West Berkshire Council

West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. West Berkshire is divided into 30 wards, electing 52 councillors.^[2] The council was created by the Local Government Act 1972 as the Newbury District Council and replaced five local authorities: Bradfield Rural District Council, Hungerford Rural District Council, Newbury Borough Council, Newbury Rural District Council and Wantage Rural District Council. On 1 April 1998 it was renamed West Berkshire Council and since then has been a unitary authority, assuming the powers and functions of Berkshire County Council. The next election to the authority will be in 2015.

History

The council was formed by the Local Government Act 1972 as the Newbury District Council. It replaced Bradfield Rural District Council, Hungerford Rural District Council, Newbury Borough Council, Newbury Rural District Council and Wantage Rural District Council. The current local authority was first elected in 1973, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the District of Newbury on 1 April 1974.

It was envisaged through the Local Government Act 1972 that Newbury as a non-metropolitan district council would share power with the Berkshire County Council. This arrangement lasted until 1998 when Berkshire County Council was abolished and the renamed Newbury District Council, now West Berkshire Council, gained responsibility for services that had been provided by the county council.

Politics

West Berkshire Council is elected every four years, with currently 52 councillors being elected at each election. From the first election to the unitary authority in 1997 to the 2003 election the Liberal Democrats had a majority and they then kept control with the chairman's casting vote until 2005. In 2005 the Conservative party gained a majority, which they have held since. As of the 2011 election the council is composed of the following councillors:-^[3]

References

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