High Peak Borough Council

High Peak Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district council of the High Peak, Derbyshire
Leadership
Executive	Conservative
Leader	Cllr Tony Ashton, Conservative
Deputy Leader	Cllr Tony Kemp, Conservative
Mayor	Cllr George Wharmby
Chief Executive	Simon Baker
Structure
Seats	43
Political groups	Labour   Conservatives   Liberal Democrats   Independent
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	7 May 2015
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 for High Peak, alongside Derbyshire County Council. The administrative base of High Peak Borough Council is split between sites in the towns of Buxton and Glossop. Full council meetings are usually held in Buxton. The whole council is elected once every four years. As of May 2015 the council is controlled by the Conservatives.

In February 2008, the council formed a strategic alliance with the neighbouring Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, an arrangement where both councils share a number of services and staff to keep costs as low as possible.^[2]

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.

Shortly after taking office in 2007, the Conservative Party implemented a number of policies including contracting out the refuse and recycling services. The contract began in August 2008, and was continued by the succeeding Labour administration.

In June 2009, the ruling Conservative administration took the decision to dispose of the former council headquarters in Chinley, which also housed the location of full council meetings. The Council said that disposal of the site would save £200,000 per year.^[3] The site has now been sold.

Administration

The Council, made up of 43 councillors, is currently controlled by the Conservatives, which won 23 seats at the 2015 local election.^[4]

Leader

At the 2015 local election, Tony Ashton became the Leader of High Peak Borough Council and Tony Kemp became the Deputy Leader, after the Conservative Party gained control with a majority of 3.

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.

From 2011 to 2015 the Leader was Caitlin Bisknell, after the Labour Party gained control with a minority administration.

Mayor

The current Mayor is Cllr George Wharmby who was elected as Mayor of High Peak for 2016/167 in May 2016. Predecessors include:

• Cllr Stuart Young, Mayor of High Peak for 2015/16
• Cllr Alan Barrow, Mayor of High Peak for 2014/15
• Cllr Tony Kemp, Mayor of High Peak for 2013/14
• Cllr Pat Jenner, Mayor of High Peak for 2012/13
• Cllr David Lomax, Mayor of High Peak for 2011/12
• Cllr Graham Oakley, Mayor of High Peak for 2010/11

Executive

At the 2015 election, the Labour Party lost minority control of the council and the Conservative Party became the largest party with 23 seats, gaining a majority of 3. Upon taking control they increased the number of councillors on the executive from four to five.

Electoral wards and councillors

Below is a list of all 43 serving councillors:^[5][6][7]

Sources

• "Councillors". High Peak Borough Council. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2015. 

References

External links

• High Peak Borough Council