Borough of Tewkesbury

The Borough of Tewkesbury is a local government district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The borough is named after its largest town, Tewkesbury, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Winchcombe and numerous villages including Bishops Cleeve, Ashchurch, Churchdown, Innsworth and Brockworth as well as other hamlets and surrounding rural areas. Parts of the district lie within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Tewkesbury Borough
Non-metropolitan district and borough
Tewkesbury Abbey in the town of Tewkesbury which the district is named after and governed from
Tewkesbury shown within Gloucestershire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West England
Non-metropolitan county	Gloucestershire
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Tewkesbury
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Tewkesbury Borough Council
• MPs	Matt Bishop Cameron Thomas
Area
• Total	160.0 sq mi (414.4 km2)
• Rank	83rd (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	97,000
• Rank	248th (of 296)
• Density	610/sq mi (230/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 95.1% White 2% Asian 1.8% Mixed 0.6% Black 0.5% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 51% Christianity 40.8% no religion 7.7% other 0.5% Islam
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	23UG (ONS) E07000083 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SO8855933566

The neighbouring districts are Cotswold, Cheltenham, Stroud, Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Malvern Hills and Wychavon.

History

Prior to 1974 the borough of Tewkesbury only covered the town itself. The town was an ancient borough, having been granted a charter of incorporation by Elizabeth I in 1575.^[2] The town was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Tewkesbury", but generally known as the corporation or town council.^[3]

The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time:^[4]

• Cheltenham Rural District
• Gloucester Rural District (part, rest split between Forest of Dean and Stroud)
• Tewkesbury Municipal Borough

The new district was named Tewkesbury after its main town.^[5] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the council to take the name Tewkesbury Borough Council and letting the chair of the council take the title of mayor.^[6] A successor parish was created at the same time covering the area of the former municipal borough of Tewkesbury, with the parish council taking the name Tewkesbury Town Council.^[7]

In 1991, the parishes of Leckhampton, Prestbury, Swindon and Up Hatherley were transferred to the neighbouring Cheltenham Borough.^[8]

In 2024, its administration consulted its residents on whether it should change its name to "North Gloucestershire Borough".^[9]

Governance

Tewkesbury Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	Philip Workman, Tewkesbury and Twining Independents since 14 May 2024[10]
Leader	Richard Stanley, Liberal Democrat since 13 May 2023
Chief Executive	Alistair Cunningham since 13 June 2022[11]
Structure
Seats	38 councillors
Political groups	Liberal Democrat (16)   Conservative (9)   Independent (7)   Green Party (4)   TTI (2)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, Gloucester Road, Tewkesbury, GL20 5TT
Website
www.tewkesbury.gov.uk

Tewkesbury Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council.^[12] The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[13]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, with leadership roles shared between the Liberal Democrats, Greens and independent councillors.

The first election to the modern 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:^[14][15]

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1974–1976
	Independent	1976–1987
	No overall control	1987–1991
	Independent	1991–1995
	No overall control	1995–2011
	Conservative	2011–2023
	No overall control	2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided instead by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:^[16]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Robert Vines		Conservative	2007	16 May 2017
Dave Waters		Conservative	16 May 2017	15 May 2018
Rob Bird		Conservative	15 May 2018	7 May 2023
Richard Stanley		Liberal Democrats	17 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:^[17]

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	16
	Conservative	9
	Independent	7
	Green	4
	Tewkesbury and Twyning Independents	2
Total		38

Of the independent councillors, two sit together as the "Isbourne and Winchcombe Independents", and the other five sit with local party the Tewkesbury and Twyning Independents as a group called "The Independents".^[18] The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury. The building was purpose-built for the council, being completed in 1976.^[19]

Towns and parishes

Further information: List of civil parishes in Gloucestershire

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Tewkesbury and Winchcombe take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.^[20]

Transport

Gloucestershire Airport is in the borough, near to Gloucester and Cheltenham. The borough is also served by Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station on the mainline. Heritage railway the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway also has a number of stations in the borough.

Media

Television

The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central with television signals received from either the Ridge Hill^[21] or Sutton Coldfield TV transmitters.^[22] However, BBC West and ITV West Country are also received through cable and satellite television such as Freesat and Sky.

Radio

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Gloucestershire
• Heart West
• Greatest Hits Radio South West
• Gloucester FM
• Radio Winchcombe (serving Winchcombe)

Newspapers

The area is served by these local newspapers:^[23]

• Gloucestershire Echo
• Evesham Journal.

Elections

See also: Tewkesbury Borough Council elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2019 the council has comprised 38 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[24]

As of May 2023, the councillors were:^[25]

Ward	Councillor	Party
Badgeworth	Robert Vines		Conservative
Brockworth East	Charlotte Mills		Independent
	Jason Mills		Independent
Brockworth West	Craig Carter		Independent
	Deborah Harwood		Independent
Churchdown Brookfield with Hucclecote	Paul Smith		Liberal Democrats
	Richard Smith		Liberal Democrats
	Ian Yates		Liberal Democrats
Churchdown St John's	Stewart Dove		Liberal Democrats
	Mary Jordan		Liberal Democrats
	Liz Skelt		Liberal Democrats
Cleeve Grange	Thomas Budge		Liberal Democrats
Cleeve Hill	Nigel Adcock		Liberal Democrats
	Cheryl Agg		Liberal Democrats
Cleeve St Michael's	Alex Hegenbarth		Liberal Democrats
	Kashan Pervaiz		Liberal Democrats
Cleeve West	Richard Stanley		Liberal Democrats
	Murray Stewart		Liberal Democrats
Highnam with Haw Bridge	Paul McLain		Conservative
	Jill Smith		Conservative
Innsworth	Sarah Hands		Liberal Democrats
	Paul Ockelton		Liberal Democrats
Isbourne	Christopher Coleman		Independent
	Mel Gore		Conservative
Northway	Pauline Godwin		Conservative
	Elaine MacTiernam		Independent
Severn Vale North	Heather McLain		Conservative
Severn Vale South	Mark Williams		Conservative
Shurdington	George Porter		Liberal Democrats
Tewkesbury East	Hilarie Bowman		Green
	Helena Sundarajoo		Green
Tewkesbury North and Twyning	Mike Sztymiak		Tewkesbury and Twyning Independents
	Philip Workman		Tewkesbury and Twyning Independents
Tewkesbury South	Matt Dimond-Brown		Green
	Cate Cody		Green
Winchcombe	David Gray		Conservative
	Gemma Madle		Independent
	Jim Mason		Conservative

References

1. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Tewkesbury Local Authority (E07000083)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "The borough of Tewkesbury: Introduction Pages 110-118 A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 8". Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020 – via British History Online.
3. "Tewkesbury Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
4. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
6. "District Councils and Boroughs, 28 March 1974". Hansard. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
7. "Tewkesbury Town Council". Tewkesbury Town Council. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
8. "The Gloucestershire (District Boundaries) Order 1991", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1991/281, retrieved 27 August 2023
9. Garcia, Carmelo (17 May 2024). "Public to be consulted on Tewkesbury Borough Council name change". BBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
10. "New Mayor for Tewkesbury Borough". Tewkesbury Borough Council. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
11. "Tewkesbury Borough Council welcomes new chief executive". Tewkesbury Borough Council. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
12. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
13. "Election maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
14. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
15. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (2015). Tewkesbury Borough Council Election Results 1973–2011 (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
16. "Council minutes". Tewkesbury Borough Council. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
17. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
18. "Your councillors by party". Tewkesbury Borough Council. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
19. "Council unveils its new HQ". Western Daily Press. Bristol. 16 September 1976. p. 14. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
20. "Parish councils contact information". Tewkesbury Borough Council. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
21. "Full Freeview on the Ridge Hill (County of Herefordshire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
22. "Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
23. https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/2101604/gloucestershire-newspapers-october-2020.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
24. "The Tewkesbury (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2018/37, retrieved 29 August 2023
25. "Your Councillors by Ward". Retrieved 9 May 2023.

External links

• Tewkesbury Borough Council

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