Telford and Wrekin

Telford and Wrekin is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England with borough status. The district was created in 1974 as The Wrekin, then a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire. In 1998 the district became a unitary authority and was renamed Telford and Wrekin. It remains part of the Shropshire ceremonial county and shares institutions such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Community Health with the rest of Shropshire.

Telford and Wrekin
Unitary authority area, Borough
Telford and Wrekin shown within Shropshire and England
Coordinates: 52°40′52″N 2°26′19″W
CountryUnited Kingdom
RegionWest Midlands
CountyShropshire
Admin HQTelford
Government
Area
 • Total112.09 sq mi (290.31 km2)
Population
 • Total166,800
 • Density1,500/sq mi (570/km2)
Time zoneGMT
ISO 3166 codeGB-TFW
Websitewww.telford.gov.uk

The borough's major settlement is Telford, a new town designated in the 1960s incorporating the existing towns of Dawley, Ironbridge, Ketley, Madeley, Oakengates and Wellington. After the Telford conurbation, which includes the aforementioned towns, the next-largest settlement is Newport, a market town separate to the Telford built-up area, located in the northeast of the borough.

The borough borders Staffordshire, but is mostly surrounded by the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire, whose unitary authority is Shropshire Council. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG21) and is one of four authority areas that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region.

History

Before the creation of The Wrekin district, Telford was a new town run by the Telford Development Corporation (TDC) from the 1960s to the changes in 1974. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and covered Dawley, Newport, Oakengates and Wellington urban districts, Wellington Rural District and part of Shifnal parish in the Shifnal Rural District.

On 1 April 1998, as a result of the Local Government Commission for England's review, the district became a unitary authority, independent from Shropshire County Council.

All of the council houses previously owned by Wrekin District Council and the subsequent Telford and Wrekin Council were transferred to a newly created housing association, the Wrekin Housing Trust, in 1999 which now owns the majority of social housing in Telford.[1]

Telford and Wrekin applied unsuccessfully for city status in 2000. The district was granted borough status in 2002.

Towns, villages and other settlements
Telford and Wrekin (yellow) in the ceremonial and historic county of Shropshire.

Settlements in Telford and Wrekin -

Divisions

Parishes

The borough is divided into 29 civil parishes.

Wards

For the borough council itself there is a system of 30 wards to elect councillors.

1 - Admaston and Bratton

2 - Apley Castle

3 - Arleston

4 - Brookside

5 - Church Aston and Lilleshall

6 - College

7 - Dawley and Aqueduct

8 - Donnington

9 - Dothill

10 - Edgmond and Ercall Magna

11 - Ercall

12 - Hadley and Leegomery

13 - Haygate

14 - Horsehay and Lightmoor

15 - Ironbridge Gorge

 16 - Ketley and Overdale

17 - Madeley and Sutton Hill

18 - Malinslee and Dawley Bank

19 - Muxton

20 - Newport North and West

21 - Newport South and East

22 - Oakengates and Ketley Bank

23 - Park

24 - Priorslee

25 - Shawbirch

26 - St Georges

27 - The Nedge

28 - Woodside

29 - Wrockwardine

30 - Wrockwardine Wood and Trench

Election history

Borough elections are held every 4 years.

Governance
Main article: Telford and Wrekin Council

Telford and Wrekin operates a cabinet-style council. It has 54 elected councillors who appoint the seven cabinet members, including the leader, each year. The cabinet members make decisions as a whole and meet every two weeks.[2]

Telford and Wrekin is currently a Labour controlled council.

Policing

Telford and Wrekin is part of the West Mercia Police police area. The force is based in Worcester (outside Shropshire) and the borough's area is a Territorial Policing Unit in the force's organisation.

Economy
Telford Plaza in Telford Town Centre.
St Mary's Street in Newport

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Telford and Wrekin at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.

YearRegional gross value added[table 1]Agriculture[table 2]Industry[table 3]Services[table 4]
19951,76328865870
20002,072207731,279
20032,370218501,500
  1. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  2. includes hunting and forestry
  3. includes energy and construction
  4. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

See also

References
  1. http://www.wrekinhousingtrust.org.uk/thetrust/history.aspx
  2. "Cabinet". Telford and Wrekin Council. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
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