What Cotswold District Council does

Cotswold District Council is a statutory UK local government authority established on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, formed by merging five predecessor councils (Cirencester Urban, Cirencester Rural, North Cotswold Rural, Tetbury Rural and Northleach Rural District Councils). It serves approximately 90,000 residents across the Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, England, with administrative headquarters on Trinity Road, Cirencester (a former Victorian workhouse opened by Prince Charles in 1981) and a secondary office at Moreton Area Centre. The council delivers mandatory district-level services including council tax and benefits administration, waste and recycling collection, planning and building control, housing and homelessness support, environmental protection, business licensing, parking enforcement and electoral services. Revenue is raised through council tax, business rates and central government grants; fee-based services include garden waste licences, planning fees and various statutory licensing charges.

The council's digital platform is built on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure, with staff productivity delivered through Microsoft 365 and council meetings conducted via Webex (with live YouTube webcasts). The customer-facing surface comprises a 24/7 website (cotswold.gov.uk) with integrated Report It, Make a Payment, bin-day checking, planning application and customer portal modules, backed by PCI-DSS compliant payment processing and UK GDPR data protection controls. Other operational technologies include Google Analytics for site analytics and third-party form tooling for FOI and general enquiries. A single text-based AI capability has been deployed for processing planning application documents under human oversight.

The council operates a shared-services consortium model: it jointly owns Ubico Ltd (with Cheltenham Borough Council) for environmental services and is a founding member of Publica Group (Support) Limited, which delivers shared procurement, IT and administrative functions across Cotswold, West Oxfordshire, Forest of Dean and Cheltenham councils. The council is also entering a Gloucestershire-wide reorganisation that will replace district and county councils with new unitary authorities, creating near-term institutional uncertainty. Cost pressures have already prompted a reduction in telephone line opening hours (expected to save over £119,000), with digital channels positioned to absorb the demand.

Name

Cotswold District Council

Legal name

Cotswold District Council

Website

https://cotswold.gov.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cotswold District Council is a UK statutory local authority serving approximately 90,000 residents in Gloucestershire, delivering council tax, waste collection, planning, licensing, housing and environmental services through a digital portal, two physical offices and shared-service partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Government Services

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Administration of Housing Programs (925110), Temporary Shelters (624221), Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except Miniwarehouses) (531120)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Operators Of Nonresidential Buildings (6512), Real Estate Operators (No Developers) & Lessors (6510)

akta.pro primary industry

Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Code Enforcement (BPAIACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Street & Public Space Litter Collection (Municipal Cleaning) (BPALAAAE), Land Administration & Cadastral Services (Public Land Records, Parcel Management) (BPAIANAH)

Keywords

• Local government services
• Council tax administration
• Waste management services
• Planning permissions
• Housing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cirencester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Cotswold District Council is a UK local government authority that delivers statutory district-level public services to approximately 90,000 residents of the Cotswold district in Gloucestershire. Core services include council tax billing and collection, domestic and commercial waste and recycling collection, planning application processing, housing and homelessness services, environmental health, business and premises licensing, and parking enforcement, delivered from its headquarters in Cirencester.

Product overview

Cotswold District Council provides a comprehensive digital service portfolio organized around core administrative functions. The council operates a unified online platform offering resident-facing services including Council Tax and benefits management, bins and recycling collection services, planning and building control, business licensing, housing assistance, environmental services, community support, and parking management. The services are delivered through the cotswold.gov.uk website with integrated online reporting (Report It), payment processing (Make a Payment), and account management portals. While not a traditional software product company, the council's digital services function as interconnected modules within their administrative infrastructure, with AI assistance used for planning application processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Council tax administration
• Waste and recycling collection
• Planning application services
• Housing services
• Business and premises licensing
• Parking services
• Environmental health services

Quantifiable outcome

• Phone line changes expected to save over £119,000
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ubico LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUbico is a company wholly owned by both Cheltenham Borough Council and Cotswold District Councils. It provides a range of environmental services including garden waste collection, waste collection vehicles equipped with CCTV, and general waste management services. The council shares personal information with Ubico for investigating waste management complaints, delivering waste services, and processing garden waste subscriptions.
• Publica Group (Support) LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublica Group (Support) Limited is a council-owned employment company that delivers shared services between Cotswold, West Oxfordshire, and Forest of Dean District Councils and Cheltenham Borough Council. It provides procurement services, IT support, and other shared administrative functions. Additional clients include Cheltenham Trust, Cheltenham Borough Homes, and UBICO.
• Julian HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJulian House operates the Rough Sleeping Outreach Support Service on behalf of Cotswold District Council. The outreach team works throughout the Cotswold district and Gloucestershire connecting rough sleepers with housing and support services including accommodation, employment assistance, healthcare access, and mental health support.
• Gloucestershire County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUpper-tier local authority responsible for county-level services in Gloucestershire. The district council works in coordination with the county council on various statutory functions including highways, education, and social services. Information sharing relationship exists for street naming and other shared service delivery.
• Cheltenham Borough CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in shared service arrangements through Publica Group and Ubico. Both councils jointly own these service companies and share procurement, IT, and environmental services.
• West Oxfordshire District CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner council sharing services through Publica Group (Support) Limited alongside Cotswold, Forest of Dean, and Cheltenham councils.
• Forest of Dean District CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner council sharing services through Publica Group (Support) Limited alongside Cotswold, West Oxfordshire, and Cheltenham councils.
• NHS (National Health Service)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for rough sleeper services and health-related data sharing. NHS Test and Trace data shared with council for COVID-19 self-isolation payments. Health services referenced in rough sleeping support coordination.
• HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)minorOthersStatutory data sharing for tax and National Insurance verification in self-isolation payments, business rates, and taxi licensing. Council has obligation to submit returns under schedule 23 of the Finance Act 2011.
• Emergency ServicesminorOthersAddress data sharing for street naming and numbering to support emergency service response. Data shared for public safety purposes.
• Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)minorOthersData sharing as required by The Air Quality (Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Database) (England and Wales) Regulations 2019. Council shares vehicle registration mark, licence dates, vehicle type, licence plate number, and wheelchair accessibility data.
• National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN)minorOthersCouncil shares information with NAFN as part of the national database of taxi and PHV driver licence refusals, suspensions and revocations (NR3). Data retained on NR3 database for 25 years.
• Cabinet Office (National Fraud Initiative)minorOthersStatutory duty to submit information to the government as part of the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) under legal obligation. Data helps identify and prevent fraud across public services.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forest of Dean District Council: Another Publica Group partner council; rural district in Gloucestershire delivering the same statutory functions (waste, planning, housing, council tax) with similar AONB-adjacent constraints.
• Cheltenham Borough Council: Joint owner of Ubico with CDC and fellow Publica member; urban borough council delivering the same statutory services but in a more urban, regimental-borough context.
• West Oxfordshire District Council: Partner council in Publica Group alongside CDC, sharing back-office and IT services; similar rural English district profile with comparable statutory service scope and population scale.

Regional players

• Stroud District Council: Neighbouring Gloucestershire district council with overlapping service responsibilities and similar rural-urban mix; comparable population scale and statutory mandate.
• Sedgemoor District Council (now Somerset Council): Rural Somerset district recently absorbed into Somerset unitary; demonstrates the reorganisation trajectory CDC faces and provides a peer on shared-service and unitary-transition outcomes.
• Malvern Hills District Council: Worcestershire district council with similar AONB/heritage planning constraints and a comparable rural population profile, making it a like-for-like benchmark on service scope and fiscal pressure.
• Gloucester City Council: City council within the same county, sharing county-level policy framework and reorganisation transition with CDC, with a more urban service profile but identical statutory mandate.
• South Oxfordshire District Council: Rural Oxfordshire district undergoing its own reorganisation toward a unitary council; comparable statutory scope, similar population, and shared Publica-service partnership profile via West Oxfordshire.
• Tewkesbury Borough Council: Adjacent Gloucestershire borough council providing comparable statutory services; shares county-level policy environment and reorganisation trajectory with CDC.

Broad incumbents

• Wiltshire Council: Large unitary authority adjacent to the Cotswolds providing the full range of district and county-level statutory services, illustrating the end-state CDC may be folded into during Gloucestershire reorganisation.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CotswoldDC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqdx_e9UBBExC39KAU7-I9Q/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/CotswoldDC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cotswolddc
• Instagraminstagram.com/cotswolddc/?hl=en-gb

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cotswold District Council