North Somerset Council

North Somerset Council is the local authority of North Somerset, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council meets at Weston-super-Mare Town Hall.

North Somerset Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1996 (1996-04-01)
Preceded byAvon County Council
Woodspring District Council
Leadership
Chair of the Council
Wendy Griggs, Independent
since May 2023
Leader of the Council
Mike Bell, Liberal Democrats
since May 2023
Deputy Leader of the Council
Catherine Gibbons, Labour
since May 2023
Chief executive
Jo Walker
Structure
Seats50 councillors
Political groups
Administration (35)
  Liberal Democrat and Independents (12)[1]
  Labour (10)
  Green (7)
  Portishead Independent Group (4)[2]
  Independent (2)
Opposition (15)
  Conservative and Independent (15) [3]
Length of term
Whole council elected every four years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
May 2027
Motto
Open, Fairer, Greener
Meeting place
Town Hall, Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare Town Hall
Website
www.n-somerset.gov.uk

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, North Somerset is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, North Somerset Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council, it is a billing authority that collects Council Tax and business rates, processes local planning applications and is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council, it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

Political composition

North Somerset unitary council is elected every four years, electing a total of 50 councillors in 20 single-member wards and 15 two-member wards. Since the first election to the unitary authority in 1995, the council has either been under Conservative party control, or no party has held a majority. The Conservatives gained a majority at the 2007 election and retained control until the 2019 election.

The current political composition of the council is:

Political group Councillors
2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023[4] Current
Conservative 24 43 42 36 13 13 13
Independent 3 6 7 6 12 8 8
Liberal Democrat 23 5 6 4 10 9 9
Labour 10 3 5 3 6 10 10
Green 1 1 1 1 4 7 7
Portishead Independents - - - - 4 3 3
Total 61 61 61 50 50 50 50

See also

References
  1. 3 Independents sit with the Liberal Democrats
  2. Caritas Charles sits with the Portishead Independents
  3. Includes David Shopland and Andy Cole
  4. "No party has won a majority in North Somerset". BBC News. BBC. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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