Executive mayor elected by the people, elected legislative City council
29-556: Langton Green is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells , England , lying around two miles west of the town centre along the A264. It is located within the parish of Speldhurst although it has its own church on the village green—the Grade II*-listed All Saints, built in 1862–63 by George Gilbert Scott . There is also a village primary school, Langton Green CP School, and The Hare public house. The village
58-554: A vote of no confidence in the leader. In addition, the compliance of councillors with their code of conduct may be overseen by a standards committee, although since the coming into effect of the Localism Act 2011 this can be dispensed with and its functions can be delegated to a monitoring officer. The elected mayor and cabinet model was introduced by the Local Government Act 2000. Councils currently operating
87-630: A fourth, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Tunbridge Wells after the area's largest town, but without the Royal prefix. The district was not initially granted borough status. The council resolved to petition for it in June 1974 and a borough charter was received on 20 December 1974, allowing the chair of the council to take the title mayor. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council . Much of
116-483: A popular, modern village hall . [REDACTED] Media related to Langton Green at Wikimedia Commons This Kent location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tunbridge Wells (borough) The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district with borough status in Kent , England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells . The borough also contains
145-539: A third of the council being elected each time for a four year term of office. Kent County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. In the 2016 European Union referendum, Tunbridge Wells was the only district in Kent that voted to remain in the EU (54.89%). The council is based at Tunbridge Wells Town Hall on Mount Pleasant Road, which had been completed in 1941 for
174-475: A third option for an elected mayor and council manager, which was only adopted by one authority and was later withdrawn. Additionally, lower tier authorities with a population under 85,000 were allowed to continue to use a committee system. The leader and cabinet model was introduced under the Local Government Act 2000 . It consists of the leader and the cabinet itself, which is usually formed by
203-483: A whole. These decisions are scrutinised by one or more "overview and scrutiny" committees, which may be dedicated to one or more service areas. The leader and cabinet are responsible for policies, plans, and strategies, which must be within the budget adopted by the full council. These will be reported to the overall "full" council, which is convened to bring together all elected members of the authority at regular meetings. One or more overview and scrutiny committees holds
232-489: Is considered to be affluent and is represented locally by Conservative councillors. There is a private school called Holmewood House located in the village and the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Condon used to live there until 2018. The table-top football game, Subbuteo , was invented and produced for many years in Langton Green. Langton Green has a primary school , a local sport association and
261-460: Is exercised, alongside full council, by a number of committees, made up of councillors in proportion to their parties' representation on the council. Such councils may choose to nominate a councillor as Leader of the Council for the purposes of representing the political leadership of the council, particularly in relations with external bodies. If no leader is nominated, as was the case prior to 2000,
290-542: Is largely ceremonial in Tunbridge Wells. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1998 have been: Following the 2024 election , the composition of the council was: The next elections are due in 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 14 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with
319-742: Is the southern terminus of the Medway Valley Line to Maidstone . The BBC has its regional centre at the Great Hall on Mount Pleasant Road in Royal Tunbridge Wells . It is the base of BBC Radio Kent and for BBC South East regional programmes, the complex contains studios and offices. ITV Meridian also covers the area but broadcast from its studios in Whiteley in Hampshire . Other radio stations that broadcast to
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#1732801411167348-416: The chalybeate springs, together with old workings, point to ancient iron manufacturing in the area. The Weald Clay plain along the northern edge of the borough forms part of the so-called Garden of England , named for its extensive orchards and former hop farms, sheep and cattle. A string of villages lies across this plain, from Brenchley and Horsmonden to Benenden and Headcorn. The main roads through
377-513: The area are Heart South , Gold , and community based radio stations: KMFM West Kent and West Kent Radio. The area is served by the local newspaper, Kent and Sussex Courier . Apart from Tunbridge Wells itself, places of interest in the Borough include: 51°07′44″N 0°15′39″E / 51.12889°N 0.26083°E / 51.12889; 0.26083 Leader of the council Council - Manager Executive leader elected by
406-605: The borough are the A21 London to Hastings road and in the east, the A229, which runs from the A21 at Hurst Green through Cranbrook to Maidstone . There is a railway line across the clay plain in an almost unbroken straight line between Redhill , Tonbridge and Ashford, Kent . The SER line to Hastings passes through Tunbridge Wells; here there was once a further branch connection south-eastwards to Groombridge , and at Paddock Wood
435-452: The borough is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2024 election . The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor
464-431: The cabinet to account for its decisions and is responsible that the democratic checks and balances are maintained. The principal executive decisions taken by the council as a whole are to appoint the leader, to approve the leader's budget, to adopt development plan documents, and to agree on the council's constitution. Beyond that, it may raise issues, urge the leader, cabinet, or cabinet members to take actions, or pass
493-463: The chair of the council's main policy committee may be informally deemed to be the council's de facto leader. Some councils operate governance arrangements which have the characteristics of more than one formal governance option. For example, an authority operating under conventional executive arrangements but whose overview and scrutiny committees operate in a manner similar to those under the committee system (developing policy, taking an active part in
522-456: The committee system is used, executive power is exercised through various committees rather than being focussed on one person. Many councils which use the committee system still nominate one of the councillors to hold the title 'Leader of the Council', albeit without the same powers as a leader under the leader and cabinet model. From the establishment of elected local authorities in England in
551-481: The council from among themselves Elected mayor and cabinet Executive mayor elected by the people Committee system Executive leader and executive committees elected by the council from among themselves In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements , having an "elected mayor and cabinet ", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions will be made within
580-508: The council. In councils which use the elected mayor system, the mayor is directly elected by the electorate to provide political leadership for the council and has power to make executive decisions. In councils which use the leader and cabinet model (the most commonly used model), the elected councillors choose one of their number to be the Leader of the Council , and that person provides political leadership and can make executive decisions. Where
609-512: The existence of a leader of the council, others did not. The role of Leader of the Council in that regard was similar to that of the British prime minister ; the post had not been explicitly created, but gradually emerged. The Local Government Act 2000 sought to strengthen public engagement with local democracy, and streamline the system of committees, introducing the models of directly elected mayors and cabinets, leaders and cabinets, as well as
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#1732801411167638-399: The leader of the controlling party as being the 'Leader of the Council'. It was also generally recognised that the most powerful political position on a council was the person who chaired the main policy-making committee, which in most councils was called the policy and resources committee. Usually, the leader of the largest party would chair that committee. Some councils explicitly acknowledged
667-403: The majority party in the local authority , where there is one, or by a coalition which comes together to elect a leader. The council elects the leader, and the leader appoints the other members of the cabinet. Each cabinet member holds a separate portfolio, such as housing, finance, economic development, or education. Decisions may be delegated to the individual members, or taken by the cabinet as
696-630: The mayoral model include: The elected mayor and council manager option was also introduced by the Local Government Act 2000, but withdrawn by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . The only local authority to adopt the model was Stoke-on-Trent City Council , reverting to leader and cabinet in 2008. Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2000 allowed district councils in two tier areas, with populations under 85,000, to propose alternative executive arrangements. This
725-435: The nineteenth century until the Local Government Act 2000 , councils used a system of committees for decision making. There was no legislative requirement for any councillor to be declared the leader, with the principle being that all the elected councillors were equal in status. In practice, political groups had their own leaders, and when a council was under the control of a particular party, local media would commonly refer to
754-576: The old Royal Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. The borough of Tunbridge Wells lies along the south western border of Kent, partly on the northern edge of the Weald , the remainder on the Weald Clay plain in the upper reaches of the rivers Teise and Beult . Much of the borough lies within the High Weald, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The presence of sandstone outcrops and
783-499: The towns of Paddock Wood and Southborough , along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Large parts of the borough fall within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The neighbouring districts are Sevenoaks , Tonbridge and Malling , Maidstone , Ashford , Rother and Wealden . The town of Tunbridge Wells had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1835. The commissioners' district
812-411: Was reconstituted as a local government district in 1860, which in turn became a municipal borough in 1889. That first borough of Tunbridge Wells was renamed "Royal Tunbridge Wells" in 1909 following a petition from the borough council to Edward VII . The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering the whole area of three former districts and parts of
841-420: Was superseded by the changes made by the Localism Act 2011 and the renewed availability of the committee system to all local authorities. Under the Localism Act 2011, principal authorities (such as unitary authorities, county councils, and district councils) were allowed to return to decision-making by committees, the method of local government administration for all councils prior to 2000. Under this model power
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