Gloucester City Council is the local authority for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, which is split into 18

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

, with a total of 39

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s elected to serve on the City Council.

History

The district was formed from the County Borough of Gloucester on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The parish of Quedgeley was subsequently added in 1991.

Responsibilities

Gloucester City Council carries out a variety of district council functions including: *Benefits - Housing and Council Tax *Car Parking *Concessionary Travel *Council Tax - Administration and Collection *Elections and Electoral Registration *Environmental Health (includes Domestic and Commercial Premises) *Food Safety and Hygiene Complaints *Noise Pollution and Pest Control *Housing Administration *Licensing *Caravan Sites *Planning, including Planning Applications, Advice and Appeals *Public Conveniences *Health and Leisure Centres *Refuse Collection *Recycling *Tourism and Visitor Information

Premises

The

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

at 23 Eastgate Street was built in 1892 for the old Gloucester City Council (also known as Gloucester Corporation), the body which governed the

County Borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

of Gloucester from 1889 to 1974. Following the local government reorganisation of 1974, the new Gloucester City Council continued to use the Guildhall as its headquarters until 1986. Gloucester city council offices North warehouse - geograph

Gloucester city council offices North warehouse - geograph

In 1985 the council purchased North Warehouse at

Gloucester Docks Gloucester Docks is an historic area of the city of Gloucester. The docks are located at the northern junction of the River Severn with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. They are Britain's most inland port. The docks include fifteen Victoria ...

, which had been built in 1826. North Warehouse was reconfigured internally to provide a civic suite and council chamber, as well as office space for the council. The council vacated Guildhall and moved to North Warehouse in 1986. Around the same time, the council also leased from the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

three nearby warehouses called Herbert Warehouse, Kimberley Warehouse and Philpotts Warehouse, which had all been built in 1846. The former Kimberley and Philpotts warehouses were incorporated into Herbert Warehouse via glazed linking sections being added between them, with a public house and retail uses on the ground floor and additional council offices on the upper floors. The Herbert Warehouse building was completed in 1988. In 2019 the council vacated Herbert Warehouse, instead leasing office space for its staff within Shire Hall and also acquiring a former shop at 92–96 Westgate Street to be the council's main public reception, called "The Gateway". The council's meeting place remains the council chamber and civic suite in North Warehouse.

References

{{reflist Local authorities in Gloucestershire Politics of Gloucester Non-metropolitan district councils of England