Hartlepool (borough)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Borough of Hartlepool is a
unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
area with borough status in
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, England. Hartlepool Borough Council became a unitary authority in 1996; it is independent from
Durham County Council Durham County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham (district), County Durham in North East England. The council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, bein ...
. It is named after its largest settlement,
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
, where the council is based. The borough also includes a rural area to the west of the town. The population of the borough at the 2021 census was 92,571, of which over 95% (87,995) lived in the built-up area of Hartlepool itself. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017. The Hartlepool constituency has been coterminous with the borough since 1983. The neighbouring districts are the County Durham district and Stockton-on-Tees; the borough also adjoins Redcar and Cleveland across the mouth of the
River Tees The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...
.


History

The town of Hartlepool was an
ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...
, having been granted a charter by King John in 1200. It was reformed to become a
municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...
in 1850. This borough covered the relatively small area now known as the
Headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...
, where the original town was located. The new town of
West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...
was laid out from the 1840s on land outside Hartlepool's historic borough boundaries, in the neighbouring parish of Stranton. A body of improvement commissioners was established to administer the new town in 1854. The commissioners' district was enlarged in 1883 to include Seaton Carew. The commissioners were superseded in 1887, when West Hartlepool was incorporated as a separate borough. In 1902 West Hartlepool was elevated to become a county borough, making it independent from
Durham County Council Durham County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham (district), County Durham in North East England. The council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, bein ...
. After several unification efforts starting in 1902, the two boroughs of Hartlepool and West Hartlepool merged into a single county borough called Hartlepool in 1967, also absorbing at the same time the neighbouring parish of Seaton (being the residual rural part of the old parish of Seaton Carew) to provide coastal land for industrial development. The borough was reformed and enlarged on 1 April 1974, by the merger of the previous county borough of Hartlepool, along with the parishes of Brierton, Claxton,
Dalton Piercy Dalton Piercy is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Cernsus was 289. Location Dalton Piercy is situated 1 mile east of the A19 and 1 mile t ...
, Elwick, Elwick Hall, Greatham, Hart and
Newton Bewley Newton Bewley is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It is situated between the towns of Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is gov ...
, from the Stockton Rural District, all of which had been part of the
administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of Durham. The enlarged borough was transferred at the same time from County Durham to the new non-metropolitan county of
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 following the Banham Review, which gave unitary authority status to its four districts, including Hartlepool. The way this change was implemented was to create a new
non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...
of Hartlepool covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. The borough was restored to County Durham for ceremonial purposes at the same time, but as a unitary authority it is independent from Durham County Council. Hartlepool continues to share certain local services with the other former Cleveland boroughs, including the Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade.


Governance

Hartlepool Borough Council provides both county-level and district-level services. There are also nine
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es in the borough, which form a second tier of local government for their areas; the rest of the borough is an
unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...
. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. In May 2021, the four parish councils of Elwick, Hart,
Dalton Piercy Dalton Piercy is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Cernsus was 289. Location Dalton Piercy is situated 1 mile east of the A19 and 1 mile t ...
and Greatham all issued individual votes of no confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council, and expressed their desire to re-join County Durham. Subsequently, quarterly parish liaison meetings were set up between the parish and borough councils, and a new Parish Charter was adopted.


Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the May 2024 local elections. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: Non-metropolitan district Unitary authority


Leadership

Since 2013 the role of mayor has been largely ceremonial in Hartlepool. Political leadership is instead provided by the
leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
. Between 2002 and 2013, Hartlepool was one of a small number of councils in the United Kingdom to have a directly elected mayor. This followed a referendum held in the borough in October 2001. The first mayoral election was held in May 2002, and became famous for being won by the mascot of Hartlepool United F.C., ' H'Angus the Monkey', with a majority of approximately 500 over the second-placed Labour Party candidate. The man inside the monkey costume, Stuart Drummond, served as mayor as an independent, being re-elected in 2005 with a majority of over 10,000 and again in 2009 with a second round majority of 844. In November 2012 Hartlepool voted in a referendum to abolish the directly elected mayor and return to having a leader of the council, as it had done prior to 2002, being the leadership model used by most English councils. 7,366 voted against the directly elected mayor system, while 5,177 voted to retain it, on a turnout of 18%. The leaders from 1999 to 2002 were: The directly elected mayor was: The leaders since 2013 have been:


Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in May 2026.


Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2020 the council has comprised 36
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s representing 12 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.


Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre on Victoria Road, which was built in the 1970s. Prior to that it was based at the Municipal Buildings on Church Square, which had been built in 1889 for the old West Hartlepool Borough Council. Before the 1967 merger the old Hartlepool Borough Council had been based at Hartlepool Borough Hall on Middlegate.


Settlements

Settlements in the borough include: * Brierton * Claxton *
Dalton Piercy Dalton Piercy is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Cernsus was 289. Location Dalton Piercy is situated 1 mile east of the A19 and 1 mile t ...
* Elwick * Greatham * Hart * Hart Station *
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
* The Headland * Middleton *
Newton Bewley Newton Bewley is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It is situated between the towns of Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is gov ...
* Owton * Rift House * Seaton Carew * Stranton * Throston * West View


Demography


Ethnicity


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartlepool, Borough of 1974 establishments in England Local government districts of County Durham Unitary authority districts of England Places in the Tees Valley Boroughs in England