Cotswold District

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Cirencester Rural District
• Cirencester Urban District
• North Cotswold Rural District
• Northleach Rural District
• Tetbury Rural District The new district was named Cotswold, reflecting its central position within the hills and wider region of that name.

Governance

Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats ; Administration (22) : Liberal Democrats (22) ; Other parties (12) : Conservative (10) : Green (1) :

Cotswold District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2019 election.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership

The council has a ceremonial chair of the council who presides at council meetings and acts as the district's first citizen. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:

Composition

At the 2023 election the Liberal Democrats extended their majority. Following subsequent by-elections up to January 2026, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Trinity Road in Cirencester. The building was built in 1837 as the Cirencester Union Workhouse, later serving as Watermoor Hospital following the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. After the hospital closed the building was converted to become the council's headquarters, being formally opened by Prince Charles on 21 May 1981.

Towns and parishes

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Chipping Campden, Cirencester, Fairford, Lechlade, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach with Eastington, Stow-on-the-Wold and Tetbury take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.

Media

In terms of television, the area receives various transmitters from different regions:

• Mendip (BBC West/ITV West Country) covering Cirencester and Tetbury.
• Oxford (BBC South/ITV Meridian) covering Stow-on-the-Wold, Lechlade, Northleach and Fairford.
• Sutton Coldfield (BBC West Midlands/ITV Central) covering Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-Marsh.

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Gloucestershire
• BBC Radio Wiltshire
• BBC CWR
• Heart West
• Capital Mid-Counties
• Greatest Hits Radio South West
• Corinium Radio (serving Cirencester)
• North Cotswold Community Radio (serving North Cotswolds)
• Cotswolds Radio

The district is served by the weekly local newspaper, Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.

Elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015 the council has comprised 34 councillors representing 32 wards, with two wards electing two councillors and the rest electing one each. Elections are held every four years.

Councillors

There are 34 councillors. After the May 2019 election, there were 18 Liberal Democrats, 14 Conservatives, one independent and one Green.

Chairs of the Council

References

References

1. "Cotswold Local Authority".
2. "About the Council - Cotswold District Council".
3. "Archived copy".
4. "Cotswolds.com - The Official Cotswolds Tourist Information Site".
5. (14 August 2017). "In Deep: Idyllic England in the Cotswolds | Butterfield & Robinson".
6. "The Population and Economy of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".
7. "Cotswold District Council - Review of the Summer 2007 floods in Cotswold District".
8. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1973)
10. (25 September 2020). "Cotswold District Council appoints new Chief Executive".
11. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
12. "Election maps". Ordnance Survey.
13. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
14. "Cotswold". [[BBC News Online]].
15. (23 April 2009). "Julie Girling resigns from Cotswold District Council". Cotswold Journal.
16. (21 February 2017). "Leader of Cotswold District Council, Cllr Lynden Stowe, to step down at annual meeting". Worcester News.
17. "Council minutes, 16 May 2017".
18. (28 September 2018). "Cotswold District Council leader Mark Annett steps down". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.
19. "Council minutes, 11 December 2018".
20. "Council minutes, 14 May 2019".
21. (21 May 2025). "Council agenda, 21 May 2025".
22. (23 May 2025). "New leader of Cotswold District Council announces cabinet members". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.
23. (9 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
24. "Cotswold". Thorncliffe.
25. "Contact us".
26. "Cirencester Workhouse".
27. (22 May 1981). "Royal bills sized up". Western Daily Press.
28. "Parish council contact details".
29. (1 May 2004). "Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter".
30. (1 May 2004). "Full Freeview on the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter".
31. (1 May 2004). "Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitter".
32. "Cotswolds Radio".
33. (25 October 2013). "Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard".
34. {{cite legislation UK. (2015)