Tamworth Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Tamworth in the county of Staffordshire, England. The council consists of 30 councillors, three for each of the 10 wards in the town.^[3] It is currently under no overall control, led by Labour councillor Carol Dean, since May 2024. The borough council is based at Marmion House.^[4]

Tamworth Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	Gareth Coates, Labour since 21 May 2024[1]
Leader	Carol Dean, Labour since 21 May 2024
Chief Executive	Stephen Gabriel since 1 April 2024[2]
Structure
Seats	30 councillors
Political groups	Administration (18)   Labour (18) Other parties (12)   Conservative (8)   Independent (4)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Market Street, Tamworth, B79 7LZ
Website
www.tamworth.gov.uk

History

Tamworth was an ancient borough. It was reformed in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to become a municipal borough.^[5] Until 1889 the borough straddled Warwickshire and Staffordshire. When elected county councils were established under the Local Government Act 1888 one provision of the act was that boroughs could no longer straddle county boundaries, as Tamworth did. The town was therefore placed entirely in Staffordshire, as that county had the larger share of the borough's population, with the new Staffordshire County Council providing higher-tier services.^[6] The borough boundaries were enlarged on multiple occasions, notably in 1932 and 1965.^[5]

On 1 April 1974 the borough became a non-metropolitan district, altering its powers and responsibilities but keeping the same area.^[7]

Governance

Tamworth Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Staffordshire County Council.^[8] There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.^[9]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2024 election.^[10]

Political control of the council since 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:^[11][12]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1974–1976
	No overall control	1976–1978
	Conservative	1978–1980
	Labour	1980–1983
	Conservative	1983–1986
	Labour	1986–1987
	Conservative	1987–1988
	No overall control	1988–1990
	Labour	1990–2004
	Conservative	2004–2023
	No overall control	2023–2024
	Labour	2024–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tamworth. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2006 have been:^[13]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Jeremy Oates		Conservative	May 2006	May 2009
Danny Cook		Conservative	May 2009	23 Feb 2021
Jeremy Oates[14]		Conservative	23 Feb 2021	23 May 2023
Paul Turner		Conservative	23 May 2023	20 Nov 2023
Thomas Jay		Conservative	12 Dec 2023	21 May 2024
Carol Dean		Labour	21 May 2024

Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:^[15]

Party		Councillors
	Labour	18
	Conservative	8
	Independent	4
Total		30

The next election is due in May 2026.^[16]

Elections

See also: Tamworth Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2002 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) being elected each time for a four-year term of office. Staffordshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.^[17]

Premises

Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, B79 7BZ: Council's main offices since 1981.

The council meets at Tamworth Town Hall on Market Street in the centre of the town, which had been built in 1701.^[18] The council's main offices are at Marmion House, a tower block on Lichfield Street which had been built in 1960 and was bought by the council in 1980, opening as its headquarters the following year.^[19] Prior to 1981 the council had met at the Town Hall and had its main offices at the White House at 21 Church Street, which had been purchased in 1888 after the council outgrew the limited office space at the Town Hall.^[20][21]

A council chamber was created at Marmion House and was the council's usual meeting place until 2022, when the council transferred most council and committee meetings back to Town Hall as part of plans to dispose of Marmion House.^[22][23]