Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England , Wales and Northern Ireland . The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland , similarly chartered communities were known as royal burghs , although the status is no longer granted.
25-453: Braintree District is a local government district in Essex , England. The district is named after the town of Braintree , where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Halstead and Witham and surrounding rural areas. The neighbouring districts are Colchester , Maldon , Chelmsford , Uttlesford , South Cambridgeshire , West Suffolk , and Babergh . The district
50-434: 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 the right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues
75-515: A charter whereupon: Charters granted under the 1972 Act may allow the borough council to appoint "local officers of dignity" previously appointed by an abolished borough corporation. Examples include: There is no obligation on the council to appoint persons to these positions. In some boroughs the mayor has the additional title as "Admiral of the Port", recalling an historic jurisdiction. The lord mayors of Chester and Kingston-upon-Hull are admirals of
100-425: 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 a two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with
125-485: A municipal corporation headed by a mayor. The corporations had been reformed by legislation beginning in 1835 ( 1840 in Ireland ). By the time of their abolition there were three types: Many of the older boroughs could trace their origin to medieval charters or were boroughs by prescription, with Saxon origins. Most of the boroughs created after 1835 were new industrial, resort or suburban towns that had grown up after
150-457: 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
175-491: 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 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
200-491: 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 ). Borough status in the United Kingdom Until the local government reforms of 1973 and 1974 , boroughs were towns possessing charters of incorporation conferring considerable powers, and were governed by
225-545: Is granted to metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts under the provisions of section 245 of the Local Government Act 1972 . This section allows the council of a district to petition the monarch for a charter granting borough status. The resolution must have the support of at least two-thirds of the councillors. Having received the petition the monarch may, on the advice of the Privy Council , grant
250-604: 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
275-534: The Industrial Revolution . Borough corporations could also have the status of a city . For pre-1974 boroughs, see Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1835–1882 , Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835–1886 , Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1882–1974 , Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 Borough status no longer implies a town or urban area. Outside Greater London , borough status
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#1732780474714300-645: The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 . The 1994 Act amended section 245 of the Local Government Act 1972, allowing the new unitary county councils established by the Act to apply for a charter in a similar manner to the old district councils. On receiving a charter a county became a "county borough". The privileges of borough status are that the council chairperson is called "mayor"; up to one quarter of councillors can be called "alderman"; and
325-428: The 26 districts with 11 larger districts . The "statutory transition committee" handling each council merger had the right to request transfer of borough status as in 1972, and unionist -majority councils did so, while nationalist -majority councils chose not to apply. There were complications where places had city status; therefore Belfast, Derry and Lisburn 's borough charters carried over automatically, without
350-681: The Dee and the Humber respectively, the Mayor of Medway is Admiral of the River Medway, and the mayors of Poole and Southampton are admirals of those ports. Privileges or rights belonging to citizens or burgesses of a former borough can be transferred to the inhabitants of the new borough. Borough councils are permitted to pass a resolution admitting "persons of distinction" and persons who have "rendered eminent service" to be an honorary freeman of
375-454: 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
400-632: The borough. This power has been used to grant honorary freedom not only to individuals, but to units and ships of the armed forces. Borough charters granted under section 245 of the Local Government Act 1972 to metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts of England Granted city status in 2012 Renamed Redcar and Cleveland 1996 Abolished 1998 Abolished 1996 Greater London is divided into thirty-two London boroughs . Their borough status dates from 1965, although each of them had previously included municipal , county or metropolitan boroughs: The districts created in 1974 were abolished in 1996 by
425-487: The council since 1995 have been: Following the 2023 election , the composition of the council was: The Greens and independent councillors sit together as the "Independent and Green Group". The next election is due in 2027. The council has its headquarters at Causeway House on Bocking End in Braintree. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1981. Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015,
450-641: The council can award freedom of the borough . The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 extinguished all the boroughs in Ireland except for ten. In what would in 1921 become Northern Ireland , there were two remaining municipal boroughs in 1840: Belfast (made a city in 1888) and Derry ( officially Londonderry , and a city since 1604). Five towns with abolished corporations remained parliamentary boroughs until 1885 ( Armagh , Carrickfergus , Coleraine , Dungannon , and Enniskillen ) as did three ( Downpatrick , Lisburn , and Newry ) where any corporation
475-625: The council has comprised 49 councillors representing 26 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The wards are: There are 63 civil parishes in the district. The former Braintree and Bocking Urban District, covering the town of Braintree itself, is an unparished area . The parish councils for Halstead and Witham are styled "town councils". 51°52′55″N 0°33′09″E / 51.8819°N 0.5525°E / 51.8819; 0.5525 Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are
500-433: The district is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under Conservative control since 2007. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as 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: The leaders of
525-487: 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
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#1732780474714550-526: 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
575-620: 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
600-561: Was defunct by 1801. Several of the urban districts in Northern Ireland created under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 later received charters granting borough status. The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 replaced the multi-tier local government system with 26 unitary districts whose councils could retain the charter of a borough within the district; other districts later received borough charters in their own right. The 2015 local government reforms replaced
625-464: Was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of 14 districts within Essex. The new district covered the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Braintree, after the area's largest town. Braintree District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Essex County Council . Much of
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