Slough Borough Council

Last updated

Slough Borough Council
Slough Borough Council.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Amjad Abbasi,
Liberal Democrats
since 18 May 2023
Dexter Smith,
Conservative
since 18 May 2023
Structure
Seats42 councillors
Slough Borough Council composition 2023.svg
Political groups
Administration (21)
  Conservative (21)
Other parties (21)
  Labour (18)
  Liberal Democrats (3)
Length of term
Whole council elected every four years
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough.jpg
Observatory House, 25 Winsdor Road, Slough, SL1 2EL
Website
www.slough.gov.uk

Slough Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Slough, in Berkshire, England. Slough is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonial county, with no administrative responsibilities.

Contents

History

Slough's first local authority was the Slough Local Board , established in 1863. This became Slough Urban District Council in 1894. In 1938 the town was granted a charter of incorporation as a municipal borough, with the council then taking the name Slough Corporation . The municipal borough was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, and replaced by Slough Borough Council, when the town was also transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire. [1] On 1 April 1998, Slough Borough Council became a unitary authority when Berkshire County Council was abolished, taking over the county council's former functions. [2]

Governance

The council has adopted the leader and cabinet form of governance. Since the 2023 election the council has been under no overall control, being led by the Conservatives with support from the Liberal Democrats. [3]

Premises

Slough Town Hall at 19 Bath Road was built in 1937 and served as the council's headquarters until 2011. The council was then temporarily based at St Martin's Place at 51 Bath Road from 2011 to 2019, holding meetings at various venues in the town whilst looking for a new home closer to the town centre. In July 2018 the council bought Observatory House at 25 Windsor Road for a reported £41.3 million and converted it to become the council's main offices and meeting place, with the first council meetings in the building being held in September 2019. [4] [5]

Bankruptcy (2021)

On 2 July 2021, Slough Borough Council issued a notice under Section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, having the effect of preventing any new expenditure on non-statutory services, after serious financial problems had been identified. [6] In October 2021, the government announced plans to appoint external commissioners to help run the council after a series of reports highlighted major problems at the local authority. [7] [8] [9]

Wards of Slough

The borough is divided into fifteen wards. Most wards elect three councillors, with the exceptions being Colnbrook with Poyle, which elects two councillors, and Foxborough, which elects one councillor. There are 42 councillors in total. The current set of wards came into force for the 2014 election, and are: [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slough</span> Town in Berkshire, England

Slough is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2020, the built-up area subdivision had an estimated population of 164,793. In 2011, the district had a population of 140,713. It borders Greater London and Buckinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colnbrook</span> Human settlement in England

Colnbrook is a village in the Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the Colne, the Colne Brook and Wraysbury River. These two streams have their confluence just to the southeast of the village. Colnbrook is centred 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Slough town centre, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Windsor, and 19 miles (31 km) west of central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eton, Berkshire</span> Town in Berkshire, England

Eton is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had a population of 4,692 at the 2011 Census. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Buckinghamshire, in 1974 it became part of the Berkshire admin area following the Local Government Act 1972; since 1998 it has been part of the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead. The town is best known as the location of Eton College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal borough</span> Former type of British and Irish local government

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in Scotland from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of royal burghs and creation of police burghs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poyle</span> Human settlement in England

Poyle is a largely industrial and agricultural area in the unitary authority of Slough, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It is located 18.5 miles (30 km) west of Charing Cross in London and immediately west of the M25 motorway, near Heathrow Airport; it also adjoins the Colne Valley regional park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil parishes in Berkshire</span>

A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 104 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, most of the county being parished; Reading is completely unparished; Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire and Wokingham are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 483,882 people living in the 104 parishes, accounting for 60.5 per cent of the county's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slough (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Slough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Tan Dhesi, a member of the Labour Party, since the 2017 UK general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliament constituency in the United Kingdom 1801-1974 and 1997 onwards

Windsor (/ˈwɪnzə/) is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Adam Afriyie of the Conservative Party. It was re-created for the 1997 general election after it was abolished following the 1970 general election and replaced by the Windsor and Maidenhead constituency.

Colnbrook with Poyle is a civil parish in the borough of Slough in Berkshire, England. Located approximately 17 miles (27 km) west of central London and adjacent to the Greater London boundary, it is an urbanised parish with some industrial development and open land. The local council is Colnbrook with Poyle Parish Council. The parish was created on 1 April 1995 as an amalgamation of Colnbrook from the parish of Iver with Poyle from an unparished area. At the 2001 census it had a population of 5,426.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Borough Council</span>

Reading Borough Council, formerly known as Reading Corporation, is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading is a unitary authority with borough status. As a unitary authority the council has the powers of a county council and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonial county, with no administrative responsibilities.

Slough Borough Council is the local authority for Slough, a unitary authority in Berkshire, England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district.

Elections to Slough Borough Council were held on 4 May 2006. One third of the council was up for election. This was the 121st Slough general local authority election since Slough became a local government unit in 1863.

An election to Slough Borough Council was held on 10 June 2004. The whole council was up for election. This was the 120th Slough general local authority election, since Slough became a local government unit in 1863, including both whole Council elections and elections by thirds.

Elections to the Borough Council in Slough, England, were held on 3 May 2007. One third of the council was up for election. This was the 122nd Slough general local authority election since Slough became a local government unit in 1863.

Slough is a town and unitary authority in the English county of Berkshire, just to the west of Greater London. Until 1974 the town was in Buckinghamshire.

Elections to the Borough Council in Slough, England, were held on 1 May 2008. This was the 123rd Slough general local authority election since Slough became a local government unit in 1863.

An election for the Borough Council in Slough, England, was held on 6 May 2010. This was the 124th Slough general local authority election since Slough became a local government unit in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Slough</span> Borough and unitary authority in England

The Borough of Slough is a borough with unitary authority status in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, Southern England. The borough is centred around the town of Slough and includes Langley. It forms an urban area with parts of Buckinghamshire and extends to the villages of Burnham, Farnham Royal, George Green, and Iver. Part of the district's area was in Buckinghamshire prior to the district's formation and in Middlesex until 1965.

The Slough Borough Council election was held on 1 May 1997, at the same time as other local elections across England and Northern Ireland, and on the same day as the general election. All of the 41 seats on Slough Borough Council were up for election, rather than the usual third of the seats. This was in preparation for the local government reorganisation in Berkshire which saw Berkshire County Council abolished and its functions transferred to the six district councils, including Slough, with effect from 1 April 1998. The elections to Berkshire County Council which would ordinarily have been held in 1997 were cancelled.

References

  1. The English Non-Metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972 (S.I. 1972 No. 2039). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1972. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  2. The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996 (Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 1879). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1996. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  3. Waites, Daisy (25 May 2023). "Slough: Labour slam 'chaotic' coalition after all male leaders elected". Slough Observer. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  4. Hockaday, James (2 November 2018). "More than £41m spent on new Slough Borough Council headquarters". Maidenhead Advetiser. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  5. "Health Scrutiny Panel, 10 September 2019". Slough Borough Council. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  6. Bottomley, Shay (2 July 2021). "Slough Borough Council bans new spending after Section 114 notice". Slough Express. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  7. "'Dysfunctional' Slough council placed under government supervision". BBC News. 26 October 2021.
  8. Rees, Tom (26 October 2021). "Labour-controlled council taken over after property bets leave £100m black hole". The Telegraph.
  9. "LocalGov.co.uk - Your authority on UK local government - Commissioners to monitor Slough improvement plan". 26 October 2021.
  10. The Slough (Electoral Changes) Order 2012 (Statutory Instrument 2012 No. 2769) (PDF). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2022.