Wrexham_County_Borough_Council

Wrexham County Borough Council

Wrexham County Borough Council

Local government authority in north-east Wales

Wrexham County Borough Council (Welsh: Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a principal area with city status in north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area.

Quick Facts Wrexham Council Cyngor Wrecsam, Type ...

History

Wrexham County Borough Council was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. The new county borough of Wrexham covered all of the district of Wrexham Maelor and a small part of the Glyndŵr district, both of which were part of the county of Clwyd. On 1 April 1996 the new Wrexham County Borough Council took over the county-level functions previously performed by Clwyd County Council and the district-level functions from the two district councils, which were abolished.[2]

On 1 September 2022 the county borough was awarded city status, but the council continues to style itself "Wrexham County Borough Council".[3]

In November 2023, a councillor's annual basic salary was £17,600, with the council proposing an increase of 6% to £18,666.[4]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 1999. Since the 2022 election the council has been led by a coalition of the "Independent Group", comprising 21 of the independent councillors, and the Conservatives.[5] The council's one Liberal Democrat councillor joined the administration in December 2022.[6]

The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:[7]

More information Party in control, Years ...

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Wrexham is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:[8]

More information Councillor, Party ...

Composition

Following the 2022 election the composition of the council was:

More information Party, Councillors ...

Of the independent councillors, 21 sit as the "Independent Group" which also includes the one Liberal Democrat councillor. The other two independent councillors do not belong to any group as at July 2023.[10] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since 2012, elections have taken place every five years. The last election was 5 May 2022.[11]

More information Year, Seats ...
  1. Includes three candidates elected as Independent Labour.
  2. Includes five candidates elected as Independent Labour.
  3. Includes one candidate elected to represent Forward Wales.

Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.

Premises

The council is based at the Guildhall off Rhosddu Road in the centre of Wrexham, overlooking the open space of Llwyn Isaf. The Guildhall was built between 1959 and 1961 for the original Wrexham Borough Council. It subsequently served as the headquarters of Wrexham Maelor Borough Council between 1974 and 1996, when the current Wrexham County Borough Council was created.[15]

Electoral divisions

Main article: List of electoral wards in Wrexham County Borough
Electoral divisions in Wrexham County Borough from May 2022

The county borough is divided into forty-nine electoral wards returning fifty-six councillors. There are 35 communities in the county borough, some of which have their own elected council.

More information Electoral ward (2022–), Welsh name (if applicable) ...

See also

Notes

  1. All wards listed in this column are referring to the community electoral wards for their respective community councils. These wards are within the brackets following the name of the community. Many community wards share names with current and former county borough council electoral wards.
  2. "Pentre Yr Ardd", with "Yr" capitalised in source, was a name suggested by Wrexham County Borough Council for the electoral ward.[20] However, this recommendation was not applied, English name "Garden Village" is used in Welsh, following the Welsh Language Commissioner's standardisation policy,[21] as the commissioner stated they have no evidence of a used Welsh name for the settlement.
  3. The Welsh name Marchwiail was proposed by the LDBCW to be the name for the ward in both Welsh and English, but rejected by the Welsh Government in July 2021. The ward would be known as Marchwiel in both Welsh and English.
  4. Initially proposed as Y Mwynglawdd by the LDBCW, rejected by the Welsh Government in July 2021 for Mwynglawdd.

References

  1. [1]
    Wright, Harry (24 May 2018). "Ian Bancroft appointed as new Wrexham Council chief executive officer". Wrexham Leader. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 19, retrieved 12 July 2023
  3. [3]
    "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2022. THE QUEEN has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 1 September 2022 to ordain that the County Borough of Wrexham shall have the status of a City.
  4. [4]
    "Wrexham councillors discuss recommendations for six per cent pay increase". The Leader. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  5. [5]
    "New mega Independent Group joins forces with Conservatives to run Wrexham Council". Wrexham.com. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Wrexham's only Welsh Liberal Democrat councillor joins Independent Group". Wrexham.com. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  7. [7]
    "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Council minutes". Wrexham County Borough Council. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Chaos at Wrexham Council: Ten councillors including leader quit Labour party". The Leader. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  10. [10]
    "Councillors by political grouping". Wrexham County Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  11. [11]
    "Welsh unitary councils". Elections Centre. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  12. [12]
    "The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3142, retrieved 5 November 2022
  13. [13]
    "Election results by party, 5 May 2022". moderngov.wrexham.gov.uk. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  14. [14]
    "The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/1113, retrieved 5 November 2022
  15. [15]
    "Guildhall, Queen Street (23380)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  16. [16]
    "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Wrexham – Final Recommendations Report" (PDF). ldbc.gov.wales. Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. November 2020. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  17. [17]
    "Electoral arrangements for Wrexham | Wrexham County Borough Council". www.wrexham.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  18. [18]
    "Wrexham Council Elections 2022". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  19. [19]
    "Election results by wards, 5 May 2022". moderngov.wrexham.gov.uk. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Wrexham – Final Recommendations Report" (PDF). ldbc.gov.wales. Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. November 2020. p. 12. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  21. [21]
    "List of Standardised Welsh Place-names". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  • County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998
  • The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021
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