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Bracknell Forest Council

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Bracknell Forest Council
Bracknell Forest Borough Council logo
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Peter Frewer,
Labour
since 13 May 2026[1]
Helen Purnell,
Labour
since 25 March 2026
Susan Halliwell
since 2022[2]
Structure
Seats41 councillors
Graph of the party split among 41 seats.
Political groups
Administration (20)
    Labour (20)
Other parties (21)
    Conservative (10)
    Liberal Democrats (7)
    Green (3)
    Independent (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Time Square, Market Street, Bracknell, RG12 1JD
Website
www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Bracknell Forest Council, also known as Bracknell Forest Borough Council, is the local authority for Bracknell Forest, a local government district with borough status in Berkshire, England. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council has been under no overall control since 2025, being run by a Labour minority administration. It is based at Time Square in Bracknell.

History

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The non-metropolitan district of Bracknell was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the same area as the former Easthampstead Rural District, which had been created in 1894. Bracknell District Council was a lower-tier authority, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services to the area.[3][4] In 1988 the district was awarded borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. The council changed the district's name from Bracknell to Bracknell Forest at the same time, becoming Bracknell Forest Borough Council.[5]

In 1998, Berkshire County Council was abolished and its functions were taken over by the county's six districts, including Bracknell Forest. Berkshire continues to exist as a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county, albeit without a county council.[6] The council's full legal name remains Bracknell Forest Borough Council, but it styles itself Bracknell Forest Council.[7]

Governance

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The council provides both district-level and county-level functions.[8] The whole borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas.[9]

Political control

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The council has been under no overall control since 2025, being run by a Labour minority administration. Labour had won a majority of the council's seats at the 2023 election. After two councillors left the Labour group in 2025, the council went under no overall control.[10] The subsequent Labour minority administration was further reduced when the leader of the council, Mary Temperton, and a cabinet member were suspended from the party due to a fundraising scandal.[11]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[12][13]

Lower-tier district council

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–1976
Conservative1976–1995
Labour1995–1997
Conservative1997–1998

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
Conservative1998–2023
Labour2023–2025
No overall control2025–present

Leadership

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The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Bracknell Forest. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1984 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Alan Ward[14]Conservative1984May 1992
Bob Angell[15]ConservativeMay 1992May 1995
Austin McCormack[16][17]LabourMay 1995May 1997
Paul Bettison[17][18]Conservative13 May 1997May 2023
Mary Temperton[19][20][21]Labour24 May 20233 March 2026
Helen Purnell[a][22]Labour25 March 2026

Composition

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Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes to July 2026, the composition of the council was as follows:[23][24]

Party Councillors
Labour20
Conservative10
Liberal Democrats7
Green3
Independent1
Total 41

The next election is due in 2027.[24]

Premises

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The council was originally based at Easthampstead House in Town Square, Bracknell, which had been built in 1970 for its predecessor authority, Easthampstead Rural District Council.[25] In 1997 the council acquired additional office space in a modern building called Time Square on Market Street, Bracknell, with functions split between the two buildings for a time.[26][27] Council meetings continued to be held at Easthampstead House until a new council chamber was created in Time Square in 2018, after which the council vacated Easthampstead House and is now solely based at Time Square.[28]

Elections

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Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 41 councillors representing 15 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[29]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Helen Purnell also served as acting leader from 3 March 2026 when Mary Temperton resigned.

References

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  1. ↑ "Council minutes, 13 May 2026". Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Williams, Grant (23 June 2022). "Bracknell Forest Council announces new chief executive". Bracknell News. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 3 March 2023
  4. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 3 March 2023
  5. ↑ Bulletin of Changes of Local Authority Status, Names and Areas (PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1988. p. 2. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1879, retrieved 9 May 2024
  7. ↑ "Pay your council tax". Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70
  9. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  10. ↑ Aldridge, James (1 October 2025). "Two Bracknell councillors have quit the Labour Party". Bracknell News. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Leader of Bracknell Forest Council resigns after Labour probe". Bracknell News. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  12. ↑ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Bracknell Forest" in search box to see specific results.)
  13. ↑ "Bracknell Forest". BBC News Online. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  14. ↑ "A new man in the hot seat". Bracknell Times. 7 May 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "Angell falls in a night of shocks". Wokingham Times. 11 May 1995. p. 7. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  16. ↑ Nelson, Charles (18 May 1995). "So what went wrong?". Bracknell Times. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Council minutes, 13 May 1997" (PDF). Bracknell Forest Borough Council. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  18. ↑ Zaccaro, Maria (5 May 2023). "Tories lose control of three Berkshire councils". BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "'History made' at Bracknell Forest Council, says new mayor". Bracknell News. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "Council minutes, 24 May 2023". Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "Leader of Bracknell Forest Council resigns after Labour probe". Bracknell News. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  22. ↑ "Council minutes, 25 March 2026". Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  24. 1 2 "Councils Map | LocalCouncils.co.uk". www.localcouncils.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "People and Places". Reading Evening Post. 23 October 1970. p. 13. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  26. ↑ Bracknell Forest Borough Council, planning application 622864 for change of use of offices to local authority use at Time Square, Market Street, Bracknell, granted 8 September 1997.
  27. ↑ Slevin, Jennie (10 April 2014). "Bracknell council services all under one roof after Time Square refurbishment". Berkshire Live. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "Council minutes, 23 May 2018" (PDF). Bracknell Forest Council. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  29. ↑ "The Bracknell Forest (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/887, retrieved 9 May 2024
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