38-526: Download coordinates as: North Somerset is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset , England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare , the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon , Nailsea and Portishead , along with a number of villages and surrounding rural areas. Some southern parts of the district fall within the Mendip Hills ,
76-698: A 150-year lease from Bristol City Council. Between 2000 and 2002 the Portishead Railway was repaired and extended to the dock at a cost of £21 million. Motor vehicles are both loaded and discharged, and stored on paved quay areas and storage compounds. In 2004, over 650,000 vehicles were handled. During 1996, the motor vehicle trade was awarded the International Quality Standard ISO 9002 . Royal Portbury Dock can accommodate up to six RoRo vessels simultaneously. Aviation fuel tankers up to 120,000 dwt can discharge at
114-485: A 4.2% higher percentage of older people (60+ female, 65+ male) than the rest of England and Wales. This disparity increases with age with the percentage of the population over 75 years almost 30% higher than the national average, resulting in a relatively aged population. In 2001 there were 134,132 people of working age living in North Somerset and 91,767 were in employment; an economic activity rate of 68.4%. This
152-527: A county council. It thus is not a unitary authority as those are such authorities created under the Local Government Act 1992 . The 36 metropolitan borough councils are also the sole elected local government units in their areas (except for parish councils in a few locations), but share strategic functions with joint boards and arrangements. On the other hand, the City of London Corporation and
190-593: A designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The district was formed in 1974 as the Woodspring district of the county of Avon . Avon was abolished in 1996, when the district was renamed North Somerset and its council took on county-level functions from the abolished county council. The district is on the coast, facing the Bristol Channel to the west. The neighbouring districts are Bristol , Bath and North East Somerset and Somerset . The district
228-448: A high degree of autonomy as counties corporate . Some smaller settlements also enjoyed some degree of autonomy from regular administration as boroughs or liberties . The Local Government Act 1972 created areas for local government where large towns and their rural hinterlands were administered together. The concept of unitary units was abandoned with a two-tier arrangement of county and district councils in all areas of England, except
266-579: A local government authority which combines the functions of a county council and a district council. Strictly speaking, the term does not necessarily mean a single level of local government within an area, because in some cases there are also parish councils in the same area. Although the term was not applied to them, county boroughs between 1889 and 1974 were effectively unitary authority areas, that is, single-tier administrative units. Before 1889, local government authorities had different powers and functions, but from medieval times some cities and towns had
304-528: A number of multiple member wards from which councillors are elected in the same way as in two-tier district council elections. The exceptions, which are divided into electoral divisions as in county council elections, are Cornwall, County Durham, the Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire. Districts are usually named after a town, city, geographical area or county (historic and or ceremonial). With no effect on powers or functions, districts can have
342-408: A resident population of 193,000 (1.4% BME) living in 85,000 households. The population of North Somerset has doubled since the 1950s and is predicted to rise by 6,184 or 3.0% to 2011 and by 17% to 2026. Whilst the proportion of people in North Somerset who are under 45 is lower than the national average, population growth is predicted to be strongest in the 2034 age group. Conversely North Somerset has
380-543: A structure based on unitary authorities is called 'restructuring'. The Secretary of State responsible for local government invites proposals from local areas to restructure into unitary authorities, and the Secretary decides whether or not the change should be implemented. The restructuring is carried out by an Order. There are no examples in the UK of councils restructuring back into a two-tier system. Unitary authorities combine
418-560: A type of local authority responsible for all local government services in an area. They combine the functions of a non-metropolitan county council and a non-metropolitan district council, which elsewhere in England provide two tiers of local government. Unitary authorities are constituted under the Local Government Act 1992 , which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to allow the existence of non-metropolitan counties that do not have multiple districts. Most were established during
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#1732771984717456-521: Is also covered by civil parishes , which form a second tier of local government. The area comprises the parliamentary constituencies of Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset . The principal towns in the district are the coastal towns of Weston-super-Mare , Portishead , Clevedon and Nailsea . North Somerset's natural environment and coastal towns attract visitors from nearby cities. Notable geographical features include: Notable religious sites include Woodspring Priory . North Somerset's economy
494-603: Is noted for the large volume of car imports. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of North and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire at current basic prices (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. ^1 Components may not sum to totals due to rounding ^2 includes hunting and forestry ^3 includes energy and construction ^4 includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured North Somerset covers an area of around 145 square miles (380 km) and has
532-747: Is situated near the village of Portbury on the southern side of the mouth of the Avon , where the river joins the Severn estuary — the Avonmouth Docks are on the opposite side of the Avon, within Avonmouth . The deepwater dock was constructed between 1972 and 1977, and is now a major port for the import of motor vehicles into the UK . The M5 motorway runs nearby, and the huge car storage compounds around
570-593: Is traditionally based on agriculture, including sheep raised for wool on the Mendip Hills and dairy farming in the valleys. This is celebrated at the annual North Somerset Show . During the Georgian era tourism became a significant economic sector in the coastal towns, most notably Weston-super-Mare which grew from a small village to a large resort town. Though tourism declined in the mid to late-20th century, in common with most British coastal resorts, this sector of
608-503: Is very close to the economic activity rate of the West of England sub-region which was 68.8% in the 2001 census. The 2001 census stated that 1.38% of North Somerset residents identified themselves as belonging to a visible ethnic group and a further 1.27% identified themselves as 'white other'. As of 2023, North Somerset Council is associated with 72 primary schools and 18 secondary schools. There are also four independent (private) schools in
646-499: The 2024 general election , and in her Autumn budget statement , Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves outlined that a forthcoming English Devolution Bill would include plans for "working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas", suggesting that a new round of local government reorganisation could be likely. The process of changing from a two-tier local government to
684-506: The Banham Review , the county of Avon was abolished in 1996, with the area being divided into unitary authorities responsible for both district and county-level functions. Woodspring became one of the unitary authorities, and the government gave the district the new name "North West Somerset" as part of the reforms. The area was also transferred back to Somerset for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . In July 1995
722-634: The Isles of Scilly where the small size and distance from the mainland made it impractical. In 1986 a broadly unitary system of local government was introduced in the six metropolitan counties and Greater London , where the upper-tier authorities were abolished and their functions were split between central government, the borough councils and joint boards. A review in the 1990s was initiated to select non-metropolitan areas where new unitary authorities could be created. The resulting structural changes were implemented between 1995 and 1998. Bristol, Herefordshire,
760-415: The 'bigger is better' assumption and highlight that larger councils breed mistrust of councillors and reduction in public engagement and voter turnout. Outside the UK, multi-level local government is the prevailing system, with major towns normally having a local authority. The average size of a local authority in England is 170,000, three times that of Europe. Most unitary authority areas are divided into
798-507: The 1990s , with more created in 2009 and 2019–23 . The size of the areas governed by unitary authorities varies greatly; the authorities created in the 1990s were generally created from single districts and covered a single large town or city, while those created since 2009 often cover entire non-metropolitan counties. The term " unitary authority " was first used in the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1969 in its current sense of
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#1732771984717836-563: The 32 London borough councils, although they have a high degree of autonomy, share strategic functions with the directly elected Mayor of London and London Assembly . Unitary authorities should not be confused with another formation in English local government, the combined authority . Royal Portbury Dock The Royal Portbury Dock is part of the Port of Bristol , in England . It
874-666: The Bristol Aviation Fuel Terminal which opened in 2003, and feeds directly into the UK's pipeline and storage network. Coal and other bulk cargoes can be discharged with two continuous ship unloaders and two gantry grab cranes, allowing for 5,000 tonne per hour throughput. Since 2013 the wings for the Airbus A400M Atlas have left Portbury on three specialised ferries (one called the Ville De Bordeaux ) after travelling from
912-489: The Isle of Wight and Rutland were established as counties of a single district; the district councils of Berkshire became unitary; the counties of Avon , Humberside and Cleveland were broken up to create several unitary authorities; and a number of districts were split off from their associated counties. The changes caused the ceremonial counties to be defined separately, as they had been before 1974. The review caused 46 unitary authorities to be created. A further review
950-489: The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, proposed structural changes to local government in Northamptonshire . These changes would see the existing county council and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place. One authority, West Northamptonshire , would consist of the existing districts of Daventry , Northampton and South Northamptonshire and
988-470: The area. Weston College is the main provider of further education in the area. University Centre Weston offers higher education courses in conjunction with Bath Spa University and the University of the West of England . 51°23′N 2°48′W / 51.39°N 2.80°W / 51.39; -2.80 Unitary authorities of England The unitary authorities of England are
1026-465: The council resolved to change the name to "North Somerset" with effect from when the reforms came into effect on 1 April 1996. Some years later the government identified that the council's decision to rename in 1995 may not have been technically valid, and so in 2005 the council passed another resolution formally changing the name to put the matter beyond doubt. North Somerset Council provides both county-level and district-level services. The whole area
1064-645: The dock are visible from the Avonmouth Bridge . A waste industrial area west of the port is being developed as the Portbury Ashlands Nature Reserve. The Royal Portbury Dock has the largest entrance lock into any UK port, accommodating vessels up to 41 m (135 ft) beam, 290 m (951 ft) length and 14.5 m (48 ft) draft. The dock is now operated by The Bristol Port Company, which also operates Avonmouth Docks , and has done since 1991 when it purchased
1102-399: The economy has stabilised. In the 19th century the major port city of Bristol found that modern ships had outgrown the narrow river approach and the Port of Bristol company began seeking locations for new docks on the coast. The first of these was Portishead Dock , which handled coal from South Wales, though this too has seen shipping outgrow its facilities. The newer Royal Portbury Dock
1140-505: The factory at Filton . They go via St Nazaire to Seville . This is part of the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit transportation system. Containers and forestry products are also handled at the dock. The port experiences the second largest tidal range in the world. The Portbury Dock, like Avonmouth Dock across the river, is impounded and the water level within each dock is maintained by lock gates and impounding pumps. The pumps maintain
1178-521: The non-metropolitan districts of Aylesbury Vale , Chiltern , South Bucks , and Wycombe in Buckinghamshire were replaced by a single unitary authority known as Buckinghamshire Council on 1 April 2020. The existing unitary authority of Milton Keynes was not affected; from 1 April 2020, therefore, the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire has been composed of two unitary authority areas. In March 2018, an independent report commissioned by
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1216-856: The other authority, North Northamptonshire would consist of Corby , East Northamptonshire , Kettering and Wellingborough districts. This was confirmed in May 2019, with the new councils being created in April 2021. In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan counties of Cumbria , North Yorkshire and Somerset would be reorganised into unitary authority areas. The new authorities, Cumberland , Westmorland and Furness , North Yorkshire Council and Somerset Council were first elected in May 2022 and formally assumed their powers on 1 April 2023. The Labour Party returned to power following
1254-508: The powers and functions that are normally delivered separately by the councils of non-metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. These functions are housing, waste management, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, transport, planning, consumer protection, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria. The breakdown of these services is as follows: Unitary government has been criticised for damaging local democracy. Opponents to unitary authority criticise
1292-468: The status of royal borough , borough or city . A district having a charter is dependent on the charter's wording: as a charter trustee to a place in the district; having joint charter to the place and district or to the district itself. Notes The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a sui generis single-tier authority, created in 1890 and since 1930 has held the "powers, duties and liabilities" of
1330-498: Was "minded to approve the proposals" and a final decision to implement the two unitary authority model was confirmed in February 2018. Statutory instruments for the creation of two unitary authorities, to be named Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and Dorset Council , have been made and shadow authorities for the new council areas were formed ahead of their creation on 1 April 2019 . Buckinghamshire County Council and
1368-455: Was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering four former districts and part of a fifth, which were all abolished at the same time: The whole area had been part of Somerset prior to the 1974 reforms, but was transferred to the new county of Avon. The new district was named Woodspring after Woodspring Priory , an isolated medieval church near the coast in the parish of Kewstoke , north of Weston-super-Mare. Following
1406-523: Was initiated in 2007 and was enacted in 2009. The review established Cornwall and Northumberland as counties of a single district; established unitary authorities in County Durham , Shropshire and Wiltshire covering the part of the county that was not already split off in the 1990s review; and divided the remainder of Bedfordshire and Cheshire into two unitary authority areas. The review caused nine unitary authorities to be created. In 2017, it
1444-416: Was proposed that two unitary authority areas be formed to cover the ceremonial county of Dorset . One of the authorities would consist of the existing unitary authorities of Bournemouth , Poole and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch , the other would be composed of the remainder of the county. In November 2017, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid stated that he
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