The Borough of Oswestry was a local government district with borough status in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, England, from medieval times until its abolition in 2009. Until 1974 the borough just covered the town of Oswestry itself. The borough was enlarged in 1974 to also include the surrounding rural area, although it was the smallest post-1974 district of Shropshire. Its council was based in Oswestry, the only town and largest settlement in the borough. Villages in the borough included Morda, St Martin's,

Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whit ...

Gobowen Gobowen is a village in Shropshire, England, about 3 miles north of Oswestry. The population according to the 2011 census was 3,270. History The village was previously called ''Bryn-y-Castell'' ("Hill of the Castle" in English) after the House ...

, Pant, Trefonen and Ruyton XI Towns. The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009 when the new Shropshire unitary authority was established, 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 ...

History

The town of Oswestry was an

ancient borough The ancient boroughs were a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales. The ancient boroughs covered only important towns and were established by charters granted at different times by the monarchy. Their history is large ...

, governed under the terms of various charters dating back to at least 1398. The borough was reformed to become 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 ...

under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. By the mid-twentieth century some municipal boroughs were considered too small to efficiently provide all the services expected of them, and so the government introduced the concept of rural boroughs under the

Local Government Act 1958 The Local Government Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz.2 c.55) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local Government Commissio ...

. This allowed a small municipal borough to merge with a neighbouring rural district, whilst allowing the former municipal borough to retain some of its privileges, such as the ability to appoint a mayor. In other regards, such rural boroughs were comparable to parish councils. Oswestry became a rural borough on 1 April 1967, becoming part of the surrounding Oswestry Rural District. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the Oswestry Rural District became a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...

, and the borough status which had previously only applied to the town of Oswestry itself was transferred to the larger district, allowing the new district council to take the name Oswestry Borough Council. The borough of Oswestry and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009, when the new

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...

unitary authority was established, as part of the

Political control

The first elections to the enlarged council 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 last

leader of the council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

was David Lloyd, a Conservative.

Council elections

* 1973 Oswestry Borough Council election * 1976 Oswestry Borough Council election (New ward boundaries) *

1979 Oswestry Borough Council election Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the son ...

* 1983 Oswestry Borough Council election * 1987 Oswestry Borough Council election * 1991 Oswestry Borough Council election * 1995 Oswestry Borough Council election * 1999 Oswestry Borough Council election * 2003 Oswestry Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)legislation.gov.uk
The Borough of Oswestry (Electoral Changes) Order 2000
Retrieved on 4 October 2015. * 2007 Oswestry Borough Council election

By-election results

References

By-election results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oswestry, Borough of Council elections in Shropshire Oswestry District council elections in England Districts of England established in 1974 English districts abolished in 2009 Borough of Former non-metropolitan districts of Shropshire Former boroughs in England