Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Roger Phillips,
Conservative
since 19 May 2023[1]
Jonathan Lester,
Conservative
since 19 May 2023
Paul Walker
since May 2021[2]
Structure
Seats53 councillors[3][4]
Political groups
Administration (21)
  Conservative (21)
Other parties (32)
  Liberal Democrat (12)
  Green (9)
  Independent (8)
  It's our County (2)
  Labour (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, Plough Lane, Hereford, HR4 0LE
Website
www.herefordshire.gov.uk

Herefordshire Council is the local authority for the county of Herefordshire in England. It is a unitary authority, combining the powers of a district and county council.

History

Herefordshire was one of the historic counties of England. Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions. Herefordshire County Council existed until 1974 when the county was merged with neighbouring Worcestershire to form a new county of Hereford and Worcester.[5]

Hereford and Worcester was abolished and Herefordshire re-established as a county on 1 April 1998. Formally the area is both a non-metropolitan county called "Herefordshire" and a non-metropolitan district called "County of Herefordshire", and it has a district council that also performs the functions of a county council.[6][7] The council's formal name is therefore "County of Herefordshire District Council",[8] but it styles itself "Herefordshire Council".[9] The council created in 1998 was granted the right to use the coat of arms of the earlier county council which had been abolished in 1974.[10]

Governance

As a unitary authority, Herefordshire Council performs the functions of both a county council and a district council. The whole county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a lower tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 a minority Conservative administration took control of the council.[11]

The first elections to the new Herefordshire Council were held in 1997, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1998.[6] Political control of the council since 1998 has been as follows:[12]

Party in control Years
Liberal Democrats 1998–2000
No overall control 2000–2007
Conservative 2007–2019
No overall control 2019–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1998 have been:[13]

Councillor Party From To
Terry James[14] Liberal Democrats 1 Apr 1998 23 May 2003
Roger Phillips Conservative 23 May 2003 27 May 2011
John Jarvis Conservative 27 May 2011 24 May 2013
Tony Johnson Conservative 24 May 2013 9 Mar 2018
Jonathan Lester Conservative 9 Mar 2018 24 May 2019
David Hitchiner Independent 24 May 2019 19 May 2023
Jonathan Lester Conservative 19 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent by-election in October 2023, the composition of the council was:[15][16]

Party Councillors
Conservative 21
Liberal Democrats 12
Green 9
Independent 8
It's our County 2
Labour 1
Total 53

Of the eight independent councillors, four sit with local party It's our County as the "Independents for Herefordshire" group, three form the "True Independents" group, and the other does not belong to any group.[17] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

See also: Herefordshire Council elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015 Herefordshire has comprised 53 wards, each of which elects one councillor. Elections are held every four years.[18]

Premises

The council has its headquarters at the Council Offices on Plough Lane in Hereford. The building was formerly the headquarters of H. P. Bulmer and was bought by the council in 2009 to use as offices.[19] Council meetings also transferred there in 2022.[20]

Brockington: Council's headquarters 1998–2014

When the council was created in 1998 it had its headquarters at Brockington, 35 Hafod Road, Hereford. Brockington had been built as a house in 1909 before serving as the headquarters of Herefordshire Constabulary from 1946 and then as the offices of South Herefordshire District Council from 1977 until 1998, in which time it was substantially extended.[21]

The council continued to meet at Brockington until 2014, after which it was sold and the site redeveloped.[22][23] Office functions moved to other buildings the council owned, notably the former Bulmers offices on Plough Lane. Council meetings were generally held at the Shirehall in Hereford between 2014 and 2020, when the ceiling there collapsed.[24] Following the resumption of in-person meetings following the COVID-19 pandemic a conference room for meetings was established at the Council Offices on Plough Lane, first used for a full council meeting in May 2022.[20]

Outsourced services

Herefordshire Council has outsourced the following services:

References

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 19 May 2023". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  2. ^ Moreau, Charlotte (4 May 2021). "New chief takes up the reins at Herefordshire Council". Hereford Times. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ About Herefordshire Council – Herefordshire Council
  4. ^ Open Council Data UK – compositions councillors parties wards elections
  5. ^ Local Government Act 1972
  6. ^ a b "The Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1867, retrieved 17 November 2023
  7. ^ "Historical information from 1973 onwards". Boundary-Line support. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  8. ^ "The County of Herefordshire District Council (Electoral Changes) Order 2002", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2002/187, retrieved 17 November 2023
  9. ^ "Herefordshire Council". Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  10. ^ "The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) (No. 2) Order 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1997/2618, retrieved 18 November 2023
  11. ^ Pearson, James; Jones, Megan (19 May 2023). "Minority council elects Conservative leader". BBC News. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Council minutes". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Split row resolved". Birmingham Mail. 5 February 1998. p. 29. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  16. ^ McEwan, Gavin (28 October 2023). "Election win in Herefordshire's Golden Valley for writer Matthew Engel". Hereford Times. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Your Councillors by Party". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  18. ^ "The Herefordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/20, retrieved 18 November 2023
  19. ^ Tanner, Bill (22 October 2011). "Herefordshire Council scales back HQ plan". Hereford Times. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Council minutes, 13 May 2022". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  21. ^ Lowe, Jon (2016). "Heritage Statement: Brockington, Hafod Road, Hereford". Herefordshire Council. Heritage Collective. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Council minutes, 18 July 2014". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  23. ^ Tanner, Bill (26 August 2014). "Herefordshire Council completes a move out of its Brockington HQ". Hereford Times. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  24. ^ Garcia, Carmelo (18 June 2020). "Ceiling collapses at Hereford Shirehall". Hereford Times. Retrieved 18 November 2023.

External links

52°03′11″N 2°41′38″W / 52.053°N 2.694°W / 52.053; -2.694

Unitary authorities of England
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