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.
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.

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. 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.
Political partySeats
Labour22
Conservatives16
Liberal Democrats3
Green2

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.
RoleCouncillor
Leader of the CouncilCllr Anthony McKeown
Deputy Leader of the Council
Cllr Damien Greenhalgh
Executive Member for Housing and LicensingCllr Fiona Sloman
Executive Member for FinanceCllr Alan Barrow
Executive Member for Climate Change, Environment and Community SafetyCllr 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:
Below is a list of all 43 serving councillors:
WardPolitical PartyCouncillor
BarmsLabour PartyRachael QUINN
BlackbrookConservative PartyEve BURTON
BlackbrookConservative PartyCaroline HOWE
BurbageLabour and Co-operative PartyMadeleine HALL
BurbageSamantha FLOWER-
Buxton CentralLabour PartyJean TODD
Buxton CentralLabour PartyMatthew STONE
Chapel EastConservative PartyJim PERKINS
Chapel WestConservative PartyKath SIZELAND
Chapel WestConservative PartyStewart YOUNG
CorbarConservative PartyClive JOHNSON
CorbarConservative PartyTony KEMP
Cote HeathConservative PartyLinda GROOBY
Cote HeathConservative PartyColin Boynton
DintingConservative PartyJean WHARMBY
GamesleyLabour and Co-operative PartyAnthony MCKEOWN
Hadfield NorthLabour PartyEd KELLY
Hadfield SouthLabour PartyBob MCKEOWN
Hadfield SouthLabour PartyEdward SIDDALL
HayfieldConservative PartyPeter EASTER
Hope ValleyGreenCharlotte FARREL
Hope ValleyGreenJoanna COLLINS
Howard TownLabour and Co-operative PartyRachel ABBOTTS
Howard TownLabour and Co-operative PartyDamien GREENHALGH
Limestone PeakConservative PartyDaren ROBINS
New Mills EastLabour PartyIan HUDDLESTONE
New Mills EastLabour PartyAlan BARROW
New Mills WestLabour and Co-operative PartyLance DOWSON
New Mills WestLiberal DemocratsRay ATKINS
Old GlossopConservative PartyJamie DOUGLAS
Old GlossopConservative PartyPaul HARDY
PadfieldLabour PartyOllie CROSS
SettConservative PartyTony ASHTON
SimmondleyLabour PartyStewart GARDNER
SimmondleyLabour PartyJohn HAKEN
St John'sConservative PartyGeorge WHARMBY
Stone BenchLabour PartyDavid KERR
Stone BenchLabour PartyFiona SLOMAN
TempleConservative PartyEmily THRANE
TintwistleLabour PartyRob BAKER
Whaley BridgeKath THOMSON
Whaley BridgeLabour PartyShannon-Kate THOMSON
Whaley BridgeLiberal DemocratsDavid LOMAX
WhitfieldLabour PartyGraham OAKLEY