Central Bedfordshire Council

Central Bedfordshire Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2009
Preceded byBedfordshire County Council
District councils
  • Mid Bedfordshire District Council
  • South Bedfordshire District Council
Leadership
Gareth Mackey,
Independent
since 25 May 2023[1]
Adam Zerny,
Independent
since 25 May 2023
Marcel Coiffait
since November 2020[2]
Structure
Seats63 councillors
Central Bedfordshire Council political makeup
Political groups
Administration (16)
  Independent Alliance (16)
Other parties (47)
  Conservative Party (20)
  Central Bedfordshire Community Network (13)
  Liberal Democrats (8)
  Labour Party (5)
  Independent (1)
Joint committees
East of England Local Government Association
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Priory House, Chicksands
Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, SG17 5TQ
Website
www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Central Bedfordshire Council is the local authority for Central Bedfordshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. It has been under no overall control since 2023, being run by an independent-led administration. The council is based at Chicksands.

History

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Local government in Bedfordshire was reorganised with effect from 1 April 2009. The borough of Luton had already been made a unitary authority independent from the county council in 1997. The changes in 2009 divided the rest of the county into two unitary authorities: Bedford and Central Bedfordshire. The new Central Bedfordshire covered the combined area of the two former districts of Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire. Central Bedfordshire Council also took over the functions of the abolished Bedfordshire County Council within the area. Central Bedfordshire is legally both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county, but there is no separate county council; instead the district council performs both district and county functions, making it a unitary authority.[3][4] Central Bedfordshire remains part of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[5]

Political control

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The council went under no overall control at the 2023 election, having previously had a Conservative majority. An independent-led administration - the first in a unitary authority in English local government history - subsequently formed, with independent councillor Adam Zerny being appointed leader of the council.[6] The group of independent councillors split in July 2024 into the 'Independent Alliance' group and the 'Independent Network' group (later renamed the 'Central Bedfordshire Community Network').[7][8]

Political control of the council since its creation in 2009 has been as follows:[9]

Party in control Years
Conservative 2009–2023
No overall control 2023–present

Leadership

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The first leader of the council was Tricia Turner, who had been the last leader of Mid Bedfordshire District Council.[10] The leaders of the council since 2009 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Tricia Turner[11][12] Conservative 18 Jun 2009 May 2011
James Jamieson[13][14] Conservative 19 May 2011 Jan 2021
Richard Wenham[15][16] Conservative 14 Jan 2021 May 2023
Adam Zerny[6] Independent 25 May 2023

Composition

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Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was:[17][18][19]

Party Councillors
Independent 29
Conservative 20
Liberal Democrats 9
Labour 5
Green 1
Total: 63

Of the independent councillors, 16 form the 'Independent Alliance', 12 form the 'Central Bedfordshire Community Network' which also includes the Green councillor, and the other independent councillor is not aligned to any group.[19] The leader of the council and all the council's executive are members of the Independent Alliance.[20] The next election is due in 2027.[19]

Premises

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The council inherited offices at Priory House (built 2006) in Chicksands, just outside the town of Shefford, from Mid Bedfordshire District Council, and the South Bedfordshire District Council offices (built 1989) in Dunstable. Priory House became the new council's headquarters. The South Bedfordshire offices were renamed Watling House and served as additional offices for the council until being closed in 2022.[21]

Elections

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Main article: Central Bedfordshire Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council comprises 63 councillors, elected from 31 wards. Elections are held every four years.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Duncan, Euan (10 May 2024). "No change at the top as chairman and deputy of Central Beds Council re-elected unopposed". Biggleswade Today. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Transparency - organisation information". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. ^ "The Bedfordshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2008/907, retrieved 11 May 2023
  4. ^ "About Central Bedfordshire Council | Central Bedfordshire Council". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 26 April 2023
  6. ^ a b "Council meeting, 25 May 2023". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  7. ^ Duncan, Euan (18 July 2024). "Independent Central Bedfordshire councillors split ahead of tonight's extraordinary meeting to elect new leader". Biggleswade Today. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  8. ^ Boothroyd, David (14 February 2025). "Reform in Wales are as high as a Keyte". Local Councils. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Central Bedfordshire" in search box to see specific results.)
  10. ^ "Shadow Council minutes". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 18 June 2009". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  12. ^ Lowe, Steve (8 May 2011). "No surprises as Lib Dems pay the price". Luton on Sunday. p. 21. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 19 May 2011". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  14. ^ Guinn, John (26 November 2020). "Leadership changes at Central Bedfordshire Council". Cranfield and Marston Vale Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Council minutes, 14 January 2021". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Local elections 2023: Conservatives lose control of Central Beds". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  17. ^ "2023 Central Bedfordshire election results". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Central Bedfordshire election result". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  19. ^ a b c "Central Bedfordshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  20. ^ "Political control of Central Bedfordshire Council". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  21. ^ Duncan, Euan (20 October 2022). "Self service access Central Bedfordshire Council services set for Dunstable library as Watling House to close". Luton Today. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  22. ^ "The Central Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/1051, retrieved 11 May 2023
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