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Camden Town Hall

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Camden London Borough Council , also known as Camden Council , is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London , England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London . The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The council meets at Camden Town Hall and has its main offices at 5 Pancras Square.

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47-456: Camden Town Hall , known as St Pancras Town Hall until 1965, is the meeting place of Camden London Borough Council . The main entrance is in Judd Street with its northern elevation extending along Euston Road , opposite the main front of St Pancras railway station . It was completed in 1937 and has been Grade II listed since 1996. In the early 20th century, St Pancras Borough Council

94-553: A London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing , social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health. The council licenses street trading throughout

141-484: A modern architectural style and was clad in white pre-cast panels with curved window corners. A rooftop conservatory was added in the 1990s. The council vacated the Town Hall Annexe in 2014, moving its main offices to a new building at 5 Pancras Square. The Town Hall Annexe was subsequently converted into a hotel, which opened in 2019. In February 2020 the council started a programme of refurbishment works to

188-584: A quarter of the borough's size and population. London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area, resulting in local authorities responsible for larger areas and populations. The upper tier of local government

235-706: A reduction from 33 to 32 boroughs, and in greater detail, Shoreditch to join Hackney ; Wanstead and Woodford to be added to Ilford to form ' Redbridge ' rather than join Waltham Forest ; Chislehurst and Sidcup to be divided between the Bromley and the Bexley ; East Barnet , Friern Barnet , Hendon , and Finchley to form a single borough (Barnet) , Enfield to join Edmonton and Southgate (to be simply Enfield ),

282-700: A retired Surrey magistrate and county councillor, co-led the opposition in Committee, having met residents who were all "resolutely and determinedly opposed to the Bill." He was instrumental in getting his own area, Epsom and Ewell, completely excluded. Charles Doughty , MP for East Surrey (including Coulsdon and Purley ), prophesied that "A shotgun marriage of the kind proposed in the Bill between Coulsdon, Purley and [the Borough of] Croydon can never be successful...The affinities of Coulsdon and Purley go south, not to

329-629: Is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Camden", but it styles itself Camden Council. From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council . The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention , and refuse disposal ; with

376-404: Is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1965 have been: *Councillor Pat Callaghan took on the role of Acting Leader during Gould's maternity leave from September 2023 until early 2024 and then again during July 2024 following Gould's resignation upon being elected as an MP. Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections up to May 2024, the composition of

423-624: The Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of

470-497: The Greater London Council abolished in 1986, and the Greater London Authority introduced in 2000. As of 2024 , the London boroughs are more or less identical to those created in 1965, although with some enhanced powers over services such as waste management and education. The act set up a two-tier local government system, with powers divided between the newly formed Greater London Council (GLC), 32 new London borough councils and

517-556: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham . The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the Greater London Council and transferred its functions to the London borough councils, joint arrangements and to central government. The Inner London Education Authority continued to exist as a directly elected authority. The Education Reform Act 1988 abolished the Inner London Education Authority and made

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564-518: The London Government Act 1963 , with the first election held in 1964 . For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the councils of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead , Holborn and St Pancras . The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished. The council's full legal name

611-582: The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee , set up in 1924, were abolished, with the GLC gaining powers to regulate road traffic. An alteration was also made to the Metropolitan Police District to include the whole of Greater London, but the district continued to include a number of areas in surrounding counties. The composition of the London boroughs was given in schedule 1 of

658-514: The 1937 building, to plans prepared by Purcell . The works, which were managed by Lendlease at an estimated cost of £40 million, involved restoration of the historic areas used by the council and the redevelopment of the basement and upper floors so those floors can be let out as commercial space. The town hall reopened in 2023, serving once again as the council's meeting place and as an events venue. Camden London Borough Council The London Borough of Camden and its council were created under

705-562: The Bill advanced its smooth passage summarising the Royal Commission's Report: One of those basic strands is that London Government must reflect the physical fact that Greater London is a single city with a recognisable existence of its own: it is a living organism with its heart, its limbs and its lungs. The Surrey [-proposed] Plan does not recognise this important basic fact. Secondly, the Government regard it as vital that

752-586: The County of London this reorganised the proposed boroughs so that combinations for the present boroughs of Camden, Westminster and Islington were achieved. The Hackney borough had Shoreditch rather than the Tower Hamlets borough. Lewisham would be standalone, Deptford would combine with Camberwell and Bermondsey, and Southwark and Lambeth would unite. Eastern Wandsworth was to form a borough in itself, with western Wandsworth being paired with Battersea. Outside

799-622: The Greenwich and Woolwich metropolitan boroughs. Lewisham and Deptford were unable to agree on whether the borough should be named Lewisham, Deptford or after the central river/stream, Ravensbourne. The councils to become part of the London Borough of Barnet suggested "Northgate" or "Northern Heights" as names. Islington and Finsbury (Borough 3) were also unable to come to a decision, with Finsbury preferring "New River" and Islington preferring Islington. Richmond and Twickenham (Borough 24) disagreed over which, if any of those names should appear in

846-534: The Opposition in both houses saw the Bill as being partisan, opposed London's re-casting and celebrated its predecessor: ...you mean to go through with this execution of the London County Council because they have been so successful and they have been so strongly supported for 28 years by the electorate. ...we believe that it is a party political Bill. We have been told that it is "politics in

893-493: The St Pancras Borough Council, in the neoclassical style . The construction which was undertaken by Dove Brothers of Islington involved a steel frame clad with Portland stone and the work started in 1934. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with 13 bays facing onto Judd Street; the central section of three bays featured three doorways on the ground floor; there were three windows on each of

940-522: The Tottenham, Hornsey and Wood Green authorities to combine to form Haringey and at the most local level, Clapham and Streatham neighbourhoods to join Lambeth . The slightly amended form was laid before Parliament for substantive debates from November 1962 until April 1963. This proposed the eventually settled 32 more empowered boroughs forming a new administrative county. Ministerial proponents of

987-405: The act: As passed, the act did not include names for the new boroughs. Keith Joseph , the minister, asked local councils for suggestions as to possible names, asking that they be a single word if possible, and noting that "the best name will be the place recognised as the centre of the new borough". Double-barrelled names were to be prohibited. The 'Royal Borough of Charlton ' was proposed for

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1034-497: The borough, including the following markets: The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The first election to the council was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Camden. Political leadership

1081-565: The boroughs (including Camden) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection . The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Camden became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved. Since 2000

1128-541: The boroughs, corresponding to the former County of London , were designated Inner London boroughs . The remaining twenty boroughs were designated Outer London boroughs . None of the boroughs were given names in the act. Section 2 declared that the area comprising the areas of the London boroughs, the City and the Temples shall constitute an administrative area to be known as Greater London . An elected Greater London Council

1175-531: The council was as follows: The next election is due in May 2026. The council meets at Camden Town Hall on Judd Street, which was completed in 1937 for the old St Pancras Borough Council, originally being known as St Pancras Town Hall. The council's main offices are at 5 Pancras Square, which was purpose-built for the council as part of the regeneration of the King's Cross area, being completed in 2014. Prior to 2014

1222-524: The council's main offices were at the Town Hall Annexe, which had been completed in 1977 at the corner of Argyle Street and Euston Road , immediately east of the Town Hall. The Town Hall Annexe was subsequently converted into a hotel. Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 20 wards , with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The wards are: In 2012 it

1269-473: The councils of Romford, Barnet, Carshalton, Coulsdon and Purley, Feltham, Yiewsley and West Drayton to be removed from the area were turned down. Additionally, the department decided that the "northern part of the borough of Epsom and Ewell definitely forms part of Greater London and must be included". Epsom and Ewell would ultimately be excluded from the area in its entirety. Changes published in August 1962 saw

1316-783: The creation of a Greater London with 52 Greater London Boroughs. The Greater London area set up by the 1963 Act was very similar to that proposed by the Herbert Report but excluded Banstead , Caterham and Warlingham , Esher , Walton and Weybridge in Surrey, Chigwell in Essex, Cheshunt in Hertfordshire , and Staines and Sunbury in Middlesex. The government considered that the boroughs should be fewer and larger so published its plan for 34 London boroughs in late 1961. In

1363-496: The existing City of London . The provisions of the act came into effect on 1 April 1965, the new councils having been elected as "shadow authorities" in 1964. Section 1 of the act established 32 London boroughs, each of which was to be governed by an elected borough council, and was to be regulated by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 and Local Government Act 1933 ( 23 & 24 Geo. 5 . c. 51). Twelve of

1410-477: The first and second floors flanked by huge Corinthian order columns supporting a pediment . A carving of the borough coat of arms was erected above the central window on the first floor. The design for the Euston Road frontage involved 23 bays with two sections designed in a similar style to the Judd Street elevation i.e. with windows flanked by huge Corinthian order columns supporting pediments. Internally,

1457-413: The former County of London, the outer London boroughs were to be: The Minister of Housing and Local Government announced, on their request, that five urban districts (Cheshunt, Chigwell, Esher, Staines and Sunbury) were to be excluded from Greater London on 18 May 1961, having earlier confirmed the widely expected exclusion of Banstead , Caterham and Warlingham and Walton and Weybridge . Requests from

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1504-470: The functions that need to be exercised over the whole of Greater London should be in the hands of a body with real positive powers. In no other way can such a Government be effective. ...but [in] ordinary human speech, how is it that such people can be so appalled at acknowledging that they live in what is the greatest capital city in the world? ... It would be ludicrous for the Government to go to this extent to try to reorganise metropolitan government for

1551-414: The information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services." Following Freedom of Information requests in 2020, it was discovered that only 16% of Camden's employees live within the borough, and that many of its employees live as far afield as Scotland and Northern Ireland. It

1598-764: The loss of their two ancient parish names in combining, so the Minister for Housing and Local Government made one exception and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea came into being. The split of functions between the new authorities were: A royal commission was appointed in 1957 under the chairmanship of Sir Edwin Herbert to consider future local government structures in Greater London. The commission delivered its report in October 1960 proposing

1645-566: The new borough names. Suggestions for Enfield (Borough 32) included " Enfield Chase " and " Edmonton Hundred ". Nine names were without controversy and were proposed in September 1963. Six new names were proposed by the Minister in October 1963 for boroughs unable to decide upon a name The minister proposed a further twelve names in January 1964 Councillors for the metropolitan boroughs of Chelsea and Kensington were divided and opposed

1692-471: The next half century and boggle at including in it the whole of the metropolitan continuous built-up area. I invite hon. Members on both sides to agree that, whatever may have been the merits of saying that the area of the L.C.C. was London in 1848, it is idle to say in 1962 that the frontiers are the same now. Plainly, in the more than 70 years since the L.C.C. came into existence, the whole pattern of London has been transformed. The leaders and all members of

1739-443: The north and east. This is a very bad part of the Bill." The Bill passed, and the boundaries including this fusion, have lasted since 1 April 1965. The Local Government Act 1972 provided a mechanism for councils to change their names: the London Borough of Hammersmith and the London Borough of Barking changed their names after their creation to contain a second locality, to form the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and

1786-487: The principal rooms were an assembly hall on the ground floor in the east of the building and the council chamber and mayor's parlour on the first floor in the west of the building. The building was officially opened in October 1937. In May 1957, the new submarine cable system, TAT-1 , was used to transmit a concert by the singer and civil rights activist, Paul Robeson , performing in New York City to an audience in

1833-461: The raw". It certainly is. If London County Council can be destroyed for political reasons, so can the City of London Common Council. Five Conservative MPs (for North-West Croydon, South Croydon, Carshalton, Wimbledon and East Surrey) sympathised with a petition from 20,000 to 30,000 people from Croydon and two hillside semi-rural towns not to join London. Former Labour Home Secretary James Chuter Ede ,

1880-674: The town hall. A "Caribbean Carnival", a precursor of the Notting Hill Carnival , was held on 30 January 1959 in the town hall, organised by activist Claudia Jones as a response to the 1958 Notting Hill race riots and the state of race relations in Britain at the time. A few months later, on 27 May 1959, Princess Margaret attended a meeting of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in

1927-471: The town hall. The building served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and continued to operate as the local seat of government after the formation of the London Borough of Camden in 1965. An eight-storey extension designed by the borough architect's department was built to the east of the main building in 1973–1977, known as the Town Hall Annexe. It was designed in

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1974-471: Was also discovered that senior employees were more likely to live further away from Camden, with a spokesperson saying that finding employees with specialised skillsets near to the borough was 'almost impossible'. Camden stated in response that all their staff are provided with one day's extra leave for volunteering, with a 'focus on Camden'. Statistics also showed that only a single employee lived in Camden's three Central London wards, despite comprising almost

2021-562: Was based at the 19th century vestry offices in St Pancras Way which had been commissioned for the Parish of St Pancras . After civic leaders found that the vestry offices were inadequate for their needs, they elected to construct a purpose-built facility: the site selected on Euston Road had previously been occupied by some Georgian terraced housing. The new building was designed by Albert Thomas, who also designed housing schemes for

2068-463: Was reformed to cover the whole of the Greater London area and with a more strategic role; and the split of functions between upper and lower tiers was recast. The Act classified the boroughs into inner and outer London groups. The City of London and its corporation were essentially unreformed by the legislation. Subsequent amendments to the Act have significantly amended the upper tier arrangements, with

2115-455: Was reported that Camden Council was one of several local authorities to have been banned from accessing information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency . This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The Big Brother Watch organisation, which obtained

2162-511: Was to form part of any administrative county, county district or parish. Three Middlesex urban districts not included in Greater London were transferred to other counties: Potters Bar to Hertfordshire and Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames to Surrey . The act also established the Inner London Education Authority to administer schools and colleges in the 12 inner London boroughs. The remaining 20 outer boroughs became local education authorities in their own right. The London Traffic Area and

2209-539: Was to govern the new area. Section 3 abolished the administrative counties of Middlesex and London (created in 1889), and absorbed parts of Kent , Essex , Surrey and Hertfordshire plus the whole of the City of London to form the administrative area of Greater London. As well as the two counties, the twenty-eight existing metropolitan boroughs , plus all county boroughs , county districts or parishes that fell wholly within Greater London were to cease to exist, along with their councils. No part of Greater London

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