Stevenage Borough Council

Stevenage Borough Council is the local authority for Stevenage, a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1974. It is based at Daneshill House on Danestrete.

History

Stevenage's first elected council was a local board established in 1873, prior to which the town had been administered by the parish vestry. Such local boards were converted into urban district councils in 1894. The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Stevenage Urban District as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974. The district was awarded borough status on the same date, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

Governance

Stevenage Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level functions are provided by Hertfordshire County Council. There are no civil parishes in the borough.

Political control

The first elections to the borough council as reformed under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. The Labour Party has held a majority of the seats on the council since 1974:

Party in control		Years
	1974–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Stevenage, and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Brian Hall		1974	1975
		1975	1976
Brian Hall		1976	23 May 2006
Sharon Taylor		23 May 2006	31 Dec 2022
Richard Henry		1 Jan 2023

Composition

Following the 2024 election and subsequent changes up to May 2025, the composition of the council was as follows:

Party		Councillors
	31
	6
	1
	1
Total		39

A by-election to fill the vacant seat is due in June 2025. The next scheduled election after that is due in May 2026, when a third of the council's seats will be up for election.

Elections

Since the last ward boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 39 councillors, with the borough being divided into 13 wards each electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing one councillor from each ward each time to serve a four-year term of office. Hertfordshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.

The wards are:

• Almond Hill
• Bandley Hill and Poplars
• Bedwell
• Chells
• Longmeadow
• Manor
• Martins Wood
• Old Town
• Roebuck
• St Nicholas
• Shephall
• Symonds Green
• Woodfield

Premises

The council is based at Daneshill House on Danestrete in the town centre. The building was built in 1961 for the development corporation which oversaw the development of Stevenage as a New Town between 1946 and 1980. The building was bought by the council in 1980 when the development corporation was wound up.