In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a civil parish council or in larger settlements, a town council is established. Duties are limited to ceremonial activities such as the election of a mayor, and various other functions depending upon local customs and laws.
The charter trustees are made up of local councillors in the district representing wards within the boundaries of the town/city. If there are fewer than three district councillors for the former borough, then qualified local electors may be co-opted to make the number up to three.
Charter trustees must hold an annual meeting within twenty-one days of the annual meeting of the district council. The first item of business is the election of a town or city mayor and deputy mayor for the next year.
As of 2023, there are nineteen areas in England which continue to appoint charter trustees.
History Local Government Act 1972
The original bodies of charter trustees were set up in 1974, under section 246 of the Local Government Act 1972. The concept was introduced into the Bill by a government amendment in September 1972.
Section 245(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 allowed the shadow district councils to make a petition to the monarch for borough status, before their coming into effect on 1 April 1974. In this case, if "it is signified on behalf of Her Majesty before that date that She proposes to accede" to the request then, the style of borough could be used immediately from 1 April 1974, despite the fact that the charter would be presented only later.
For the new districts which made no such petition (or where it was refused), for each former municipal borough in the district which was to become an unparished area (rather than a successor parish), a body corporate was established under section 246(4) of the act, styled as the charter trustees of the town or city.
In the original legislation, charter trustees could also be formed in Welsh districts, but the (SI 1974/176), which provided for the establishment of the trustees, stated that the section "shall not apply to the area consisting of the counties established by section 20 of the Act (new local government areas in Wales)", and "there will be no charter trustees in Wales."S.I. 1974 No. 176
Charter Trustees Act 1985
Originally, under section 246(7), when the district in which a town for which charter trustees had been established gained the status of a borough, the trustees would be immediately dissolved. Some new district councils petitioned for borough status soon after 1 April 1974, quickly dissolving the charter trustees.
This was changed by the Charter Trustees Act 1985 (c. 45), which provided that charter trustees would cease to exist only when a parish council was formed for the area of the former borough.
Local Government Act 1992
Legislation passed in 1992 led to the establishment of a Local Government Commission whose remit was to review the system created in 1974. As a result there was a partial reorganisation, with a number of districts with borough or city status being abolished. The mechanism of creating charter trustees to preserve civic traditions was again used. However, trustees were created only where an outgoing council requested their establishment. The failure of the extinguished City of Rochester-upon-Medway council to appoint charter trustees for Rochester or to apply for Rochester's city status to be transferred to the replacement unitary authority of Medway led to Rochester losing its city status.
Some abolished boroughs such as Beverley included a large rural area. In such cases, the charter trustees were not established for the entire area of the former borough, but were limited to that part of the new authority which was unparished: the area identifiable as the town.
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
A further wave of reorganisations came into effect in some areas of England on 1 April 2009, under the terms of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The reforms saw the creation of new unitary authorities and the abolition of a number of districts with city or borough status. The (SI 2009/467) allow for the creation of trustees to preserve civic traditions in those areas where there is no obvious successor parish council. In the case of the cities of Chester and Durham the charter trustees area are identical to the entire abolished district, which includes not only the central unparished area but also the surrounding parishes.
List
Current +Name of charter trusteesArea when establishedLocal government areaCeremonial countyCreatedWebsiteCity of BathCity of Bath district (1974–1996)Bath and North East SomersetSomerset1996City of CarlisleThe wards of Belah and Kingmoor, Botcherby and Harraby North, Cathedral and Castle, Currock and Upperby, Denton Holme and Morton South, Harraby South and Parklands, Newtown and Morton North, Sandsfield and Morton West and Stanwix and Houghton.CumberlandCumbria2023City of ChesterThe wards of Blacon, Boughton Heath and Vicars Cross, Broxton, City, Gowy, Hoole and Newton, Mickle Trafford, Overleigh and Upton.Cheshire West and ChesterCheshire2009City of DurhamThe electoral divisions of Belmont, Brandon, Coxhoe, Deerness Valley, Durham South, Elvet, Framwellgate Moor, Gilesgate, Neville’s Cross, Newton Hall and SherburnCounty DurhamCounty Durham2009CleethorpesUnparished area of the Borough of CleethorpesNorth East LincolnshireLincolnshire1996East RetfordThe Municipal Borough of East RetfordBassetlawNottinghamshire1974Ellesmere PortThe wards of Grange and Rossmore, Groves and Whitby, the unparished part of the Central and Westminster ward, and the parts of the wards of Ledsham and Willaston and Sutton and Manor comprised in the Ledsham, Sutton, Sutton Green and Manor and Willaston and Thornton wards of the former Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council.Cheshire West and ChesterCheshire2009Great GrimsbyBorough of Great GrimsbyNorth East LincolnshireLincolnshire1996High WycombeThe Municipal Borough of High WycombeWycombeBuckinghamshire1974MansfieldThe Municipal Borough of MansfieldMansfield districtNottinghamshire1974MargateThe Municipal Borough of MargateThanetKent1974ScunthorpeBorough of ScunthorpeNorth LincolnshireLincolnshire1996WorksopThe Municipal Borough of WorksopBassetlawNottinghamshire1974
Former Former municipal boroughSuccessor districtCounty in 1974CreatedParished/abolishedAndoverTest Valley DistrictHampshire1974abolished 1976, successor the Borough of Test Valley, parished in 2010AylesburyAylesbury ValeBuckinghamshire1974parished 2000BanburyCherwellOxfordshire1974parished 2000Barrow-in-FurnessWestmorland and FurnessCumbria2023parished 2023BasingstokeBasingstoke DistrictHampshire1974abolished 1978, successor the Borough of Basingstoke and DeaneBedfordBedford DistrictBedfordshire1974abolished 1975, successor the Borough of North BedfordshireBeverleyEast Riding of YorkshireHumberside1996parished 1999Bexhill-on-SeaRotherEast Sussex1974parished 2021BootleSeftonMerseyside1974abolished c. 1975, successor the Borough of SeftonBournemouthBournemouth Borough CouncilDorset2019parished 2026BridgwaterSedgemoorSomerset1974parished 2003Burton upon TrentEast StaffordshireStaffordshire1974abolished 1992 when East Staffordshire became a borough unparished area became various parishes in 2003ChelmsfordChelmsford DistrictEssex1974abolished 1977, successor the Borough of ChelmsfordChippenhamNorth WiltshireWiltshire1974parished 1984 CleethorpesCleethorpes DistrictHumberside1974abolished 1975, successor the Borough of CleethorpesColnePendle districtLancashire1974abolished 1976, successor the Borough of PendleCreweCheshire EastCheshire2009parished 2013CrosbySeftonMerseyside1974abolished c. 1975, successor the Borough of SeftonDartfordDartford districtKent1974abolished 1977, successor the Borough of DartfordDaventryDaventry districtNorthamptonshire1974parished 2003DealDover districtKent1974parished 1996DoverDover districtKent1974parished 1996DunstableSouth BedfordshireBedfordshire1974parished 1985FolkestoneShepwayKent1974parished 2004GranthamSouth KestevenLincolnshire1974parished 2024GooleBoothferryHumberside1974abolished 1978, successor the Borough of Boothferry. The area was parished in 1983.HarrogateHarrogate DistrictNorth Yorkshire2023parished 2025Hemel HempsteadDacorum DistrictHertfordshire1974Abolished 1984, successor the Borough of DacorumCity of HerefordHerefordshireHerefordshire1998parished 2000IlkestonErewashDerbyshire1974abolished 1975, successor the Borough of ErewashKidderminsterWyre ForestWorcestershire1974parished 2016King's LynnWest Norfolk districtNorfolk1974Abolished 1981, successor the Borough of King's Lynn and West NorfolkCity of LichfieldLichfield districtStaffordshire1974parished 1980LowestoftWaveneySuffolk1974parished 2017LymingtonNew Forest districtHampshire1974parished (as four parishes) 1979MacclesfieldCheshire EastCheshire2009parished 2015MaldonMaldonEssex1974parished 1987NelsonPendle districtLancashire1974Abolished 1976, successor the Borough of PendleNewarkNewark districtNottinghamshire1974parished 1980NewburyWest BerkshireBerkshire1974parished 1997PenzancePenwithCornwall1974parished 1980PoolePoole Borough CouncilDorset2019parished 2026Queenborough-in-SheppeySwale districtKent1974Parished (as four parishes) in 1982RamsgateThanetKent1974parished 2009Royal Leamington SpaWarwick districtWarwickshire1974parished 2002Royal Tunbridge WellsTunbridge Wells districtKent1974Abolished 1974, successor the Borough of Tunbridge WellsCity of Salisbury (New Sarum)Salisbury districtWiltshire1974parished 2009ScarboroughScarborough DistrictNorth Yorkshire2023parished 2025SouthportSeftonMerseyside1974abolished c. 1975, successor the Borough of SeftonTauntonTaunton Deane DistrictSomerset1974, re-established 2019abolished 1975, successor the Borough of Taunton Deane. Parished 1 April 2023 (Taunton Town Council)Weston-super-MareWoodspring (now North Somerset)Avon1974parished 2000WorkingtonAllerdaleCumbria1974parished 1982YeovilYeovil district (now South Somerset)Somerset1974parished 1984
Changes
2009 The structural changes to local government in 2009 led to the formation of charter trustees for Crewe, Macclesfield, Chester and Ellesmere Port. The charter trustees for Crewe and Macclesfield were subsequently abolished and replaced by parishes.
2019 Charter trustees were established in April 2019 for Bournemouth, Poole and Taunton as a consequence of local government structural changes in Dorset and Somerset.The Local Government (Structural and Boundary Changes) (Supplementary Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2019
2023 On 1 April 2023 the unitary authorities of Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness, and North Yorkshire were established. Charter trustees were established for Carlisle (which also preserved its city status), Barrow, Harrogate and Scarborough. The charter trustees for Harrogate and Scarborough were subsequently abolished and replaced by parishes.
Planned As part of the another round of local government reform, charter trustees have been proposed for Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Surrey Heath.
References
External links An article about Charter Trustees from the City of Bath
Sources Local Government Act 1972 Charter Trustees Act 1985 (C.45) Local Government in England and Wales : A guide to the New System, HMSO, London 1974