South Gloucestershire Council


South Gloucestershire Council is the local authority of South Gloucestershire, a unitary authority in the South West of England region. As a unitary authority it has the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is administratively separate from the rest of Gloucestershire.
The council area elects 61 councillors from 28 wards. Following the May 2019 local elections, South Gloucestershire Council comprises 33 Conservative councillors, 17 Liberal Democrat councillors and 11 Labour councillors. The Chair of the council is Brian Allinson and the Vice Chair is June Bamford. The Chief Executive is Dave Perry, appointed on 12 December 2018.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, South Gloucestershire is a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, South Gloucestershire Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, and is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council, it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.