Central Bedfordshire Council

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.

Central Bedfordshire Council
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 2009
Preceded by	Bedfordshire County Council District councils Mid Bedfordshire District Council South Bedfordshire District Council
Leadership
Chair	Gareth Mackey, Independent since 25 May 2023[1]
Leader	Adam Zerny, Independent since 25 May 2023
Chief Executive	Marcel Coiffait since November 2020[2]
Structure
Seats	63 councillors
Political groups	Administration (28)   Independent (28) Other parties (35)   Conservative Party (20)   Liberal Democrats (9)   Labour Party (5)   Green (1)
Joint committees	East of England Local Government Association
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, SG17 5TQ
Website
www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

History

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

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 at the Annual Council and Extraordinary General Purposes Committee, held on 25 May 2023.^[6]

Political control of the council since its creation in 2009 has been as follows:^[7]

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

Leadership

The first leader of the council was Tricia Turner, who had been the last leader of Mid Bedfordshire District Council.^[8] The leaders of the council since 2009 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Tricia Turner[9]		Conservative	18 Jun 2009	May 2011
James Jamieson[10]		Conservative	19 May 2011	Jan 2021
Richard Wenham[11]		Conservative	14 Jan 2021	25 May 2023
Adam Zerny		Independent	25 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in June 2023, the composition of the council was:^[12][13][14]

Party		Councillors
	Independent	28
	Conservative	20
	Liberal Democrats	9
	Labour	5
	Green	1
Total:		63

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

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.^[15]

Elections

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.^[16]

References

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. "Council meeting, 25 May 2023". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
7. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
8. "Shadow Council minutes". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
9. "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 18 June 2009". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
10. "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 19 May 2011". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
11. "Council minutes, 14 January 2021". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
12. "2023 Central Bedfordshire election results". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
13. "Central Bedfordshire election result". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
14. Boothroyd, David (30 June 2023). "Greens climb the cliff in Bournemouth". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
15. 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.
16. "The Central Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/1051, retrieved 11 May 2023

External links

• Central Bedfordshire Council Website