Cheltenham Borough Council

Cheltenham Borough Council is the local authority for Cheltenham, a non-metropolitan district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The council is based at the Municipal Offices on the Promenade.

Cheltenham Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	David Willingham, Liberal Democrat since 12 May 2025[1]
Leader	Rowena Hay, Liberal Democrats since 7 December 2020
Chief Executive	Gareth Edmundson since 2019[2]
Structure
Seats	40 councillors[3]
Political groups	Administration (36)   Liberal Democrat (36) Other parties (4)   Green (3)   People Against Bureaucracy (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Municipal Offices, Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 9SA
Website
www.cheltenham.gov.uk

The neighbouring districts are Tewkesbury and Cotswold.

History

The town of Cheltenham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1876, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Cheltenham", but generally known as the corporation or town council. Prior to 1876 the town had been administered by a body of improvement commissioners which had been established in 1786.^[4]

The borough was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming a non-metropolitan district and absorbing the area of the former Charlton Kings urban district at the same time.^[5] Cheltenham kept its borough status, allowing the council to take the name Cheltenham Borough Council and letting the chair of the council take the title of mayor, continuing Cheltenham's series of mayors dating back to 1876.^[6]

The borough was further enlarged in 1991 when it gained the parishes of Leckhampton, Prestbury, Swindon and Up Hatherley, all of which had previously been in Tewkesbury Borough.^[7]

Governance

Cheltenham Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council.^[8] Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. The rest of the borough, roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 municipal borough, is an unparished area.^[9]

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2010.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:^[10][11]

Party in control		Years
	Conservative	1974–1979
	No overall control	1979–1991
	Liberal Democrats	1991–1999
	No overall control	1999–2000
	Conservative	2000–2002
	Liberal Democrats	2002–2004
	No overall control	2004–2010
	Liberal Democrats	2010–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Cheltenham. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Andrew McKinlay[12]		Liberal Democrats	10 May 2002	May 2006
Duncan Smith[13]		Conservative	11 May 2006	May 2008
Steve Jordan[14][15]		Liberal Democrats	8 May 2008	7 Dec 2020
Rowena Hay[15]		Liberal Democrats	7 Dec 2020

Composition

Following the 2024 election,^[16][17][18] the composition of the council is:

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	36
	Green	3
	People Against Bureaucracy	1
Total		40

The next election is due in May 2026.^[19]

Premises

The council is based at the Municipal Offices on the Promenade.^[20] The building was built as a row of 19 terraced houses called Harward's Buildings between 1823 and 1840. Seven houses in the terrace were acquired by Cheltenham Borough Council in 1916 and converted to become their offices, with the other houses being acquired later.^[21]

Elections

See also: Cheltenham Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 40 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. Elections are held in alternate years, with half the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term of office.^[22]

Coat of arms

Cheltenham’s coat-of-arms were granted in 1877, and are still in use by the council.

Armorial achievement	Blazon	References
	Crest Upon a mount between two branches of oak proper, a fountain thereon a pigeon proper. Escutcheon Or, a chevron engrailed gules between two pigeons argent in chief and an uprooted oak tree in base proper; atop, a chief azure under a cross flory argent between two open books proper binding. Motto SALUBRITAS ET ERUDITIO	[23][24]