[1] After the election, the composition of the council was Before the election there were 15 independent councillors, the Liberal Democrats had 14 seats, Labour had 11 and the Conservatives had 9.
[3] An alliance between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour party controlled the council with a majority of one seat.
[3] Among the councillors who stood down at the election was independent David Walker, who had quit the Conservatives in the early 1990s over the poll tax, as well as Patrick Madden, Peg McWilliam, Elizabeth Mortimer and Susan Swann.
[3] 49 candidates stood for the 18 seats that were contested in 1998, including one candidate from the Green party, with the Liberal Democrats defending the most seats at eight.
[3] The Conservatives became the largest group on the council after gaining five seats.