Macclesfield (borough)

For the principal settlement of this borough, see Macclesfield. For the parliamentary constituency, see Macclesfield (UK Parliament constituency).

Borough of Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Shown within Cheshire
History
 • OriginMacclesfield Municipal Borough
Alderley Edge Urban District
Bollington Urban District
Knutsford Urban District
Wilmslow Urban District
Disley Rural District
Macclesfield Rural District
Bucklow Rural District (part of)
 • Created1 April 1974
 • Abolished31 March 2009
 • Succeeded byCheshire East
StatusNon-metropolitan district
ONS code13UG
 • HQMacclesfield

Macclesfield was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and within its wider area the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Disley, Gawsworth, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton, Prestbury, Rainow, Styal, Sutton and Tytherington.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a merger of Macclesfield municipal borough, Alderley Edge, Bollington, Knutsford and Wilmslow urban districts, along with the single parish Disley Rural District, Macclesfield Rural District and part of Bucklow Rural District. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.[1]

In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The decision to merge the boroughs of Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe and Nantwich to create a single unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007, following a consultation period in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.[2]

The Borough of Macclesfield was abolished on 1 April 2009, when the new Cheshire East unitary authority was formed.[3]

Civil parishes

The borough contained 52 civil parishes and 2 discrete unparished areas (namely, the towns of Macclesfield and Wilmslow). Of the 52 civil parishes, five (Agden, Little Bollington, Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough, Tatton, and Wincle) held parish meetings rather than elect a parish council.[4] Of the remaining 47 civil parishes, two contained towns (Bollington and Knutsford) and so had town councils rather than parish councils administering them.[4] A number of adjacent or abutting civil parishes were grouped together under a single parish council: Ollerton with Marthall, Plumley with Toft and Bexton, and Tabley (for the parishes of Tabley Inferior and Tabley Superior) The remaining 37 civil parishes had their own parish council.[4]

The following civil parishes were included in the borough:

Political control

The town of Macclesfield had been a municipal borough from 1836 to 1974 with a borough council.[5] The first elections to the new Macclesfield Borough created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:[6]

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–2009

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1983 were:

Councillor Party From To
Margaret Duddy[7] Conservative 1983 2001
Peter Burns[8] Conservative 2001 May 2004
Sue Kipling[9] Conservative 2004 23 Sep 2004
Wesley Fitzgerald Conservative 2004 31 Mar 2009

Wesley Fitzgerald went on to become the first leader of Cheshire East Council.

Composition

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:

Party Councillors
Conservative 38
Liberal Democrat 12
Labour 6
Handforth Ratepayer 2
Independent 2

Council elections

By-election results

North East By-Election 20 June 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 1,278 50.5
Conservative 1,008 39.8
Labour 245 9.7
Majority 270 10.7
Turnout 2,531 37.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Prestbury By-Election 12 September 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative 967 78.8
Liberal Democrats 259 21.1
Majority 708 57.7
Turnout 1,226 28.0
Conservative hold Swing
Plumley By-Election 3 July 1997
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative 506 56.3 −1.3
Liberal Democrats 392 43.7 +12.6
Majority 114 12.6
Turnout 898 46.0
Conservative hold Swing
Knutsford Over By-Election 4 November 1999
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative 478 52.5 +12.3
Labour 275 30.2 +7.5
Independent 120 13.2 −3.9
Liberal Democrats 38 4.2 −7.0
Majority 203 22.3
Turnout 911 21.9
Conservative hold Swing
Knutsford Bexton By-Election 1 February 2001
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 346 45.9 +11.3
Conservative 336 44.6 −0.9
Labour 72 9.5 −10.5
Majority 10 1.3
Turnout 754 34.1
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing
Morley and Styal By-Election 5 April 2001
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 857 59.6 +12.6
Conservative 580 40.4 +2.8
Majority 277 19.2
Turnout 1,437 36.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Macclesfield West By-Election 7 June 2001
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour 1,290 60.0 +0.8
Conservative 538 25.0 +4.5
Liberal Democrats 321 14.9 +0.4
Majority 752 35.0
Turnout 2,149
Labour hold Swing
Pornton Central By-Election 7 June 2001
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative 1,621 45.5 −8.5
Liberal Democrats 1,187 33.3 −2.0
Labour 756 21.2 +10.5
Majority 434 12.2
Turnout 3,564
Conservative hold Swing
Bollington West By-Election 31 July 2003
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Shirley Sockett 434 62.6 +41.4
Conservative 162 23.4 −17.4
Labour 97 14.0 −24.0
Majority 272 39.2
Turnout 693 36.6
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing
Hurdsfield By-Election 27 November 2003
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 467 56.3 −0.3
Conservative 212 25.5 +9.0
Labour 151 18.2 −8.7
Majority 255 30.8
Turnout 830 24.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Knutsford Nether By-Election 16 September 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Vivien Davies 385 61.1 −8.0
Liberal Democrats Paul Moss 199 31.6 +12.6
Labour 46 7.3 −4.6
Majority 186 29.5
Turnout 630 30.4
Conservative hold Swing
Plumley By-Election 5 May 2005
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Fisher 789 63.3 −25.6
Liberal Democrats Heulwen Barlow 329 26.4 +26.4
Labour Laurences Hobday 129 10.3 −0.8
Majority 460 36.9
Turnout 1,247 65.3
Conservative hold Swing
Prestbury By-Election 26 January 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nicholas Stratford 950 89.5 +89.5
Liberal Democrats Anne Goddard 112 10.5 −26.5
Majority 838 79.0
Turnout 1,062 25.0
Conservative gain from Independent Swing
Hurdsfield By-Election 20 July 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Enid Tomlinson 500 58.2 +5.2
Labour Simon Truss 178 20.7 −3.9
Conservative Matthew Davies 82 9.6 −12.8
Independent Fred Grundy 53 6.2 +6.2
Green John Knight 45 5.2 +5.2
Majority 322 37.5
Turnout 858 25.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

References

  1. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  2. ^ BBC News, 25 July 2007 – County split into two authorities. Retrieval Date: 25 July 2007.
  3. ^ "The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008". opsi.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008.
  4. ^ a b c "Parish Clerks". Borough of Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  5. ^ "Macclesfield Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Tributes paid to 'truly remarkable' leader". Macclesfield Express. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Council leader resigns after arrest". Macclesfield Express. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Sue answers God's call". Manchester Evening News. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  10. ^ The Borough of Macclesfield (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978
  11. ^ The Macclesfield and Vale Royal (Areas) Order 1982
  12. ^ legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire and Greater Manchester (County and District Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  13. ^ legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire and Greater Manchester (County and District Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  14. ^ legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester (County and District Boundaries) Order 1993. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  15. ^ legislation.gov.uk – The Borough of Macclesfield (Electoral Changes) Order 1998. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.