Chair of Council
Our current Chair of Council is Councillor Sanjay Shambhu. The Vice Chair is Councillor Judy Adams.
The Chair is elected annually by our councillors and is a non-political role. The role of the chair is to lead official council meetings and represent the council at events.
Chair – Councillor Sanjay Shambhu 
Vice Chair – Judy Adams
Both Councillor Sanjay Shambhu and Councillor Judy Adams are involved in many local activities within South Gloucestershire.
They attend events such as official openings of new buildings, launching new projects, award ceremonies, local festivals, concerts, church services, schools and elderly persons homes.
Both the Chair and Vice Chair attend monthly citizenship ceremonies at Kingswood Civic Centre.
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Charity work
Each year the new Chair of Council chooses to raise funds for a charity that supports residents within South Gloucestershire. Donations received during the year are presented to the charity at the annual council meeting.
Councillor Sanjay Shambhu has chosen to support SSAFA the Armed Forces charity during his year in office.
Chair's community awards
The Chair’s annual community awards recognise and celebrate the valuable contribution local unpaid volunteers make to life in South Gloucestershire.
You can see the winners of the individual and community group awards on our Chair’s community awards page.
Events to be attended by the Chair of Council
Wednesday 18 January 2023: Chair’s community awards
Contact the Chair of Council
To contact the Chair of Council you can:
email: chairofcouncil@southglos.gov.uk
phone: 01454 863019
write to: Chair of Council, PO Box 1953, Council Offices, Badminton Road, Yate, Bristol. BS37 0DE
Previous Chairs of Council
1995/96 – Cllr Eddie Gadsby
1996/97 – Cllr Les Bishop
1997/98 – Cllr Sue Hope
1998/99 – Cllr Rudi Springer
1999/20 and 2000/01 – Cllr Arthur Adams
2001/02 – Cllr Alan Bracey
2002/03 – Cllr Jeanette Ward
2003/04 – Cllr Sue Walker
2004/05 – Cllr June Lovell
2005/06 – Cllr Alan Lawrance
2006/07 – Cllr Jim Cullimore
2007/08 – Cllr Sandra O’Neill
2008/09 – Cllr Brian Freeguard
2009/10 – Cllr Shirley Holloway
2010/11 – Cllr Janet Biggin
2011/12 – Cllr Mike Drew
2012/13 – Cllr Janet Biggin
2013/14 – Cllr Ian Boulton
2014/15 – Cllr Howard Gawler
2015/16 and 2016/17 – Cllr Erica Williams
2017/18 – Cllr Ian Blair
2018/19 – Cllr Rachael Hunt
2019/20 – Cllr Brian Allinson
2020/21 – Cllr June Bamford
2021/22 – Cllr Ruth Davis
