Salisbury was a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. The district 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 ...

and the pursuant The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972 as a merger of the previous

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 ...

s of Salisbury and Wilton, along with Amesbury Rural District, Mere and Tisbury Rural District and

Salisbury and Wilton Rural District Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. On 1 April 2009, the district was abolished 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 ...

, when its functions were taken over by the new

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and 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 ...

. At the same time, a parish council serving only Salisbury and its suburbs was formed, called Salisbury City Council.

Political control

The political control of the council was as follows: *1976–1979 NOC (No Overall Control) *1979–1983 NOC *1983–1987 NOC *1987–1991 Conservative *1991–1995 Conservative *1995–1999 Liberal Democrat *1999–2003 NOC *2003–2007 Conservative *2007–2009 NOC (administration by coalition of Liberal Democrat and Labour) The political composition of the authority when it came to an end on 1 April 2009 was 22

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, 19 Liberal Democrats, ten Labour members, and four Independents.

Composition

All members of the council were elected at an "all out" election held once every four years, on the first Thursday in May. ;Notes *LD is used to refer to predecessor parties, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and

SDP–Liberal Alliance The SDP–Liberal Alliance was a centrist and social liberal political and electoral alliance in the United Kingdom. Formed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance was established in 1981, contestin ...

. *OTH includes small groups such as Residents' association and Independents. *Control is the party which had absolute numerical majority, rather than the party or parties that formed a coalition administration.

Wards

In 1975 a statutory instrument established the wards to be used by Salisbury District Council. These boundaries would be in use from the 1976 council elections (with some minor alternations) until 2003, when new ward boundaries came into effect. In 1998, the Local Government Commission for England began a review of ward boundaries in Salisbury district. After an initial draft proposal and a period of consultation it recommended a reduction in councillors from 58 to 55, and a redrawing of ward boundaries reducing the number to 28. Final recommendations for Salisbury were made in 1999, and were implemented under the District of Salisbury (Electoral Changes) Order 1999.The District of Salisbury (Electoral Changes) Order 1999, SI 1999/2924. The new boundaries were first used in the 2003 local elections and remained in use until 2009, when the council was dissolved.

Places

Citations

{{Former non-metropolitan districts of England Politics of Salisbury English districts abolished in 2009 Former non-metropolitan districts of Wiltshire