Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as The Wrekin District Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1998. The district was renamed Telford and Wrekin in 1998 when the council became a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. It is independent from Shropshire Council, the unitary authority which administers the rest of the county.

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2016. It is based at Southwater One in Telford.

History The council was created in 1974 as The Wrekin District Council, which was a lower-tier district authority with Shropshire County Council providing county-level services to the area. The district became a unitary authority on 1 April 1998, taking over county-level functions from the county council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county covering the same area as the district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing district council took on county-level functions, making it a unitary authority. The district was renamed Telford and Wrekin on the same day.

The district was granted borough status in 2002, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. The council could therefore call itself "Telford and Wrekin Borough Council", but chooses to style itself simply "Telford and Wrekin Council".

Governance As a unitary authority, Telford and Wrekin Council has 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. The whole borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for the area.

Political control The council has been under Labour majority control since 2016.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing councils until the new arrangements came into force on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "Telford & Wrekin" in search box to see specific results.)

The Wrekin District Council (lower tier non-metropolitan district) Party in controlYears 1974–1998

Telford and Wrekin Council (unitary authority) Party in controlYears 1998–2006 2006–2008 2008–2011 2011–2015 2015–2016 2016–present

Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Telford and Wrekin, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Councillor Party From To Malcolm Davies 1974 May 1986 Malcolm Smith 21 May 1986 May 1991 Phil Homer May 1991 Oct 1998 Dave Davies 4 Nov 1998 May 2000 Phil Davis May 2000 18 Nov 2004 Keith Austin 7 Dec 2004 2007 Andrew Eade 2007 May 2011 Kuldip Sahota (See Appendix A to item 2) 26 May 2011 26 May 2016 Shaun Davies (See Appendix A to item 5) 26 May 2016 18 July 2024 Lee Carter 18 July 2024

Composition Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2026, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 32 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council has its headquarters at Southwater One, a modern development in the centre of Telford, which opened in 2014. A council chamber was subsequently created in the building in 2024.

Until 2012 the council had its headquarters at the Civic Offices off Northgate Street. The building was subsequently demolished and a supermarket built on the site.

References