North Somerset Council is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea ...

, a local government district in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. The council is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, being a district council which also performs the functions of a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. The council has been under no overall control since 2019. It is based at

Weston-super-Mare Town Hall Weston-super-Mare Town Hall is a municipal building in Walliscote Grove Road in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. The building, which is the headquarters of North Somerset Council, is a Grade II listed building. History After town improveme ...

History

The district was formed in 1974 as Woodspring, one of six

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

s in the new county of Avon. Woodspring was created from areas which had previously been in Somerset. Woodspring District Council was a lower-tier district council from 1974 until 1996, with Avon County Council providing county-level services. The county of Avon was abolished in 1996 and four unitary authorities established to govern the area. The way the 1996 change was implemented was to rename the Woodspring district as North West Somerset, and to create a

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

of North West Somerset covering the district, but with no separate county council. Instead, the existing district council also took on the functions that legislation assigns to county councils, making it a unitary authority. At the same time, the new district was transferred for ceremonial purposes back to Somerset, but as a unitary authority the council was always independent from Somerset County Council (which became a unitary authority itself in 2023). In July 1995 the council resolved to change the name from 'North West Somerset' to 'North Somerset' with effect from when the reforms came into effect on 1 April 1996. Some years later the government identified that the council's decision to rename in 1995 may not have been technically valid, and so in 2005 the council passed another resolution formally changing the name to put the matter beyond doubt. In 2017 the

West of England Combined Authority The West of England Combined Authority (WECA), branded as the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, is a combined authority within the West of England combined authority area, consisting of the local authority areas of Bristol, South G ...

was established comprising the other three former Avon unitary authorities (

Bath and North East Somerset Council Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local authority for Bath and North East Somerset, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also pe ...

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority for the city of Bristol, in South West England. Bristol has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being ...

and South Gloucestershire Council). Initial proposals for the combined authority had sought to include North Somerset Council too, but the council decided in 2016 not to join the combined authority.

Governance

North Somerset Council provides both county-level and district-level services. The whole area is also covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which form a second tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

since 2019. Following the 2023 election a coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Greens, local party the Portishead Independents and some of the independent councillors formed to run the council, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Mike Bell. The first election to Woodspring District 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: (Put "Woodspring" or "North Somerset" in search box to see specific results.) Woodspring District Council North Somerset Council (unitary authority)

Leadership

The

leaders Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the c ...

of the council since 2005 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 North Somerset Council election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: Of the independent councillors, four sit in a group with the Liberal Democrats, one sits with the Portishead Independents, and two sit with the Conservatives. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 35 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at

on Walliscote Grove Road. The building had been the headquarters of the old Weston-super-Mare Borough Council, one of Woodspring's predecessors, having been built in 1856 for the town's

improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irel ...

, predecessors of the borough council. The building has substantial modern extensions.

References

External links

* {{Local authorities in Somerset Unitary authority councils of England Local education authorities in England Local authorities in Somerset Leader and cabinet executives Billing authorities in England North Somerset 1996 establishments in England