# High Peak Borough Council

High Peak Borough Council is the local authority for High Peak, a non-metropolitan district with borough status in Derbyshire, England. 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 Pavilion Gardens in Buxton. The council is elected every four years.

## History

High Peak Borough Council was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new council replaced the councils of six former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:
* Buxton Municipal Borough
* Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District,
* Glossop Municipal Borough
* New Mills Urban District
* Tintwistle Rural District (which had been in the administrative county of Cheshire)
* Whaley Bridge Urban District
The new district was named "High Peak" after the medieval hundred of High Peak, which had covered much of the area. The district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.
In February 2008, the council formed a strategic alliance with the neighbouring Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to share a number of services and staff as a way of reducing costs, including a shared chief executive and senior management team.

## Governance

High Peak Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Derbyshire County Council. Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. The towns of Buxton and Glossop are unparished areas, with High Peak Borough Council performing functions in those towns that would otherwise be the responsibility of parish councils.
Large parts of the borough are within the Peak District National Park. In those areas, town planning is the responsibility of the Peak District National Park Authority. The borough council appoints two of its councillors to serve on the 30-person National Park Authority.

### Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| No overall control | 1974–1976 |
| Conservative | 1976–1979 |
| No overall control | 1979–1995 |
| Labour | 1995–2003 |
| No overall control | 2003–2007 |
| Conservative | 2007–2011 |
| No overall control | 2011–2015 |
| Conservative | 2015–2019 |
| Labour | 2019–2022 |
| No overall control | 2022–2023 |
| Labour | 2023–present |

### Leadership

The role of Mayor of High Peak is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| David Lomax | Liberal Democrats | 2003 | 2007 |
| John Faulkner | Conservative | 2007 | 2008 |
| Tony Ashton | Conservative | 2008 | May 2011 |
| Caitlin Bisknell | Labour | May 2011 | 10 May 2015 |
| Tony Ashton | Conservative | 19 May 2015 | 15 May 2019 |
| Anthony McKeown | Labour | 15 May 2019 | |
The council is run using the leader and cabinet model. The leader is appointed by the council, and is usually the group leader of the largest party. The leader then chooses other members to form a cabinet, which is known as the executive at High Peak Borough Council. As of July 2023 the executive comprised:
| Role | Councillor |
| Leader of the Council | Anthony McKeown |
| Deputy Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure | Damien Greenhalgh |
| Executive Member for Housing and Licensing | Fiona Sloman |
| Executive Member for Corporate Services and Finance | Alan Barrow |
| Executive Member for Climate Change and Environment | Jean Todd |
| Executive Member for Community Safety and Planning | Godfrey Claff |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 29 |
| | Conservative | 10 |
| | Green | 2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | Total | 43 |
The next election is due in 2027.

## Premises

Full council meetings are generally held at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton. The council's office functions are split between Buxton Town Hall and the Municipal Buildings in Glossop, both buildings having been inherited from the council's predecessor authorities.
The council also inherited offices at Chinley from Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District Council. The Chinley complex had been built in 1902 as an isolation hospital and had been bought by the rural district council in 1953 and converted to become its offices. High Peak Borough Council used the Chinley buildings as its main offices and meeting place with the other buildings serving as additional offices until 2010, when the Chinley site was closed and subsequently sold as a cost-saving measure.
* Buxton Town Hall
* Municipal Buildings, Glossop
* Former council offices at Chinley, closed 2010

## Mayor of High Peak

The mayor presides at meetings of the council and acts as first citizen of the borough. The role is usually held by a different councillor each year. They are expected to be politically impartial during their term of office as mayor, although they do get an additional casting vote in the event of a tie. The current mayor is Peter Inman, who was elected as Mayor of High Peak for 2023/24. The current Deputy Mayor is Stewart Gardner.
Former Mayors of the Borough of High Peak include:
* 2010–11: Graham Oakley
* 2011–12: David Lomax
* 2012–13: Pat Jenner
* 2013–14: Tony Kemp
* 2014–15: Alan Barrow
* 2015–16: Stuart Young
* 2016–17: George Wharmby
* 2017–18: Matt Stone
* 2018–19: Linda Grooby
* 2019–21: Ed Kelly
* 2021–22: Paul Hardy
* 2022–23: Ollie Cross

## Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 43 councillors elected from 28 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

### Wards and councillors

As of June 2023 the 43 councillors were:
| Ward | Political Party | Councillor |
| Barms | Labour | Rachel QUINN |
| Blackbrook | Independent | Dan CAPPER |
| Blackbrook | Labour | Angela BENHAM |
| Burbage | Labour | Chris PAYNE |
| Buxton Central | Labour | Payge HACKING |
| Buxton Central | Labour | Jean TODD |
| Chapel East | Conservative | Nigel GOURLAY |
| Chapel West | Conservative | Cath SIZELAND |
| Chapel West | Labour | Sally DE PEE |
| Corbar | Labour and Co-operative | Madeline HALL |
| Corbar | Conservative | Chris MORTEN |
| Cote Heath | Conservative | Linda GROOBY |
| Cote Heath | Conservative | Kev KIRKHAM |
| Dinting | Conservative | Dom ELLIOT-STARKEY |
| Gamesley | Labour and Co-operative | Anthony McKEOWN |
| Hadfield North | Labour | Gillian CROSS |
| Hadfield South | Labour | Robert McKEOWN |
| Hadfield South | Labour | Edward SIDDALL |
| Hayfield | Labour | Gillian SCOTT |
| Hope Valley | Green | Joanna COLLINS |
| Hope Valley | Green | Charlotte FARRELL |
| Howard Town | Labour | Godfrey CLAFF |
| Howard Town | Labour and Co-operative | Damien GREENHALGH |
| Limestone Peak | Conservative | Peter ROBERTS |
| New Mills East | Labour | Alan BARROW |
| New Mills East | Labour | Ian HUDDLESTONE |
| New Mills West | Labour | Simon EVANS |
| New Mills West | Labour | Jennifer BENZER |
| Old Glossop | Conservative | Adrian HOPKINSON |
| Old Glossop | Conservative | Paul HARDY |
| Padfield | Labour | Ollie CROSS |
| Sett | Labour | Peter INMAN |
| Simmondley | Labour | Stewart GARDNER |
| Simmondley | Labour | Pamela MACKIE |
| St John's | Labour | Pauline BELL |
| Stone Bench | Labour | Matt TAYLOR |
| Stone Bench | Labour | Fiona SLOMAN |
| Temple | Conservative | Pam REDDY |
| Tintwistle | Labour | Rob BAKER |
| Whaley Bridge | Labour | Neville CLARKE |
| Whaley Bridge | Labour | Jo TAYLOR |
| Whaley Bridge | Liberal Democrats | David LOMAX |
| Whitfield | Labour | Barbara HASTINGS-ASATOURIAN |

## Arms

Coat of arms of High Peak Borough Council :
* NotesGranted 1976
* CrestOn a wreath Or and Vert a piece of Blue john stone Proper within a chevron Sable.
* EscutcheonSable three piles Or on a base enarched Vert fimbrated Or a fountain.
* SupportersOn either side a stag Or attired and unguled Sable gorged with a mural crown Vert and resting the interior hind leg on a piece of Blue John Stone Proper.
* MottoConsilio Semper Publico (Ever in the Public Interest)
* BadgeA fountain within a triangle Sable.