Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council

Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council is the local authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Windsor and Maidenhead is divided into 19 wards, electing 41 councillors.[2] The council was created by the Local Government Act 1972 and replaced six local authorities: Cookham Rural District Council, Eton Urban District Council, Eton Rural District Council, Maidenhead Borough Council, New Windsor Borough Council and Windsor Rural District Council. Since 1 April 1998 it has been a unitary authority, assuming the powers and functions of Berkshire County Council.

Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council
Coat of arms
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Neil Knowles,
OWRA
since 23 May 2023[1]
Simon Werner,
Liberal Democrat
since 23 May 2023
Stephen Evans
since April 2023
Structure
Seats41 councillors
Political groups
  Liberal Democrats (22)
  Conservative (7)
  The Borough First (7)
  Residents (4)
  Flood Prevention (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Town Hall at Maidenhead
Town Hall, St Ives Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1RF
Website
www.rbwm.gov.uk
Former council logo

History

The authority was formed as the Windsor and Maidenhead District Council. It replaced Cookham Rural District Council, Eton Urban District Council, Eton Rural District Council, Maidenhead Borough Council, New Windsor Borough Council and Windsor Rural District Council. The current local authority was first elected in 1973, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead on 1 April 1974. The council gained borough status, entitling it to be known as Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council.

It was envisaged through the Local Government Act 1972 that Windsor and Maidenhead as a non-metropolitan district council would deliver district-level services, with the Berkshire County Council providing county-level services. This arrangement lasted until 1998 when Berkshire County Council was abolished and Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council gained responsibility for services that had been provided by the county council.

Political control

The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[3][4]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–1991
No overall control1991–1995
Liberal Democrats1995–1997
No overall control1997–1998

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
No overall control1998–1999
Liberal Democrats1999–2000
No overall control2000–2003
Liberal Democrats2003–2007
Conservative2007–2023
Liberal Democrats2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Windsor and Maidenhead, with political leadership instead being provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:[5]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Mary Rose Gliksten Liberal Democrats6 May 2007
David Burbage[6] Conservative22 May 200724 May 2016
Simon Dudley[7] Conservative24 May 201612 Sep 2019
Andrew Johnson[8] Conservative24 Sep 20197 May 2023
Simon Werner[9] Liberal Democrats23 May 2023ongoing

Executive
Post Councillor Ward
Leader of the Council
Cabinet Member for Community Partnerships, Public Protection and Maidenhead		 Simon Werner Pinkneys Green
Deputy Leader of the Council
Cabinet member for Finance		 Lynne Jones Old Windsor
Cabinet member for Communities and Leisure Joshua Reynolds Furze Platt
Cabinet member for Environmental Services Richard Coe Riverside
Cabinet member for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Windsor Town Council Karen Davies Clewer East
Cabinet member for Adults, Health and Housing Services Catherine del Campo Furze Platt
Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, Customer Service Centre and Employment Geoff Hill Oldfield
Cabinet member for Children’s Services, Education and Windsor Amy Tisi Clewer East
Cabinet member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management Adam Bermange Boyn Hill

Elections
Main article: Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council elections

Elections are held every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2019 there have been 41 councillors elected from 19 wards. The next election is due in 2027.[10]

Premises

The council is based at Maidenhead Town Hall, on St Ives Road in Maidenhead, which had been built in 1962 for the former Maidenhead Borough Council.

References
  1. "A new mayor has been appointed in the Royal Borough". Maidenhead Advertiser. Baylis Media Ltd. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  2. "Councillors representing the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead | the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead". Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  3. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  4. "Windsor & Maidenhead Royal". BBC News Online. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  5. "Council minutes". Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  6. Batt, Francis (2 May 2016). "Council leader David Burbage says goodbye". The Royal Borough Observer. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  7. Preston, James; Taylor, Will (12 September 2019). "Council leader Simon Dudley resigns". Maidenhead Advetiser. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  8. Almroth-Wright, Indy; O'Hagan, Patrick (5 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: Leader ousted by 22-year-old as Tories lose control". BBC News. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  9. Waites, Daisy (24 May 2023). "Windsor and Maidenhead council appoint new appoint new leader and cabinet". The Royal Borough Observer. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  10. "The Windsor and Maidenhead (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2018/1272, retrieved 5 May 2023
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