Congleton (borough)

Congleton was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Congleton, Alsager, Middlewich and Sandbach. The headquarters of the borough council were located in Sandbach.

History

File:Chairmen of Congleton Rural District Council (1894-1974).jpg

Chairmen of Congleton Rural District Council (1894-1974)

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of the former Corporation of Congleton, the urban districts of Alsager, Middlewich and Sandbach, and the Congleton Rural District. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The decision to merge the boroughs of Congleton, Macclesfield, and Crewe and Nantwich to create a single unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007, following a consultation period in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.<ref>BBC News, 25 July 2007 – County split into two authorities. Retrieval Date: 25 July 2007.</ref>

The Borough of Congleton was abolished on 31 March 2009, with the area becoming part of the unitary authority of Cheshire East on 1 April 2009.<ref>Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008 Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Civil parishes

Congleton was divided into 23 civil parishes and included no unparished areas. Of the 23 civil parishes, four were administered at this level of local government by town councils: Alsager, Middlewich, Sandbach, and Congleton; with the remainder having parish councils.<ref name=parishcouncils>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are two pairs of civil parishes that are grouped together so that they share a parish council. These are Hulme Walfield and Somerford Booths, whose single parish council is called "Hulme Walfield and Somerford Booths Parish Council", and Newbold Astbury and Moreton cum Alcumlow, whose single parish council is called "Newbold Astbury-cum-Moreton Parish Council".<ref name=parishcouncils/>

The following civil parishes were included in the borough: Template:Div col

• Alsager (town)
• Arclid
• Betchton
• Bradwall
• Brereton
• Church Lawton
• Congleton (town)
• Cranage
• Goostrey
• Hassall
• Holmes Chapel
• Hulme Walfield
• Middlewich (town)
• Moreton cum Alcumlow
• Moston
• Newbold Astbury
• Odd Rode
• Sandbach (town)
• Smallwood
• Somerford
• Somerford Booths
• Swettenham
• Twemlow

Demographics

The resident population of the borough, as measured in the 2001 Census, was 90,655, of which 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent were female.

Religion

The percentage of people of each religion in the borough (trom the Census 2001):<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stated religion	Percentage
Christian	81.46%
Buddhist	0.12%
Hindu	0.11%
Jewish	0.06%
Muslim	0.17%
Sikh	0.04%
Other religions	0.16%
No religion	11.46%
Religion not stated	6.43%

Political control

The town of Congleton had been a municipal borough from 1836 to 1974 with a borough council.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first elections to the new Congleton Borough created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:<ref name=electionscentre>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1976
Template:Party name with colour	1976–1982
Template:Party name with colour	1982–1983
Template:Party name with colour	1983–1986
Template:Party name with colour	1986–1991
Template:Party name with colour	1991–1992
Template:Party name with colour	1992–1994
Template:Party name with colour	1994–2002
Template:Party name with colour	2002–2003
Template:Party name with colour	2003–2009

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1987 were:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Dennis Round<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	1987	14 July 1987
Linda Short<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || Template:Party name with colour || align=right|1987 || align=right|14 December 2000
Rod Fletcher	Template:Party name with colour	2001	2002
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> || Template:Party name with colour || align=right|2002 || align=right|31 March 2009

Composition

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Party		Councillors
style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"|	Conservative	25
style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"|	Liberal Democrat	13
	Middlewich First	6
	Independent	4

Premises

The council was based at Westfields on Middlewich Road in Sandbach. This was a large nineteenth century house which had been bought in 1960 by the Congleton Rural District Council, one of the council's predecessors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2005–2007 a replacement headquarters building, also called Westfields, was built in front of the old house, which was then demolished.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new building was formally opened on 25 January 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After Congleton Borough Council's abolition, Westfields became the headquarters for the new Cheshire East Council.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Alderman and Freeman of the Borough

File:Borough of Congleton Roll of Honorary Alderman.jpg

Borough of Congleton roll of honorary Alderman plaque

The following people and military units received the Freedom of the Borough of Congleton or were an Alderman of the Borough of Congleton.

Individuals

• C. W. Harrison (Alderman 4 October 1984)Template:Refn
• A. G. Smith (Alderman 4 October 1984)Template:Refn
• C. H. Kelly (Alderman 25 September 1986)Template:Refn
• L. Yarwood (Alderman 29 September 1988)Template:Refn
• J. M. Telfer (Alderman 28 September 1989)Template:Refn
• F. Bowers (Alderman 5 November 1992)Template:Refn
• W. Vickers (Alderman 5 November 1992)Template:Refn
• E. Henshall (Alderman 22 September 1994)Template:Refn
• R. Tomlinson (Alderman 29 October 1998)Template:Refn
• R. C. Parry (Alderman 29 January 2004)Template:Refn
• K. A. Hemsley (Alderman 29 January 2004)Template:Refn
• K. A. Thompson (Alderman 29 January 2004)Template:Refn
• M. J. Cooper (Alderman 2009)<ref name="Aldermen/Freemen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• T. Farrell (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• R. A. Giltrap (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• L. Morris (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• F. Walton (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• D. Brown (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• R. M. Domleo (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• P. J. Edwards (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• R. I. Fletcher (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• D. I. Hough (Alderman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />
• G. Chambers (Freeman 2009)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />

Military Units

• The Cheshire Yeomanry: 1906.<ref name="ThoughTime">Template:Cite book</ref>
• The Cheshire Regiment: 1969.<ref name= ThoughTime />
• First Battalion of the Mercian Regiment:???<ref name="Aldermen/Freemen" />
• First Battalion of the Mercian Regiment (Freeman ???)<ref name= "Aldermen/Freemen" />

Council elections

• 1973 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1976 Congleton Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)<ref>legislation.gov.uk – The Borough of Congleton (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1975. Retrieved on 19 November 2015.</ref>
• 1979 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1980 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1982 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1983 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1984 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1986 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1987 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1988 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1990 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1991 Congleton Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)<ref>legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire, Derbyshire, Hereford and Worcester and Staffordshire (County Boundaries) Order 1991. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.</ref><ref>legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire, Derbyshire, Hereford and Worcester and Staffordshire (County Boundaries) (Variation) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.</ref>
• 1992 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1994 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1995 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1996 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1998 Congleton Borough Council election
• 1999 Congleton Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)<ref>legislation.gov.uk – The Borough of Congleton (Electoral Changes) Order 1998. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.</ref>
• 2000 Congleton Borough Council election
• 2002 Congleton Borough Council election
• 2003 Congleton Borough Council election
• 2004 Congleton Borough Council election
• 2006 Congleton Borough Council election
• 2007 Congleton Borough Council election

Results maps

• Congleton UK ward map 2002.svg

  2002 results map

• Congleton UK ward map 2003.svg

  2003 results map

• Congleton UK ward map 2004.svg

  2004 results map

• Congleton UK ward map 2006.svg

  2006 results map

• Congleton UK ward map 2007.svg

  2007 results map

See also

• Education in Congleton Borough