West Berkshire Council

West Berkshire Council
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Chair	Jeremy Cottam, Liberal Democrats since 25 May 2023[1]
Leader	Lee Dillon, Liberal Democrats since 25 May 2023
Chief Executive	Nigel Lynn since 18 October 2021
Structure
Seats	43 councillors
Political groups	Administration (28)   Liberal Democrats (28) Other parties (15)   Conservative (11)   Green (2)   Labour (1)   Independent (1)
Committees	10 Overview and Scrutiny Management Health Scrutiny Resource Management Working Group Licensing District Planning Eastern Area Planning Western Area Planning Governance and Audit Personnel Standards[2]
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury, RG14 5LD
Website
www.westberks.gov.uk

West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. West Berkshire is divided into 24 wards, electing 43 councillors.^[3] The council was created in 1974 as the Newbury District Council. On 1 April 1998 it was renamed West Berkshire Council and since then has been a unitary authority, assuming the powers and functions of the abolished Berkshire County Council within the district. In the 2023 election the Liberal Democrats won 29 out of 43 seats.^[4]