Cheltenham local elections: Everything you need to know

Cheltenham Borough Council office

Cheltenham will see all 40 of its councillors up for election for the first time since 2002 due to boundary changes this May.

For decades the borough council's leadership has swung between Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and No Overall Control - although in recent years the Lib Dems have controlled the council since 2010.

The town's political past is similar to its Westminster seat - which is currently held by Conservative Alex Chalk - as voters have tended to go for either the Tories or Lib Dems.

The council is in charge of services such as bin collections, housing and providing premises licences and much more.

Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming local election.

Who can I vote for?

Cheltenham Borough Council currently has 31 Liberal Democrats, five Conservatives, two People Against Bureaucracy and two Greens.

The Lib Dems have an overall majority of 21 on the council.

For more than 20 years elections have been held in alternate years in Cheltenham with half of the council up each time.

The council comprises of 40 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two councillors.

Since 2002 one councillor for each ward has been elected in each election for a four year term.

However, due to new boundary changes the council will see a full election in May.

A full list of candidates can be found here.

Cheltenham has ambitions to become the UK's cyber capital

How do I vote and when is it?

Voting takes place on Thursday 2 May between 07:00 and 22:00 BST, although postal votes can be cast before then.

If you are planning to vote in person you will need to take photo identification, as per the new rules introduced last year.

Counting will take place the next day, with the final results due sometime in the late afternoon or early evening on Friday 3 May.

What are the big issues?

Before heading to the polls, there are a few issues Cheltenham residents may consider when voting. These include:

• Improving the town centre.

Critics have long argued empty shops and inconsistent paving along the high street are blighting the town's centre, and have called for change.

The council is currently working with landlords to cut the number of empty shops in the high street, and plans to use enforcement action on them.

On top of that the future of Cavendish House, which contained House of Fraser up until earlier this month, is yet to be crystallised with speculation focusing on housing among other options.

• Delivering the Cyber Park and Minster Exchange

Cheltenham's Minster Exchange project - a 20,000 square feet workspace - has seen timescales change and pushed back while costs have also risen from £5.2m to £9.2m.

Similarly, the planned Golden Valley department is part of Cheltenham's and central government's aim to make the town the UK's cyber capital.

A cyber business park is proposed on land next to GCHQ, and the wider development is expected to create 12,000 new jobs and 3,700 homes.

In November 2023 the government provisionally committed to spending £20m towards the first phase of the £1bn project.

Neither of these projects are currently in doubt but delivering them, particularly the latter, is significant for the local and national economy.

• Licensing issues

Every year a licence is granted by the council for lap dancing nights in one of the most popular horse racing events in the sport's calendar: the Cheltenham Festival.

And with that brings considerable opposition including from women's rights groups, rape and sexual abuse support organisations, councillors and Alex Chalk.

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