Weymouth and Portland

50°34′00″N 2°27′15″W / 50.5666°N 2.4541°W / 50.5666; -2.4541

Weymouth and Portland
Borough of Weymouth and Portland
Non-metropolitan district and borough
Coat of arms of Weymouth and Portland
Coat of arms
Weymouth and Portland shown within Dorset
Weymouth and Portland shown within Dorset
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth West England
Non-metropolitan countyDorset
Admin HQWeymouth
Incorporated1 April 1974
Abolished1 April 2019
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyWeymouth and Portland Borough Council
 • LeadershipLeader & Cabinet ( )
Area
 • Total16.1 sq mi (41.8 km2)
Population
 (mid-2018)
 • Total65,800
 • Density4,100/sq mi (1,600/km2)
 • Ethnicity
98.5% White
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code19UJ (ONS)
E07000053 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSY6784374258
Websitewww.weymouth.gov.uk

Weymouth and Portland was a local government district with borough status in Dorset, England from 1974 to 2019. It consisted of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill, Nottington, Westham, Radipole, Chiswell, Castletown, Fortuneswell, Weston, Southwell and Easton; the latter six being on the Isle of Portland.

In Portland Harbour is the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics took place. The main reason that the resort was chosen to be an Olympic venue was that the Sailing Academy had only recently been built, so no new venue would need to be provided. Weymouth and Portland's waters have also been credited by the Royal Yachting Association as the best in Northern Europe.[1]

Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, since 1986,[2] and the French town of Louviers, in the department of Eure in Normandy, since 1959.[3]

Politics

Council Offices, North Quay: Council's headquarters until 2016

The district of Weymouth and Portland was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which merged the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and the Portland urban district. The district was divided into 15 wards for elections—12 of those in Weymouth, and three in Portland.[4] Elections took place in a four-year cycle; one third of the councillors in all but three wards retire or seek re-election in years one, two and three, and county council elections were held in year four.[5] In its final term the District Council was a multi-party administration under the leadership of the Conservatives.[6]

Party Seats
Conservative 14
Labour 12
Liberal Democrat 6
Independent 2
UKIP 1
Greens 1

For most of its existence, the council had its main offices at the Municipal Offices (later renamed the Council Offices) on North Quay, which had been completed in 1971 for the Weymouth and Melcombe Regis Borough Council, one of the council's predecessors.[7]

Weymouth and Portland and Purbeck districts were in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency, created in 1885. It was in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.[8]

The borough and its council was abolished on 1 April 2019 and, together with the other 4 districts outside the greater Bournemouth area, formed a new Dorset unitary authority.[9] At the same time, a town council serving only Weymouth and its suburbs was formed, called Weymouth Town Council.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2012 Olympic Games sailing venue". Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  2. ^ "Städtepartnerschaften in Holzwickede" (in German). Gemeinde Holzwickede. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 May 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  3. ^ "Associations de jumelage" (in French). Ville de Louviers. 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  4. ^ "Ward Map". Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Electoral Cycles Thirds". Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. 2007. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Results of the election to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council 2015". www.dorsetforyou.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  7. ^ Pritchard, Geoff (4 June 2023). "Weymouth: When Princess Anne opened council offices in 1971". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  8. ^ "European elections". Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. 2004. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  9. ^ Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (25 May 2018). "The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (Structural Changes) Order 2018". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. ^ "New Weymouth Town Council opens its doors for the first time". Dorset Echo. 1 April 2019.