High Peak Borough Council

High Peak Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district council of the High Peak, Derbyshire
Leadership
Executive	Labour
Leader	Caitlin Bisknell, Labour
Deputy Leader	Anthony McKeown, Labour
Mayor	Alan Barrow, Labour
Chief Executive	Simon Baker
Structure
Seats	43
Political groups	Labour   Conservatives   Liberal Democrats   Independents    Non-Aligned
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2011
Meeting place
Town Hall, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6EL Municipal Buildings, Glossop, Derbyshire, SK13 8AF Full Council meetings are held at Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Hall.
Website
http://www.highpeak.gov.uk
Footnotes
The council meeting places have changed due to the closure and sale of the council's former base at Chinley[1]

High Peak Borough Council is the local authority for High Peak, a borough of Derbyshire, England. It forms part of the two tier system of local government alongside Derbyshire County Council for High Peak. The administrative base of High Peak Borough Council is split between sites in the towns of Buxton and Glossop. Full council meetings are held in Chapel-en-le-Frith. Major settlements include Castleton, Glossop, Buxton, New Mills, Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith. The whole council is elected once every four years. As of May 2011 the council is currently under No Overall Control, but has a minority Labour administration.

History

The High Peak Borough Council was formed on 1 April 1974 by absorbing the municipal boroughs of Buxton and Glossop, the urban districts of New Mills and Whaley Bridge and the rural district of Chapel-en-le-Frith, all of which had previously been in the administrative county of Derbyshire, as well as the rural district of Tintwistle which had been in the administrative county of Cheshire.

At the May 2011 election the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council and it became No Overall Control, with the Labour Party having the largest number of seats but being short of a majority. In the local elections of May 2007, the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council, as after the 1999 election the Labour Party had been the largest party and in 2003 the council was under no overall control.

Shortly after taking office the Conservative Party implemented a number of policies including contracting out and selling off refuse and recycling services, this being the first time such services have been managed by a private company in recent years and the contract started in August 2008.

Additionally, in June 2009, the ruling Conservative administration took the decision to dispose of the current base of the council which houses the location of full council meetings. The site was seen as wasteful and that it would be more efficient to hold the functions elsewhere. The site has now been sold.

Administration

The Council, made up of 43 councillors, is currently under no overall control as of the 2011 local election. The Labour Party are the largest party with 21 seats, one seat short of an overall majority. Labour gained nine seats from the Conservatives, two from the Liberal Democrats, and one from an independent. Shortly after the 2011 election it was announced that Labour were to take control of the council under a minority executive.

^[2]

Leader

As of the 2011 local election, Caitlin Bisknell became the Leader of High Peak Borough Council and Anthony McKeown the Deputy Leader, after the Labour Party gained control through a minority administration.

From 2003 to 2007 the Leader was David Lomax of the Liberal Democrats. In 2007, after the Conservatives gained control of the council, John Faulkner was elected to the post, but he resigned less than a year later and Deputy Leader Tony Ashton took over as Leader. In 2011 the Conservatives lost their overall majority and control of the council.^[3]

Mayor

Cllr Pat Jenner was elected as Mayor of High Peak for 2012/13 in May 2012.

Executive

At the 2011 election, the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council and the Labour Party became the largest party with 21 seats, but without a majority. They currently have minority control of the council, and in taking control they have reduced the number of councillors on the executive from six to four.

Electoral wards and councillors

^[4] Below is a list of all 43 serving councillors. Most were elected at the 2011 Elections, at which the Labour Party gained 12 seats to become the largest party on the council but were one short of an overall majority. Councillor Jean Todd was elected at the Buxton Central by-election in March 2012, after Councillor Phil Ashmore emigrated to the United States and resigned his seat.^[5] A number of councillors previously elected in 2007 did not stand in the 2011 election, including Andrew Bingham who was elected as Member of Parliament for High Peak in 2010.

^{[6] [7][8]}

Sources

• http://www.highpeak.gov.uk/contact/councillor.asp

References

External links

• High Peak Borough Council