Crewe and Nantwich

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox historic subdivision

The Municipal Buildings in Crewe, head office of the Borough Council.

Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007.Template:Fact It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now forms part of the unitary authority of Cheshire East.

HistoryEdit

The Borough of Crewe and Nantwich was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of the borough of Crewe (an industrial town), the urban district of Nantwich (a smaller market town), and Nantwich Rural District.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> The new district was proposed to be called just "Crewe", but the shadow authority elected in 1973 to oversee the transition to the new system successfully petitioned the government to change the name to "Crewe and Nantwich" before the district came into being.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 Crewe and Nantwich, Congleton and Macclesfield 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 Crewe and Nantwich was abolished on 1 April 2009, when the new Cheshire East unitary authority was formed.<ref>Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008 Template:Webarchive</ref>

Civil parishesEdit

The former Crewe Municipal Borough was unparished, but the rest of the Crewe and Nantwich district included the following civil parishes: Template:Columns-list

Political controlEdit

The first elections to the council 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	1976–1990
Template:Party name with colour	1990–2002
Template:Party name with colour	2002–2009

LeadershipEdit

The leaders of the council from 1974 were:

Councillor	Party		From
Donald Holt<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	1974	1976
Anne Blacklay<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	1976	1979
Donald Holt<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	1979	11 Mar 1983
Anne Blacklay<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	18 May 1983	May 1984
Brian Silvester<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	May 1984	May 1990
Peter Kent<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	May 1990	7 May 2006
Brian Silvester<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> \|\| Template:Party name with colour \|\| align=right\|17 May 2006 \|\| align=right\|14 May 2008
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> \|\| Template:Party name with colour \|\| align=right\|14 May 2008 \|\| align=right\|31 Mar 2009

On 4 May 2006 a referendum was held to decide whether the "Leader and Cabinet" form of local government would be replaced by an elected mayor. The proposal was rejected by 18,768 (60.8%) votes to 11,808 (38.2%) on a 35.3% turnout.

PremisesEdit

File:Delamere House, Crewe.JPG

Delamere House, Crewe: Council's main offices from 1974

The council met at the Municipal Buildings in Earle Street, Crewe, which had been completed for the former Crewe Borough Council in 1905.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The main administrative offices were at Delamere House on Delamere Street in Crewe, which was built as a joint facility for both the new Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council and Cheshire County Council, being completed in 1974 just before local government reorganisation took effect.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Delamere House was later supplemented with additional offices in a large extension to the rear of the Municipal Buildings, completed in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>