Shrewsbury and Atcham

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Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham
Shown within Shropshire non-metropolitan county
Geography
Status:	Non-metropolitan district; Borough
Region:	West Midlands
Administrative and Ceremonial county:	Shropshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 75th 601.63 km²
Admin. HQ:	Shrewsbury
ONS code:	39UE
Demographics
Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density	Ranked 231st 96,300 160 / km²
Ethnicity:	98.4% White
Image:Salop.gif Crest of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough
Politics
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council http://www.shrewsbury.gov.uk
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative
Mayor:	Councillor Roger Arthur Evens
MP:	Daniel Kawczynski

Shrewsbury and Atcham is a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England.

Shrewsbury is the only town in the borough and Atcham is included in the name of the borough, due to the former Atcham Rural District, although it is a village. Other notable villages include Nesscliffe, Uffington, Pontesbury, Ford, Bayston Hill, Cressage, Condover, Minsterley, Westbury and Bomere Heath.

The Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham covers 602 square kilometres, or 232 square miles, which is 19% of the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire. To the north of the borough is the North Shropshire district and the Borough of Oswestry and to the south are the South Shropshire and Bridgnorth districts. The borough lies in the middle of Shropshire and on the border with Wales. A 2005 estimate put the population of the borough at 95,800 (this accounts for approx 40% of the total population for the non-metropolitan county).

The River Severn runs through the borough and in recent years (1998, 2000 twice, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007) has brought severe and frequent flooding to parts of Shrewsbury and large areas of the countryside.

Contents 1 History 2 Councillors 3 Headquarters 4 Property 5 Administration 6 Constituency 7 Mayors

[edit] History

The borough was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 when the municipal borough of Shrewsbury was merged with Atcham Rural District, to form a new non-metropolitan district. This was initially called Shrewsbury, but was renamed Shrewsbury and Atcham on June 12, 1974 by the new council.

In 2004, when the borough council moved to their new Guildhall, it was suggested that it revert its name to simply "Shrewsbury Borough Council" - this never happened though, as the borough covers a wide area of countryside beyond the town of Shrewsbury and many felt that it should keep its historical name too.^{[citation needed]}

The borough unsuccessfully applied for city status in the 2000 and 2002 competitions.

[edit] Councillors

At present the council has forty elected members, called councillors, of which 22 are Conservative, 10 are Labour, 6 are Liberal Democrat and 2 are Independents.

List of councillors

The Conservative group is therefore the largest, with a majority, and has control of the council.

[edit] Headquarters

The headquarters of the borough council is on Frankwell Quay in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, and can be accessed from the town centre by the Frankwell suspension footbridge. The new Guildhall lies near to the River Severn, although it is protected firstly by the flood defences built to defend Frankwell and then also by its own flood defences. Three flagpoles outside the Guildhall fly the English flag, the Union Jack (the UK flag) and the Shrewsbury flag (the Salopian crest shown on the right).

The borough council moved to the present Guildhall on March 19 2004 from the old Guildhall, now known as "Newport House" (which was its original name before it became a Guildhall), on Dogpole. Newport House is being converted into a residence.

[edit] Property

The borough council own much land and property in the Shrewsbury and Atcham area. Shrewsbury Castle is owned by the borough council and they also own various car parks, offices, some public conveniences, many acres of parkland and some bridges. Rowley's House, now the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, is also owned by the council, as is the Music Hall (cafe, theatre and tourist information) and Old Market Hall (cafe and now a cinema) buildings on the Square in the heart of the town. The Bear Steps buildings are also owned by the council, although they are occupied by the town's civic society.

The borough council's housing stock was sold off in 2001 to a private social housing company, Severnside. The council earned some £60 million from this sale and this money has been used in part to buy and build their new Guildhall, build the proposed sports facilities at Sundorne and other large projects around the town either under way or proposed.

The council once owned the Clive House Museum, but this was sold off and is now no longer a museum.

[edit] Administration

The rural part of the borough is parished but the urban part of the borough (the town of Shrewsbury) is unparished. Shrewsbury has no town council, the Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough is also mayor for the town. There continues to be a Town Clerk however, as well as other ceremonial posts such as the sword bearer and mace bearers. The 40 councillors of the borough council represent wards (such as Sundorne ward) and a Mayor and Deputy Mayor are appointed by the council every year. The Mayor chairs full council meetings, which take place 6/7 times a year, and also has ceremonial duties. The administrative side of the council is headed by the Leader of the council (normally the leader of the party with the most councillors) and there is a permanent head of the local civil service, the Chief Executive.

The 41 parishes of the borough can be found here:

Parishes of Shrewsbury and Atcham

The 24 wards of the borough can be found here:

Wards of Shrewsbury and Atcham

[edit] Constituency

The borough is also a UK Parliament constituency, returning an MP. The boundaries of the borough and the constituency are the same, which is convenient. Paul Marsden was voted in as a Labour candidate in the 2001 general election and stood down before the 2005 general election, when the Conservative Daniel Kawczynski won the seat. Shrewsbury and Atcham is a marginal seat, with Labour and the Conservatives close in the polls.

See: Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency).

[edit] Mayors

There has been a continuous succession of Mayors of Shrewsbury since at least 1638. In 1974, after the local government re-organisation, the style changed to "Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough".

List of all Mayors of Shrewsbury and Mayors of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough.

It is customary today that a Mayor is in office for only one year and that the Deputy Mayor becomes Mayor. The position of Mayor is non-political and councillors are elected to be Deputy Mayor (and then usually a year later, Mayor) on basis of seniority. For example, in 2004-2005, both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor were Liberal Democrats, but control of the council is Conservative. A Mayor may come from outside the town of Shrewsbury - the only rule is that he or she is a Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough councillor.

Both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor wear their traditional "chains of office" at ceremonial occasions, which many mayors and chairmen of towns, boroughs and counties in England have. The Mayor is given the prefix title of "The Right Worshipful".