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26-504: The reserve, of area 91.15 hectares (225.2 acres), was designated a local nature reserve (LNR) in 1991. It is owned and managed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council . Ford Green Brook flows south through the site, between Chell and Bradeley to the west and Norton le Moors to the east. At the northern end is the former spoil heap of the Chatterley Whitfield colliery; in the south is Ford Green. The reed bed at Ford Green

52-588: A large extension to the north-east built in 1992. The council has additional offices in a modern building at One Smithfield in Hanley. When the new building was commissioned it was envisaged that it would replace the Civic Centre, but whilst the building was being built in 2013 it was decided to retain the Civic Centre after all. In 2014, Shotton, then deputy council leader, was reported to have "frequently" used false names to contact BBC Radio Stoke to praise

78-454: A number of new counties were created, several of the new authorities (such as Cornwall or Northumberland) continued to have the boundaries set in 1974. The 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England have involved changes to the non-metropolitan county of Dorset (2019), and the abolition of the non-metropolitan counties Northamptonshire (2021) and Cumbria (2023). In addition,

104-458: A reform of local government in England and Wales , and were the top tier of a two-tier system of counties and districts . 21 non-metropolitan counties still use a two-tier system; 56 are unitary authorities , in which the functions of a county and district council have been combined in a single body. Berkshire has a unique structure. Non-metropolitan counties cover the majority of England with

130-641: A royal county. With the creation of numerous new non-metropolitan counties, the areas used for lieutenancy and shrievalty began to diverge from local government areas. This led to the development of ceremonial counties for these purposes, a fact recognised by the Lieutenancies Act 1997 . A further wave of unitary authorities were created in 2009 under the terms of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . While

156-453: A unitary authority. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Stoke-on-Trent covering the same area as the district, but with no separate county council; instead, the existing city council took on county council functions. This therefore had the effect of restoring the council to the powers it had held prior to 1974 when Stoke-on-Trent was a county borough. Stoke-on-Trent remains part of Staffordshire for

182-417: Is a Site of Special Scientific Interest . Within the reserve there is grassland , heathland , lakes and scattered trees. The former colliery spoil heap is a site for Birdsfoot trefoil , which supports dingy skipper butterflies. In the grassland, skylarks and grey partridges may be seen. The lakes are a habitat for water birds . Stoke-on-Trent City Council Stoke-on-Trent City Council

208-567: Is also common for ceremonial counties and non-metropolitan counties to share a name. Lancashire, for example, contains the non-metropolitan counties of Lancashire , Blackpool , and Blackburn with Darwen . Prior to 1974 local government had been divided between single-tier county boroughs (the largest towns and cities) and two-tier administrative counties which were subdivided into municipal boroughs and urban and rural districts . The Local Government Act 1972 , which came into effect on 1 April 1974, divided England outside Greater London and

234-448: Is the local authority of the city of Stoke-on-Trent , in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire , England. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority , being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council ; it is independent from Staffordshire County Council . The council has under Labour majority control since 2023. It meets at Stoke-upon-Trent Town Hall . Its main offices are divided between

260-653: The ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . In 2002 the council adopted a new form of executive arrangements , having a directly-elected mayor and a council manager, one of three possible options outlined in the Local Government Act 2000 . Stoke was the only council in the country to adopt this option. A 2008 report by the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission to the Secretary of State for Local Government

286-470: The Civic Centre adjoining the town hall and One Smithfield in Hanley . A Stoke-upon-Trent Borough Council was established in 1874 when the town was made a municipal borough . On the federation of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, it merged with the five neighbouring towns of Burslem , Fenton , Hanley , Longton and Tunstall and became a county borough . The borough was awarded city status on 5 June 1925, and

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312-450: The administrative structure of the non-metropolitan counties. It was anticipated that a system of unitary authorities would entirely replace the two-tier system. The Commission faced competing claims from former county boroughs wishing to regain unitary status and advocates for the restoration of such small counties as Herefordshire and Rutland. The review led to the introduction of unitary local government in some areas but not in others. In

338-411: The city council had a directly elected mayor who acted as political leader. Since the abolition of the directly elected mayor position in 2009, leadership has again been provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been: Leaders Directly-elected mayors Leaders Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Since

364-402: The council has therefore been a city council since then. In 1928 the city council was granted the right to appoint a lord mayor . The city lost its county borough status in 1974, becoming a lower-tier district council, with Staffordshire County Council providing county-level functions in the area. The city council regained its independence from the county council in 1997 when it was made

390-514: The council's and his own work. This resulted in his suspension by the Labour party and the "loss of senior council roles". In 2014, Private Eye magazine awarded Shotton the "Rotten Boroughs award" for media manipulation . Non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county , or colloquially, shire county , is a subdivision of England used for local government . The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of

416-451: The exception of Greater London , the Isles of Scilly , and the six metropolitan counties : Greater Manchester , Merseyside , South Yorkshire , Tyne and Wear , West Midlands and West Yorkshire . The non-metropolitan counties are all part of ceremonial counties . Some ceremonial counties, such as Norfolk , contain a single non-metropolitan county, but many contain more than one and it

442-566: The functions of a county council and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing , waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority , responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. There are no civil parishes in Stoke, which has been an unparished area since

468-484: The last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 44 councillors representing 34 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council meets and has its headquarters at the Civic Centre on Glebe Street, a complex of buildings which incorporates both the Stoke-upon-Trent Town Hall of 1834 (which contains the council chamber) and

494-486: The majority of unitary authorities an existing district council took over powers from the county council. The 1972 Act required that all areas outside Greater London form part of a non-metropolitan county, and that all such counties should contain at least one district. Accordingly, the statutory instruments that effected the reorganisation separated the unitary districts from the county in which they were situated and constituted them as counties. The orders also provided that

520-405: The merger between Cumberland and Westmorland . The counties were adopted for all statutory purposes: a lord-lieutenant and high sheriff was appointed to each county, and they were also used for judicial administration, and definition of police force areas. The Royal Mail adopted the counties for postal purposes in most areas. A Local Government Commission was appointed in 1992 to review

546-552: The non-metropolitan counties of Buckinghamshire (2020), North Yorkshire (2023), and Somerset (2023) are unchanged, but their councils became unitary authorities as the existing non-metropolitan districts in these areas were consolidated and the district councils abolished. The following list shows the original thirty-nine counties formed in 1974, subsequent changes in the 1990s, and further changes since then. 1980: renamed Shropshire 1998: Renamed Telford and Wrekin In Wales there

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572-403: The non-metropolitan counties were largely based on existing counties, although they did include a number of innovations. Some counties were based on areas surrounding large county boroughs or were formed by the mergers of smaller counties. Examples of the first category are Avon (based on Bath and Bristol) and Cleveland (based on Teesside ). An example of the second category is Cumbria , formed by

598-428: The provisions of the 1972 Act that every county should have a county council should not apply in the new counties, with the district council exercising the powers of the county council. An exception was made in the case of Berkshire , which was retained with its existing boundaries in spite of the abolition of its county council and the creation of six unitary authorities. This was done in order to preserve its status as

624-429: The reforms of 1974. The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election . Political control of the council since 1910 has been held by the following parties: County borough Non-metropolitan district Unitary authority The role of Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent is largely ceremonial. Prior to 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council . From 2002 to 2009,

650-467: The six largest conurbations into thirty-nine non-metropolitan counties. Each county was divided into anywhere between two and fourteen non-metropolitan districts . There was a uniform two-tier system of local government with county councils dealing with "wide-area" services such as education, fire services and the police, and district councils exercising more local powers over areas such as planning, housing and refuse collection. As originally constituted,

676-464: Was highly critical of the political system then in use in the city. This led to changes to the electoral map in May 2011: From a council of 60 members representing 20 wards with three councillors each, the size of the council was reduced to 44 councillors representing 37 wards (31 single member wards, five two-member wards and one three-member ward). As a unitary authority, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has

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