City of Doncaster Council is the local authority of the City of Doncaster, a metropolitan borough with city status in South Yorkshire, England. Prior to being awarded city status in 2022 the council was called Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. The council is based at the Civic Office in Waterdale, central Doncaster. It is one of four local authorities in South Yorkshire and provides the majority of local government services in Doncaster. The council is a member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
The borough was awarded city status in 2022, after which the council changed its named to City of Doncaster Council.[10]
Governance
The council provides both district-level and county-level services. Some functions are provided through joint committees with the other South Yorkshire authorities. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas.[11]
Political control
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[12][13]
Prior to 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. Since 2002, political leadership has been provided instead by a directly elected Mayor of Doncaster. The council separately appoints a civic mayor each year, who is largely ceremonial.
Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance[19] up to August 2024, the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) was:[20]
The council is based at the Civic Office on Waterdale in Doncaster. It was purpose-built for the council and opened in January 2013.[21]
Council House, College Road: Council's headquarters 1992–2013
From 1992 until 2013 the council was based at the Council House on College Road, formerly called Coal House, which had been built in 1966 as the headquarters of the National Coal Board. The Council House was subsequently demolished.[22]
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[23][24]
From 1973 to 2014, the council was elected by thirds every year except the year in which county council elections took place in other parts of England. In 2015, the whole council was elected due to boundary changes to the wards and it was decided that the whole council would be elected every four years from 2017, so that the council elections would coincide with the election of the Mayor of Doncaster.[25]
