Congleton was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It included the towns of

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Topon ...

, Alsager, Middlewich and Sandbach. The headquarters of the borough council were located in Sandbach.

History

Chairmen of Congleton Rural District Council (1894-1974)

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

by the merger of the former

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Congleton, the

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

s of Alsager, Middlewich and Sandbach, and the Congleton Rural District. The new district was awarded

from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor. In 2006 the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local governme ...

considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the

2009 structural changes to local government in England Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a "two-tier" system of counties and districts. In five s ...

. The decision to merge the boroughs of Congleton,

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

, and

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now ...

to create a single unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007, following a consultation period in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected. The Borough of Congleton was abolished on 31 March 2009, with the area becoming part of the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Sandbach, Wilmslow, H ...

on 1 April 2009.

Civil parishes

Congleton was divided into 23 civil parishes and included no unparished areas. Of the 23 civil parishes, four were administered at this level of local government by

town councils A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

: Alsager, Middlewich, Sandbach, and Congleton; with the remainder having parish councils. There are two pairs of civil parishes that are grouped together so that they share a parish council. These are

Hulme Walfield Hulme Walfield is a small village and civil parish, just north of Congleton, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It is home to most of Westlow Mere. According to the 2001 census, the population of th ...

and

Somerford Booths Somerford Booths is a small civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In the census of 2001 it was recorded as having a population of 175. increasing to 181 a ...

, whose single parish council is called "Hulme Walfield and Somerford Booths Parish Council", and

Newbold Astbury Newbold Astbury (often just Astbury) is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the north-west of England. Newbold Astbury is situated to the south-west of Congleton on the ...

and Moreton cum Alcumlow, whose single parish council is called "Newbold Astbury-cum-Moreton Parish Council". The following civil parishes were included in the borough: * Alsager ''(town)'' * Arclid *

Betchton Betchton is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 620,Bradwall Bradwall is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, about northwest of Sandbach in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, and about south of Manchester. According to the United ...

* Brereton *

Church Lawton Church Lawton is a village and located in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. Its location is such that its eastern boundary forms part of the county boundary between Cheshire and Staffordshi ...

''(town)'' *

Cranage Cranage is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish was 1,131 which had risen to 1, ...

Goostrey Goostrey is an old farming village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located in open countryside, 14 miles NE of Crewe and 12 miles W of Macclesfield. Goostrey Paris ...

* Hassall * Holmes Chapel *

* Middlewich ''(town)'' * Moreton cum Alcumlow * Moston *

* Odd Rode * Sandbach ''(town)'' * Smallwood * Somerford *

Swettenham Swettenham is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish was 248,

Twemlow Twemlow is a civil parish, containing the village of Twemlow Green in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2011 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish wa ...

Demographics

The resident

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of the borough, as measured in the 2001

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, was 90,655, of which 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent were female.

Religion

The percentage of people of each religion in the borough (trom the Census 2001):

Political control

The town of

had been a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

from 1836 to 1974 with a borough council. The first elections to the new Congleton Borough created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1987 were:

Composition

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:

Premises

The council was based at Westfields on Middlewich Road in Sandbach. This was a large nineteenth century house which had been bought in 1960 by the Congleton Rural District Council, one of the council's predecessors. In 2005–2007 a replacement headquarters building, also called Westfields, was built in front of the old house, which was then demolished. The new building was formally opened on 25 January 2008. After Congleton Borough Council's abolition, Westfields became the headquarters for the new Cheshire East Council.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units received the Freedom of the Borough of Congleton.

Individuals

Mr G. Chambers:2009

Military Units

* The Cheshire Yeomanry: 1906. * The

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

: 1969. *First Battalion of the Mercian Regiment:???

Council elections

*1973 Congleton Borough Council election *1976 Congleton Borough Council election (New ward boundaries) *1979 Congleton Borough Council election *1980 Congleton Borough Council election *1982 Congleton Borough Council election *1983 Congleton Borough Council election *1984 Congleton Borough Council election *1986 Congleton Borough Council election *1987 Congleton Borough Council election *1988 Congleton Borough Council election *1990 Congleton Borough Council election *1991 Congleton Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same) *1992 Congleton Borough Council election *1994 Congleton Borough Council election *1995 Congleton Borough Council election *1996 Congleton Borough Council election *1998 Congleton Borough Council election *1999 Congleton Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)legislation.gov.uk
The Borough of Congleton (Electoral Changes) Order 1998
Retrieved on 4 October 2015. *2000 Congleton Borough Council election *2002 Congleton Borough Council election *2003 Congleton Borough Council election *2004 Congleton Borough Council election *2006 Congleton Borough Council election *2007 Congleton Borough Council election

By-election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Congleton (Borough) English districts abolished in 2009 Districts of England established in 1974 Former non-metropolitan districts of Cheshire Former boroughs in England Borough of Council elections in Cheshire Congleton Borough of Cheshire East District council elections in England