48-535: The City of Preston , or simply Preston ( / ˈ p r ɛ s t ən / ), is a local government district with city status in Lancashire , England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a population of 151,582 (2022). The neighbouring districts are Ribble Valley , South Ribble , Fylde and Wyre . The district is named after its largest settlement, Preston , which lies in
96-613: A record. Preston is a diverse city, although the majority of the ethnic minorities are South Asians , in particular Indians . The ethnic makeup of Preston based on the 2011 census is as follows (With average for England in brackets): 75.8% White British (79.8%), 0.8% White Irish (1.0%), 3.5% Other White (4.6%). 2.3% Mixed Race (2.2%). 10.3% Indian (2.6%), 3.2% Pakistani (2.1%), 0.3% Bangladeshi (0.8%), 0.9% Other Asian (1.5%). 0.6% Black Caribbean (1.1%), 0.5% Black African (1.8%), 0.1% Other Black (0.5%). 0.9% Chinese (0.7%), 0.4% Arab (0.4%) and 0.3% other (0.6%). In 2008
144-423: A survey revealed that 50% of all children living in the city were living in families suffering from financial depression. An estimated 15,380 youngsters were part of the families on the breadline. The Campaign to End Child Poverty report defined children in poverty as children living in homes where occupants work less than 16 hours a week, or not at all, or where the full amount of tax credit is being claimed. The city
192-536: A third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected at a time for a four-year term. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no city council elections. Following boundary changes introduced for the 2024 General Election , the City of Preston is divided between two Parliamentary constituencies. The electoral wards of Greyfriars , Preston Rural East , Preston Rural North , and Sharoe Green , form part of
240-423: A third tier of local government. The county council has been under Conservative majority control since 2017. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 1974 have been: Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to April 2024, the composition of the council was as follows: The next election
288-576: 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 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
336-461: 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
384-405: 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 ). Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire , England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire
432-466: Is Conservative councillor Phillippa Williamson, appointed in 2021, chairing a cabinet of eight. The Chief Executive and Director of Resources is Angie Ridgwell, who was appointed in 2018. The council is the successor to the county council of the administrative county of Lancashire, which was created on 1 April 1889. The council was abolished and reconstituted in 1974, when local government in England
480-604: Is a transitional region between coastal plain , river valley and moorland . The west of the district lies within the flat coastal plain of the Fylde . The southern border is the River Ribble which meanders through a flood plain in a wide, steep-sided valley. The northeast of the district lies within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The highest point is the summit of Beacon Fell at 266 m (873 ft) above sea level, an isolated fell two miles south of
528-531: Is approximately 27 miles north west of Manchester , 26 miles north east of Liverpool , and 15 miles east of the coastal town Blackpool . Like most of inland Lancashire, Preston receives a higher than UK average total of rainfall, and is slightly colder. On 10 August 1893 Preston entered the UK Weather Records , with the Highest 5-min total rainfall of 32 mm. As of November 2008 this remains
SECTION 10
#1732783534436576-462: Is at Fleetwood . The Brock forms part of the district boundary on the west and north sides of Beacon Fell. A small part of the district along the eastern boundary drains into the east-flowing River Loud , a tributary of the Hodder . The lowland area in the north and east of the district, between Beacon Fell and the Fylde, is a dairy farming area, particularly noted for its cheesemaking dairies. Six of
624-700: Is covered by Preston and its suburbs, drains into Savick Brook running east-to-west and then turning south into the Ribble. The lowest section of the brook has been widened into the Ribble Link which connects the Lancaster Canal to the Ribble. The central and northern parts of the district drain into south- and west-flowing tributaries of the River Brock , itself a tributary of the Wyre whose estuary
672-585: Is due in 2025. Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has comprised 84 councillors representing 82 electoral divisions . Most divisions elect one councillor, but two divisions elect two councillors each. Elections are held every four years. There are sixteen parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire. The Conservative Party holds 11, the Labour Party holds four, and the Speaker of
720-464: Is smaller than the ceremonial county , which additionally includes Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool . The council is based in County Hall, Preston , and consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election , the council has been under Conservative control. Before the 2009 Lancashire County Council election , the county had been under Labour control since 1989. The leader of the council
768-604: 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
816-465: The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment on 1 July 2006. 53°45′32″N 2°41′56″W / 53.759°N 2.699°W / 53.759; -2.699 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
864-500: The New Town of Central Lancashire was designated, covering all of the county borough of Preston and parts of the districts of Chorley , Fulwood , Leyland , Walton-le-Dale , Chorley Rural District and Preston Rural District . The Central Lancashire Development Corporation was established to oversee the development of the new town, taking over town planning responsibilities from the local councils. The current district of Preston
912-634: The Ribble Valley constituency. The rest of the city forms the Preston constituency. Between 2010 and 2024, the City of Preston was divided between three Westminster constituencies, namely Preston , Wyre and Preston North , and Fylde . Historically, Preston has been divided between such constituencies as Preston North , Preston South , and Fylde South , although until 1885 it comprised one constituency called Preston, which actually included most of West Lancashire. The City of Preston district
960-708: The quarter sessions . The areas covered by the new county councils were termed administrative counties . Several larger towns and cities were considered capable of providing their own county-level services and so they were excluded from the administrative county, becoming instead county boroughs . When the county council was established in 1889 there were 15 county boroughs in the wider geographic county of Lancashire: Three more towns were later elevated to become county boroughs: Warrington in 1900, Blackpool in 1904, and Southport in 1905. The 1888 Act also placed each urban sanitary district which straddled county boundaries in one administrative county, and so Lancashire gained
1008-536: The House of Commons , Lindsay Hoyle , represents Chorley . The council is based at County Hall on Fishergate in Preston . The original part of the building was a courthouse completed in 1882, which also served as the meeting place for the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. The building became the meeting place for the county council on its creation in 1889 and was significantly extended in 1903 and 1934 to provide additional office space. In July 2020,
SECTION 20
#17327835344361056-874: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster and the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn . In July 2016, St Ignatius Church in Preston, which had been gifted by the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster to the Syro-Malabar Catholic community, was raised to the status of a cathedral by Pope Francis . It now serves as the seat of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain The 2001 Census recorded 72% of
1104-454: 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
1152-500: The chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Preston's sequence of mayors which dates back to at least the fourteenth century. In other new towns across England the 1974 reforms brought the whole designated area for the new town within a single district, but the Central Lancashire New Town was allowed to straddle the new districts of Preston, South Ribble and Chorley . The Development Corporation
1200-577: The council . The leaders since 1992 have been: Following the 2024 election and a subsequent by-election in July 2024, the composition of the council is: The next election is due in 2026. The council is based at Preston Town Hall on Lancaster Road, which was built in 1934 for the old county borough council. Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 48 councillors representing 16 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with
1248-412: The county council announced that it wanted to replace itself and the 14 other councils that currently make up Lancashire's complex local government map with three standalone authorities. In September 2020 the county council submitted an outline plan to the government that outlines the proposed new unitary authorities and the areas they would cover. The new authorities would be, Central Lancashire (based on
1296-483: The enlarged Preston Borough Council created by the Local Government Act 1972 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 role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Preston. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of
1344-487: 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
1392-434: The footprints of Preston, Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire councils), North West Lancashire (Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster and Ribble Valley) and East Pennine Lancashire (Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rossendale, Hyndburn and Pendle). These authorities would be governed by an elected mayor, with a combined authority. The major shake up to Lancashire's council structure is in a bid to gain more funding and power for
1440-558: The former amount). Another disadvantage was that government of libraries was by a libraries sub-committee of the education committee of the council (the librarian having to report to the education officer who might not have been sympathetic to libraries). The central administration of the county library is at Preston where there are special services, special collections and staff to maintain a union catalogue. "Biological heritage sites" are, according to Lancashire County Council, "'local wildlife sites' in Lancashire...(that) are identified using
1488-465: The main range of Bowland Fells just outside the district boundaries. The lowest point lies on the River Ribble in the southwest corner of the district. The Ribble here is tidal and therefore virtually at sea level. The course of the river west of Preston was artificially straightened in the 19th century, to ease passage of shipping to the docks. The southern one-third of the district, most of which
City of Preston, Lancashire - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-563: The meeting place for the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. John Tomlinson Hibbert , a Liberal who had previously been the Member of Parliament for Oldham , was appointed the first chairman of the council. Lancashire was reconstituted under the Local Government Act 1972 with some significant changes to its territory, notably ceding significant areas in the south to Greater Manchester and Merseyside and in
1584-429: The north to Cumbria , whilst gaining more modest areas from Yorkshire to the east. In 1998 Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool were both made unitary authorities , making them independent from the county council. Lancashire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's twelve district councils. Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes , which form
1632-550: The parts of Ashton under Lyne , Stalybridge , and Warrington which had been in Cheshire, and the parts of Mossley which had been in Cheshire and Yorkshire. Lancashire ceded its part of Todmorden to the West Riding of Yorkshire . The county council formally came into being on 1 April 1889 and held its first official meeting on 4 April 1889 at County Hall in Preston , the courthouse (completed 1882) which had served as
1680-497: The people of Lancashire. Lancashire adopted the Public Libraries Act, 1919, in 1924. Library services were slow to develop as the average ratable value of the area outside the county boroughs and the other local authorities which had already adopted the act was relatively low. In 1938/39 the average expenditure on urban libraries per head was 1s. 9d., but that on county libraries was only 8 1/4d. (about two fifths of
1728-619: The population as Christians, 10% as having no religion, and 8% as Muslim. The Hindu and Sikh populations were smaller at 3% and 0.6% respectively, but in both cases this represented the highest percentage of any local authority area in the North West. 2% of the city's population were born in other EU countries. The 2021 census showed the proportion of respondents describing themselves as Christian as 47.6%, Muslim 16.1%, Hindu 3.0%, Sikh 0.7%, Buddhist 0.3%, Jewish 0.1% and other religions 0.4%. Those choosing no religion comprised 26.3%. The question
1776-565: 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
1824-539: The south of the district. The district also includes rural areas to the north of the main urban area, including part of the Forest of Bowland , a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . In 2002 the district was granted city status to mark the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II ; prior to this it was known as the Borough of Preston , having held borough status since its creation in 1974. The town of Preston
1872-493: The ten Lancashire Cheese dairies listed on the British Cheese Board's website in 2011 are located in the City of Preston district (and the other four are only a few miles outside). Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese is a Protected Designation of Origin cheese named after Beacon Fell. At 53°45′N 2°42′W / 53.750°N 2.700°W / 53.750; -2.700 , Preston city centre
1920-526: 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
1968-620: 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
City of Preston, Lancashire - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-534: Was an ancient borough , having been granted its first charter by Henry II in 1179. The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 , Preston was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it became a county borough , independent from Lancashire County Council . In 1970
2064-513: Was elevated by the Church of England to the status of Minster Church in June 2003. Preston City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council . Parts of the district are also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011. The first election to
2112-412: Was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering the whole area of two former districts and a large part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was a non-metropolitan district , forming a lower tier of local government with Lancashire County Council providing county-level services. The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing
2160-472: Was not answered by 5.4%. The main urban area, broadly covering the combined area of the pre-1974 Preston County Borough and Fulwood Urban District, is an unparished area . The remainder of the district is divided into nine civil parishes : Freedom of the City has been granted to: The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) was adopted on 7 August 1952. This was transferred to The Queen's Lancashire Regiment on 9 September 1972, and subsequently transferred to
2208-572: Was one of the most severely affected areas of the North West outside Liverpool and Manchester , with 21% of children in the city living in households which were completely workless and a further 29% in families struggling to get by with working tax credits . The two worst affected areas of the city were the Deepdale and St George's wards, where 75% and 77% of children respectively were said to be living in poverty. The City of Preston lies in
2256-488: Was reformed and a non-metropolitan county of Lancashire was created, governed by a county council and thirteen district councils. The districts of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen became unitary authorities in 1998, meaning they are no longer governed by Lancashire County Council. Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at
2304-442: Was wound up in 1986 and planning powers transferred to the local councils. In 2002 the borough of Preston was awarded city status to mark the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II . The council therefore changed its name from Preston Borough Council to Preston City Council. Like numerous other places granted city status since 1889, Preston has no Anglican cathedral . Instead, following the granting of city status, Preston's parish church
#435564