Borough of Tewkesbury

The Borough of Tewkesbury is a local government district with borough status in Gloucestershire, England. The borough is named after its largest town, Tewkesbury, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Winchcombe and numerous villages including Bishops Cleeve, Ashchurch, Churchdown, Innsworth and Brockworth as well as other hamlets and surrounding rural areas. Parts of the district lie within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The neighbouring districts are Cotswold, Cheltenham, Stroud, Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Malvern Hills and Wychavon.

History
Prior to 1974 the borough of Tewkesbury only covered the town itself. The town was an ancient borough, having been granted a charter of incorporation by Elizabeth I in 1575. The town was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Tewkesbury", but generally known as the corporation or town council.

The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Tewkesbury after its main town. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the council to take the name Tewkesbury Borough Council and letting the chair of the council take the title of mayor. A successor parish was created at the same time covering the area of the former municipal borough of Tewkesbury, with the parish council taking the name Tewkesbury Town Council.
 * Cheltenham Rural District
 * Gloucester Rural District (part, rest split between Forest of Dean and Stroud)
 * Tewkesbury Municipal Borough

In 1991, the parishes of Leckhampton, Prestbury, Swindon and Up Hatherley were transferred to the neighbouring Cheltenham Borough.

In 2024, its administration consulted its residents on whether it should change its name to "North Gloucestershire Borough".

Governance
Tewkesbury Borough 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 no overall control since the 2023 election, with leadership roles shared between the Liberal Democrats, Greens and independent councillors.

The first election to the modern 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 role of mayor is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided instead by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:

Composition
Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

Of the independent councillors, two sit together as the "Isbourne and Winchcombe Independents", and the other five sit with local party the Tewkesbury and Twyning Independents as a group called "The Independents". The next election is due in 2027.

Premises
The council is based at the Council Offices on Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury. The building was purpose-built for the council, being completed in 1976.

Towns and parishes
The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Tewkesbury and Winchcombe take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.

Transport
Gloucestershire Airport is in the borough, near to Gloucester and Cheltenham. The borough is also served by Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station on the mainline. Heritage railway the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway also has a number of stations in the borough.

Television
The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central with television signals received from either the Ridge Hill or Sutton Coldfield TV transmitters. However, BBC West and ITV West Country are also received through cable and satellite television such as Freesat and Sky.

Radio
Radio stations for the area are:
 * BBC Radio Gloucestershire
 * Heart West
 * Greatest Hits Radio South West
 * Gloucester FM
 * Radio Winchcombe (serving Winchcombe)

Newspapers
The area is served by these local newspapers:
 * Gloucestershire Echo
 * Evesham Journal.

Elections
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2019 the council has comprised 38 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

As of May 2023, the councillors were: