About the Council
Bury Metropolitan Borough lies on the northern part of Greater Manchester on the edge of the western Pennines.
The borough has a mix of beautiful rural villages and open countryside with breath taking views in the north, to urban living close to Manchester city centre in the south, and with excellent transport links and a fast and frequent Metrolink service from Bury to Manchester city centre and beyond.
Bury has a proud military history and has always had a connection with the Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment. The world famous and award winning Bury Market has been in operation for over 500 years and attracts visitors from across the UK. The town has a rich cultural offering, with museums and arts venues to explore, Bury was the Greater Manchester Town of Culture in 2021.
The borough is made up of six towns – Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich – and is one of ten councils that make up the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Bury is a Labour Party controlled council running a large range of services from public health, education and social care, to housing, waste collection, regeneration and planning, and much more.
Bury Council is committed to being a good employer and to leading by example.
Bury was the first borough in Greater Manchester to be accredited as both a living wage employer and a member of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
This means the council has to meet set criteria on secure work, flexible work, Real Living Wage, employee engagement and voice, recruitment, people management, and health and wellbeing.
The commitment applies to directly-employed council staff, and to organisations commissioned by the council to provide services. It includes staff who work in schools and agencies that provide services such as social care.
Our Let’s Do It Bury 2030 community strategy is a single strategy for the council, police, health, other public services, the voluntary, community and faith sector and by our business communities.
The Let’s Do It Strategy sets out four clear principles which will guide our work – Local, Enterprise, Together and Strength.
We have an opportunity to develop every township in the borough to be better and stronger than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
We can tackle the causes of inequality.
We can ensure that our children have a better start in life, with access to improved education and broader horizons.
We can help every adult to have the opportunity to be their very best through access to high quality, local work.
We can make sure that older residents stay connected and independent.
We can confront the great challenges ahead of us, from supporting local businesses to recover and thrive, to delivering net zero emissions and a cleaner environment for all.
We value and celebrate the diversity that exists within Bury and embrace all people irrespective of their background for the differences, skills, abilities and experience they bring to the workforce and wider community. Our Inclusion Strategy aims to ensure every community has a voice.
Our Climate Action Strategy and Plan has been created to help enable us to reach carbon-neutrality by 2038. The Strategy is split into nine sections, each with a different focus, and highlights what we can do as a Council and as an individual. We are committed to becoming eco leaders, ensuring future generations can enjoy our green spaces and breathe clean air.
Bury’s ambition is to be one of the best boroughs in Britain in which to live, work and study.
Our work shows us how we can all play our part in local communities; with enterprising spirit; working together in a way that recognises and celebrates the assets and strengths of our communities and our residents.
And, with you as part of our team, we will do it … by connecting everyone to the plans for economic growth and public service improvement across every township.
Political composition
The current political position of Bury Council is Labour Party controlled.
There are three seats in each of the seventeen wards, which totals 51 elected seats. The breakdown of seats is:
- Labour: 31 councillors
- Conservative: 11 councillors
- Radcliffe First: 8 councillors
- Independent: 1 councillor
Leadership
- Leader of the Council: Councillor Eamonn O’Brien (Labour)
- Deputy Leader: Councillor Nathan Boroda (Labour), Cabinet Member for Adult care, Health and Wellbeing
- Deputy Leader: Councillor Smith (Labour)
Council opposition groups
- Conservative Group Leader: Councillor Russell Bernstein
- Conservative Deputy Leader: Councillor Jo Lancaster
- Radcliffe First Group Leader: Councillor Mike Smith
- Radcliffe First Deputy Leader: Councillor Carol Birchmore
Cabinet portfolios and members
- Leader, Strategic Growth: Councillor Eamonn O’Brien
- Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing: Councillor Tamoor Tariq
- Children and Young People: Councillor Lucy Smith
- Environment, Climate Change and Operations: Councillor Alan Quinn
- Finance and Communities: Councillor Richard Gold
- Culture and Economy: Councillor Charlotte Morris
- Corporate Affairs and HR: Councillor Tahir Rafiq
- Housing Services: Councillor Clare Cummins
Deputy Cabinet members
- Children and Young People Services: Councillor Debbie Quinn and Councillor Sean Thorpe
- Communities: Councillor Ummrana Farooq
- Health and Wellbeing: Councillor Tom Pilkington
- Environment, Climate Change and Operations: Councillor Kevin Peel
- Corporate Affairs and HR: Councillor Joan Grimshaw and Councillor Elliot Moss
Shadow Cabinet
- Leader, Finance, Strategic Growth, Corporate Core and HR: Councillor Russell Bernstein
- Deputy Leader, Environment, Highways and Operations: Councillor Jo Lancaster
- Health and Wellbeing: Councillor Roger Brown
- Culture and Economy: Councillor Liam James Dean
- Children, Young People and Skills: Councillor Luis McBriar
- Communities: Councillor Dene Vernon
- Housing: Councillor Khalid Hussain
Mayor of Bury
- Councillor Sandra Walmsley
- Councillor Gillian Hargreaves (Mayoress)
- Mr James Bentley (Mayor’s Consort)
Greater Manchester Devolution
Greater Manchester Devolution is a pioneering move to transfer powers from the government to the ten Greater Manchester districts, including the borough of Bury.
The aim is to give local organisations more freedom to decide priorities and make decisions about £22 billion of funding which better reflect the needs of the region’s 2.8 million people.
Burys Children’s Partnership
Our children and young people deserve no less and we are all responsible for encouraging and supporting them to be the best that they can be. We want children and young people in Bury to grow up with the strength to overcome diffculties and to be able to make the most of life’s opportunities.