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28-555: Babergh District (pronounced / ˈ b eɪ b ə / , BAY -bə ) is a local government district in Suffolk , England. In 2021 it had a population of 92,300. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just two towns, Sudbury and Hadleigh , which was the administrative centre until 2017 when the council moved to shared offices with neighbouring Mid Suffolk District Council in Ipswich , outside either district. The district

56-461: A mayor and refer to itself as a borough council. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically a district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have

84-537: A castle. In Wales, the term electoral ward is used for elections to principal councils ( county councils or county borough councils ). These were formally called electoral divisions . Communities in Wales (the equivalent to the civil parish in England) are sometimes divided into wards for elections to the community council. All of Scotland is divided into over 300 wards for local government elections. Using

112-419: A shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: Prior to 2014 there was no formal position of leader of the council at Babergh, with political leadership provided instead by the chair of the policy and resources committee, or its successor, the strategy committee. From 2014 onwards,

140-461: A two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with a borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them

168-561: A unitary authority or those that transferred from one county to another, including those that changed name. Nor does it include unitary authorities that have been abolished ( Bournemouth and Poole ). Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors . The ward

196-522: Is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. In 2011, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils began working together, with one, fully integrated staff structure. The council has been under no overall control since the 2019 election . Following the 2023 election a coalition of the Greens , independents and Liberal Democrats formed to run the council. The first elections were held in 1973, initially operating as

224-1030: Is divided into wards, which are ancient and very long-standing sub-divisions of the city. The Council of the Isles of Scilly is also a sui generis unitary authority, and has five wards, each returning either 1 or (in the case of St Mary's ) 12 councillors to the Council of the Isles of Scilly. Civil parishes in England are sometimes divided into wards for elections to the parish council (or town / city council ). They need not bear any relation to wards or electoral divisions at district level, but often do. The four most northerly ancient counties of England – Cumberland , Westmorland , County Durham and Northumberland  – were historically divided into administrative units called wards instead of hundreds or wapentakes , as in other counties. Wards were areas originally organised for military purposes, each centred on

252-455: Is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 32 councillors representing 24 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. Since 2017 Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils have their combined headquarters at Endeavour House in Ipswich, sharing the building with Suffolk County Council . When the council

280-417: Is named after the medieval Babergh Hundred , which covered part of the area. The district includes parts of two designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , Dedham Vale , known for its association with painter John Constable , and Suffolk Coast and Heaths . The neighbouring districts are East Suffolk , Ipswich , Mid Suffolk , West Suffolk , Braintree , Colchester and Tendring . The district

308-464: Is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and district councils, the electoral ward is the unit used by Welsh principal councils , while the electoral division is the unit used by English county councils and some unitary authorities . Each ward/division has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward population counts can vary substantially. As of 2021 there are 8,694 electoral wards/divisions in

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336-604: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with

364-473: The Isle of Wight and Shropshire Councils ) instead use the term electoral division . In non-metropolitan county areas with both wards (used for district council elections) and electoral divisions (used for county council elections), the boundaries of the two types of divisions may sometimes not coincide, but more often the county electoral divisions will be made up of one or more complete wards. In urban areas,

392-653: The single transferable vote , most wards elect either three or four councillors. Starting from the 2022 Scottish local elections , the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 , allows electoral wards to have between one and five councillors. Districts in Northern Ireland are divided into electoral areas, with each electing between five and seven councillors by single transferable vote. These are themselves sub-divided into wards, but these wards have no official function. Post-1973 wards were first created by

420-464: The UK. An average area of wards or electoral divisions in the United Kingdom is 28.109 km (10.853 sq mi). The London boroughs , metropolitan boroughs and non-metropolitan districts (including most unitary authorities ) are divided into wards for local elections. However, county council elections (as well as those for several unitary councils which were formerly county councils, such as

448-477: The area. Babergh Hundred is referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086; the modern district covers a larger area than the historic hundred, also covering the hundreds of Cosford and Samford . The council's logo now says "Babergh District Council – South Suffolk". Babergh District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Suffolk County Council . The whole district

476-454: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by

504-405: The chair of the strategy committee was also given the title of leader. The council then moved from a committee system to a leader and cabinet model in 2017, giving the leader additional powers to make executive decisions. The leaders (or chairs of policy and resources / strategy committees) since 1998 have been: Following the 2023 election , the composition of the council was: The next election

532-622: The district is marked almost exclusively by the River Stour , which also forms the border with Essex , and it is separated from East Suffolk by the River Orwell . The eastern part of the district forms a peninsula between the two tidal rivers, coming to a point at Shotley Gate . ' Constable Country' is cognate with a large tract of Babergh: drawing visitors to the Dedham Vale, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and

560-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming

588-565: The right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues a style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system

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616-486: The style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially shire counties ) in a two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs , able to appoint

644-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since

672-558: The wards within a local authority area typically each contain roughly the same number of electors, and each elect three councillors. In local authorities with mixed urban and rural areas, the number of councillors may vary from one to three, depending on the size of the electorate. Where civil parishes exist, a ward can be adjacent with a civil parish or consist of groups of civil parishes. Larger civil parishes (such as Shrewsbury ) can be divided into two or more wards. The City of London has its own sui generis form of local government and

700-474: The well-preserved villages of Long Melford , Lavenham and Kersey . The district also includes part of the built-up area of Ipswich at Pinewood . Babergh's population size has increased by 5.2%, from around 87,700 in 2011 to 92,300 in 2021 and covers an area of approximately 230 square miles (600 km). The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Sudbury and Hadleigh have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take

728-691: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in

756-463: Was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering five former districts which were all abolished at the same time: Samford Rural District had been in the administrative county of East Suffolk prior to the reforms; the other districts had all been in West Suffolk . The new district was named Babergh after the medieval hundred of Babergh , which had covered part of

784-553: Was first created it inherited offices in Sudbury, Hadleigh and Ipswich from its predecessor councils. The council initially based itself at the former Cosford Rural District Council's offices at 32 High Street in Hadleigh. The council built itself a new headquarters on Corks Lane in Hadleigh, incorporating existing cottages and granaries into the new building. The new complex was formally opened on 4 June 1982. The southern boundary of

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