Woking Borough Council

Woking Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Louise Morales,
Liberal Democrat
since 20 May 2024[1]
Ann-Marie Barker,
Liberal Democrat
since 23 May 2022[2]
Richard Carr
since April 2024
Structure
Seats30 councillors
Political groups
Administration (24)
  Liberal Democrats (24)
Other parties (6)
  Independent (5)
  Labour (1)
Elections
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Civic Offices, Gloucester Square, Woking, GU21 6YL
Website
www.woking.gov.uk

Woking Borough Council is the local authority for Woking in Surrey, England. The council consists of 30 councillors, three for each of the 10 wards in the town.[3] It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, led by Ann-Marie Barker.[4] The borough council is based at Woking Civic Offices.[5]

History

[edit]

The parish of Woking was made a local government district in 1893, governed by a local board.[6] Such districts became urban districts in December 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894, and so the local board was replaced by Woking Urban District Council. The urban district was significantly enlarged in 1907 when it absorbed Horsell parish and again in 1933 when it absorbed Byfleet and Pyrford parishes.[7][8]

The first woman elected to the council was Elizabeth Balfour in 1919.[9]

On 1 April 1974, the urban district became a non-metropolitan district, altering its powers and responsibilities, although keeping the same area.[10] The reformed district was also awarded borough status at the same time, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, with the council thereafter being called Woking Borough Council.[11]

In May 2023, a government review revealed that the council would have debts of £2.4 billion by 2026, 100 times the size of its annual £24 million budget, largely attributed to unsuccessful investments in two skyscrapers, one residential and one a hotel, as well as smaller deals including a £6.4 million loan to a local private school and £2m spent on acquiring pubs.[12] The deals were financed partly with £1.3bn low interest borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board. Risky property deals, also carried out by other local authorities such as Thurrock, Croydon, and Slough over the previous 5 years, were attempts to offset the impact of UK Government funding cuts.[12] Nonetheless the review advised the council to borrow an additional £300m to avoid a fire-sale of assets.[12] The Minister for Local Government, Lee Rowley, announced in May 2023 that the council was to be overseen by a team of expert commissioners until the council could "address their commercial and financial challenges, and make transformative change across its entire operations."[13]

On 7 June 2023, Woking Borough Council issued a Section 114 notice after forecasting a deficit of £1.2 billion for the year ending 31 March 2024 due to losses on risky investments involving hotels and skyscrapers instigated by a former Conservative administration.[14]

Governance

[edit]

Woking Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council.[15] There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.[16]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2022.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[17]

Party in control Years
Conservative 1974–1986
No overall control 1986–1992
Conservative 1992–1994
No overall control 1994–1996
Liberal Democrats 1996–1998
No overall control 1998–2007
Conservative 2007–2009
No overall control 2009–2011
Conservative 2011–2019
No overall control 2019–2022
Liberal Democrats 2022–present

Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Woking. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2006 have been:[18]

Councillor Party From To
Sue Smith[19] Liberal Democrats 22 May 2006 May 2007
Anne Murray[20] Conservative May 2007 10 Jul 2008
John Kingsbury Conservative 10 Jul 2008 22 May 2017
David Bittleston[21] Conservative 22 May 2017 15 Oct 2020
Ayesha Azad Conservative 15 Oct 2020 23 May 2022
Ann-Marie Barker Liberal Democrats 23 May 2022

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:[22]

Party Councillors
Liberal Democrats 24
Independent 5
Labour 1
Total 30

The next election is due in 2026.[23]

Elections

[edit]
See also: Woking Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 30 councillors representing 10 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[24]

Premises

[edit]

The council is based at the Civic Offices on Gloucester Square. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1983.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Louise Morales elected Mayor of Woking". Woking News and Mail. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Council minutes, 23 May 2022" (PDF). Woking Borough Council. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Your Councillors by Ward". Woking Borough Council. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  4. ^ "New council leader talks of 'ambitious plans' for the borough". Woking News and Mail. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Full Refurbishment of Woking Borough Council Civic Offices, Gloucester Square, Woking". RKG Partnership. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  6. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1894. p. 293. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Relationships and changes Woking UD through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Woking Urban District Council". The National Archives. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Lady Elizabeth Edith 'Betty' Balfour [née Lytton] (1867 -1942)". Exploring Surrey's Past. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  10. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  11. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  12. ^ a b c "Ministers step in at Woking council as debts forecast to reach £2.4bn | Local government | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  13. ^ Rowley, Lee (25 May 2023). "Local Government Update". Written Questions, Answers and Statements (UIN HCWS813) – via UK Parliament.
  14. ^ Partington, Richard (7 June 2023). "Woking council declares bankruptcy with £1.2bn deficit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  16. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Council minutes". Woking Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Sue Smith re-elected as Lib Dem leader". Surrey Live. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Woking's council leader resigns". Surrey Live. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Bittleston new leader of Woking Borough Council". Woking News and Mail. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  22. ^ Caulfield, Chris; van Klaveren, Tom (3 May 2024). "Woking Local Election Results 2024 in full as Conservatives wiped out completely". Surrey Live. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Woking". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  24. ^ "The Woking (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2015/1462, retrieved 18 January 2024
  25. ^ Field, Marion (2017). Woking in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445665399.
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