High Peak Borough Council

High Peak Borough Council is the local authority for High Peak, a borough of Derbyshire, England. It forms part of the two-tier system of local government for High Peak, alongside Derbyshire County Council. The administrative base of High Peak Borough Council is split between sites in the towns of Buxton and Glossop. Full council meetings are usually held at the Octagon, Buxton. The whole council is elected once every four years. As of May 2019 the council is controlled by the Labour party.

High Peak Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district council
Leadership
Executive	Labour
Leader	Cllr Anthony McKeown, Labour
Deputy Leader	Cllr Damien Greenhalgh, Labour
Mayor	Cllr Ed Kelly
Acting Chief Executive	Andrew Strokes
Structure
Labour	22 / 43
Conservatives	16 / 43
Liberal Democrats	3 / 43
Green Party	2 / 43
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2019
Next election	4 May 2023
Meeting place
Buxton Town Hall SK17 6EL Municipal Buildings, Glossop SK13 8AF Full Council meetings are held at the Octagon, Buxton
Website
http://www.highpeak.gov.uk
Footnotes
The council meeting places have changed due to the closure and sale of the council's former base at Chinley[1]

In February 2008, the council formed a strategic alliance with the neighbouring Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, an arrangement where both councils share a number of services and staff to keep costs as low as possible.[2]

History

The High Peak Borough Council was formed on 1 April 1974 by absorbing the municipal boroughs of Buxton and Glossop, the urban districts of New Mills and Whaley Bridge and the rural district of Chapel-en-le-Frith, all of which had previously been in the administrative county of Derbyshire, as well as the rural district of Tintwistle which had been in the administrative county of Cheshire.

At the May 2011 election the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council and it became No overall control, with the Labour Party having the largest number of seats but being short of a majority.

Shortly after taking office in 2007, the Conservative Party implemented a number of policies including contracting out the refuse and recycling services. The contract began in August 2008, and was continued by the succeeding Labour administration.

In June 2009, the ruling Conservative administration took the decision to dispose of the former council headquarters in Chinley, which also housed the location of full council meetings. The Council said that disposal of the site would save £200,000 per year.[3] The site has now been sold.

Administration

The Council, made up of 43 councillors, is currently controlled by the Labour, which won 22 seats at the 2019 local election.[4]

	Political party	Seats
	Labour	22
	Conservatives	16
	Liberal Democrats	3
	Green	2

Leadership

At the 2019 local election, the Labour Party gained 5 seats and took control with a majority of 6. Cllr Anthony McKeown became the Leader of the Council and Cllr Damien Greenhalgh became the Deputy Leader of the Council.

Executive

At the 2019 election, the Conservative Party lost its majority control of the council and the Labour and Co-operative Party became the largest party with 22 seats, gaining a majority of 6. The Executive's membership including the Leader and Deputy Leader remained at five councillors.

	Role	Councillor
	Leader of the Council	Cllr Anthony McKeown
	Deputy Leader of the Council (and Executive Member for Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure)	Cllr Damien Greenhalgh
	Executive Member for Housing and Licensing	Cllr Fiona Sloman
	Executive Member for Finance	Cllr Alan Barrow
	Executive Member for Climate Change, Environment and Community Safety	Cllr Jean Todd

Previous Administrations

From 2003 to 2007 the Leader was David Lomax of the Liberal Democrats. In 2007, after the Conservatives gained control of the council, John Faulkner was elected to the post, but he resigned less than a year later and Deputy Leader Tony Ashton took over as Leader.

From 2011 to 2015 the Leader was Caitlin Bisknell, after the Labour Party gained control with a minority administration.

At the 2015 local election, Tony Ashton became the Leader of High Peak Borough Council and Tony Kemp became the Deputy Leader, after the Conservative Party gained control with a majority of 3.

Mayor of the Borough of High Peak

The current Mayor is Cllr Ed Kelly, who was elected as Mayor of High Peak for 2019/2020.

Predecessors include:

• Cllr Linda Grooby, Mayor of High Peak for 2018/2019
• Cllr Matt Stone, Mayor of High Peak for 2017/2018
• Cllr Stuart Young, Mayor of High Peak for 2015/16
• Cllr Alan Barrow, Mayor of High Peak for 2014/15
• Cllr Tony Kemp, Mayor of High Peak for 2013/14
• Cllr Pat Jenner, Mayor of High Peak for 2012/13
• Cllr David Lomax, Mayor of High Peak for 2011/12
• Cllr Graham Oakley, Mayor of High Peak for 2010/11

Electoral wards and councillors

Below is a list of all 43 serving councillors:[5][6][7]

	Ward	Political Party	Councillor
	Barms	Labour Party	Rachael QUINN
	Blackbrook	Conservative Party	Eve BURTON
			Caroline HOWE
	Burbage	Labour and Co-operative Party	Madeleine HALL
	Samantha FLOWER
	Buxton Central	Labour Party	Jean TODD
			Matthew STONE
	Chapel East	Conservative Party	Jim PERKINS
	Chapel West	Conservative Party	Kath SIZELAND
			Stewart YOUNG
	Corbar	Conservative Party	Clive JOHNSON
			Tony KEMP
	Cote Heath	Conservative Party	Linda GROOBY
			Colin Boynton
	Dinting	Conservative Party	Jean WHARMBY
	Gamesley	Labour and Co-operative Party	Anthony MCKEOWN
	Hadfield North	Labour Party	Ed KELLY
	Hadfield South	Labour Party	Bob MCKEOWN
			Edward SIDDALL
	Hayfield	Conservative Party	Peter EASTER
	Hope Valley	Green	Charlotte FARREL
			Joanna COLLINS
	Howard Town	Labour and Co-operative Party	Rachel ABBOTTS
			Damien GREENHALGH
	Limestone Peak	Conservative Party	Daren ROBINS
	New Mills East	Labour Party	Ian HUDDLESTONE
			Alan BARROW
	New Mills West	Labour and Co-operative Party	Lance DOWSON
		Liberal Democrats	Ray ATKINS
	Old Glossop	Conservative Party	Jamie DOUGLAS
			Paul HARDY
	Padfield	Labour Party	Ollie CROSS
	Sett	Conservative Party	Tony ASHTON
	Simmondley	Labour Party	Stewart GARDNER
			John HAKEN
	St John's	Conservative Party	George WHARMBY
	Stone Bench	Labour Party	David KERR
			Fiona SLOMAN
	Temple	Conservative Party	Emily THRANE
	Tintwistle	Labour Party	Rob BAKER
	Whaley Bridge		Kath THOMSON
		Labour Party	Shannon-Kate THOMSON
		Liberal Democrats	David LOMAX
	Whitfield	Labour Party	Graham OAKLEY

Sources

• "Councillors". High Peak Borough Council. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2015.

References

1. "For sale signs go up at council complex". Buxton Advertiser. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
2. "Tenders and contracts". Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
3. "Chinley offices closure deadline". Buxton Advertiser. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
4. "High Peak Borough Council - Elections". Archived from the original on 15 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
5. "High Peak Borough Council - High Peak Borough Council Wards". Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
6. "High Peak Borough Council - Borough Council Election Results 2011". High Peak Borough Council. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
7. "High Peak Borough – Wards and their Councillors". High Peak Borough Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2010.

External links

• High Peak Borough Council