Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire
Unitary Authority

logo

Shown within Bedfordshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region East of England
Ceremonial county Bedfordshire
Founded 1 April 2009
Admin. HQ Chicksands
Government
 • Type unitary authority
 • Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
 • Executive: Conservative
 • MPs: Alistair Burt (C)
Nadine Dorries (C)
Gavin Shuker (L)
Andrew Selous (C)
Area
 • Total 276.3 sq mi (715.7 km2)
Area rank 52nd
Population (mid-2014 est.)
 • Total 269,076
 • Rank Ranked 49th
 • Density 970/sq mi (380/km2)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
ONS code 00KC (ONS)
E06000056 (GSS)
Ethnicity 97.3% White
Website centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire District Councils on 1 April 2009.[1] With a budget of £500m the unitary council provides over a hundred services to a quarter of a million people, and is responsible for schools, social services, rubbish collection, roads, planning, leisure centres, libraries, care homes and more.[2][3]

Administrative history

Since 1974 Bedfordshire had been governed as a shire county, mostly under the control of Bedfordshire County Council. In 1997 it was divided into three local government districts, Bedford Borough, Mid Bedfordshire, and South Bedfordshire. Luton Borough became a unitary authority in 1997.

In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The four proposals considered were:

On 6 March 2008 the DCLG, under Labour Party Secretary of State, Hazel Blears, decided to implement Proposal 2. This meant that from 1 April 2009 there would be three unitary authorities in Bedfordshire: Bedford, Luton and Central Bedfordshire. Bedfordshire County Council challenged this decision in the High Court but on 4 April 2008 it was announced the Judicial Review had failed and the County Council would not appeal.[6][7][8][9] Subsequently, a shadow council for Central Bedfordshire was formed from all the members of Mid and South Bedfordshire councils, as well as all Bedfordshire County Council members from the Central Bedfordshire area. The inaugural meeting of the shadow council was held on 10 April 2008. A shadow Executive for the council was formed consisting of four members of each council, led by the former leader of Mid Bedfordshire District Council.[10]

Elections

Central Bedfordshire Council is made up of 59 Councillors.

Year Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat Independent Control
2009[11][12] 54 0 11 1 Conservative
2011[13]

[14]

 49 1 5 4 Conservative
2015[15] 53 2 1 3 Conservative

Since 2011 the Council has been led by James Jamieson with a Cabinet of seven portfolio holders:

Towns and villages

Unitary authorities in Bedfordshire. Central Bedfordshire is number 2

The Central Bedfordshire area is a mix of rural and small market towns and villages. It includes the following towns and villages.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/local-government-in-central-bedfordshire/statistics-and-census-information/about-central-bedfordshire-council.aspx
  2. ↑ http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/spending/annual-accounts-financial-information/default.aspx
  3. ↑ "Welcome to Central Bedfordshire Council". Centralbedfordshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  4. ↑ Bedfordshire County Council – The proposal
  5. ↑ Communities and Local Government – Proposals for future unitary structures: Stakeholder consultation
  6. ↑ Bedfordshire County Council: High Court backs two unitary authorities for Bedfordshire
  7. ↑ "County Council Fails in Legal Challenge To Unitary Status". Bedford.gov.uk. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Unitary solution confirmed for Bedfordshire – New flagship unitary councils approved for Cheshire – Corporate – Communities and Local Government
  9. ↑ url=http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/bed-news/County-council-to-be-abolished.3850489.jp (6 March 2008). "County council to be abolished in shake-up". Bedford Today.
  10. ↑ http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/bed-news/First-steps-towards-creating-Central.3968817.jp First steps towards creating Central Beds Council – Bedford Today (10/04/08)
  11. ↑ "Central Bedfordshire Council: Election results by party, 4 June 2009". Centralbedfordshire.gov.uk. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Election 2009 | Central Bedfordshire council". BBC News. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  13. ↑ "Central Bedfordshire Council: Election results". Centralbedfordshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "BBC News - Election 2011 - England council elections - Central Bedfordshire". BBC News. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Central Bedfordshire Council: Election results". Centralbedfordshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, October 31, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.