25". The Comet. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Council minutes, 14 December 2022". Stevenage Borough Council. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "New CEO for Stevenage". The UK Innovation Corridor. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Political Makeup". Stevenage Borough Council. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "No. 24022". The London Gazette. 3 October 1873. p. 4434.
- ^ "Stevenage Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Council minutes". Stevenage Borough Council. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "End of an era". The Comet. 25 May 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Mayors of Stevenage from 1974". Stevenage Borough Council. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "The Stevenage (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2023/653, retrieved 24 May 2023
- ^ Cole, Emily; Harwood, Elain (2020). The New Town Centre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire: Architecture and Significance. Historic England. pp. 118, 150. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ "East of England Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 9 March 2021.