Borough of Brentwood explained

Brentwood Borough Council
Logo Pic:Brentwood Borough Council logo.svg
Logo Res:200px
House Type:Non-metropolitan district
Leader1 Type:Mayor
Leader1:Mark Haigh
Party1:
Liberal Democrat
Election1:22 May 2024[1]
Leader2 Type:Leader
Leader2:Barry Aspinell
Party2:
Liberal Democrat
Election2:17 May 2023
Leader3 Type:Chief Executive
Leader3:Jonathan Stephenson
Election3:2019[2]
Members:39[3]
Structure1:Brentwood Council 2024.svg
Structure1 Res:250
Political Groups1:Administration (20)

Opposition (19)

Last Election1:2 May 2024
Next Election1:7 May 2026
Session Room:Brentwood Town Hall 2023.jpg
Meeting Place:Town Hall, Ingrave Road, Brentwood, CM158AY

The Borough of Brentwood is a local government district with borough status in Essex, England. The borough is named after its main town of Brentwood, where the council is based; it includes several villages and the surrounding rural area.

The neighbouring districts are Epping Forest, Chelmsford, Basildon, Thurrock and the London Borough of Havering.

History

The former Brentwood Urban District had been created in 1899.[4] Urban districts were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. A new non-metropolitan district was created on 1 April 1974 covering the whole of the former Brentwood Urban District plus parts of another two districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[5]

The new district was named Brentwood after its main town.[6] The district was awarded borough status on 10 March 1993, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[7]

Governance

Brentwood Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Essex County Council. Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8]

Political control

The council went under no overall control at the 2023 Brentwood Borough Council election. A Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition subsequently formed an administration.[9]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[10] [11] [12]

Party in controlYears
1974–1990
1990–1991
1991–2003
2003–2004
2004–2014
2014–2015
2015–2023
2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Brentwood. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1991 have been:[13]

Councillor Party From To
Chris Dale 1991 1996
David Gottesmann 1996 5 May 2002
Vicky Cook 22 May 2002 23 Jun 2004
23 Jun 2004 18 Mar 2009
Louise McKinlay 13 May 2009 11 Jun 2014
Barry Aspinell 11 Jun 2014 20 May 2015
Louise McKinlay 20 May 2015 15 May 2019
Chris Hossack 15 May 2019 7 May 2023
Barry Aspinell 17 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council is:[14]

Party Councillors
19
17
3
Total 39

The next election is due in May 2026.

Premises

The council is based at Brentwood Town Hall on Ingrave Road, which had been built in 1957 for the former Brentwood Urban District Council.[15]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2002, the council has comprised 37 councillors representing 15 wards; each ward elects one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council being elected each time for a four-year term. In the fourth year of the cycle, when there are no elections for the borough council, elections for Essex County Council are held instead.[16]

Geography

There are still large areas of woodland including Shenfield Common, Hartswood (named after its last private owner, a Mr. Hart), Weald Country Park, and Thorndon Country Park.

Transport

The main transport links run through the borough in a south-west to north-east direction, with other important links running west to east.

Railway

Railway stations at Shenfield and Ingatestone facilitate services along the Great Eastern Main Line to Colchester, Clacton, Ipswich and London Liverpool Street; these are operated by Greater Anglia.[17]

Brentwood and Shenfield stations are served by Greater Anglia trains between Liverpool Street,, and ; some peak hour services run to .[17] Elizabeth line stopping trains run between London Paddington, Brentwood and Shenfield; this route is operated by MTR.[18]

Also within the borough is West Horndon station, on the London, Tilbury & Southend line; c2c provides direct trains to London Fenchurch Street,, Southend Central and .[19]

Roads

A major trunk road running through the borough is the A12 dual-carriageway, running from East London to Chelmsford, Colchester, the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe, Ipswich and Lowestoft. The old Roman road (A1023) passes through the centre of Brentwood and joins the A12, which by-passes the town. Within different parts of Brentwood, the A1023 is called (from west to east) Brook Street, London Road, High Street, Shenfield Road, and Chelmsford Road.

The other main road in the borough is the A127 Southend Arterial Road, which separates from the A12 near Romford and then proceeds easterly to Southend-on-Sea.

Media

The borough is served by a dedicated community radio stations, Phoenix FM.

Education

Secondary schools

Primary schools

Special schools

Civil parishes and settlements in the borough

There are nine civil parishes in the borough. The former Brentwood Urban District is an unparished area, directly administered by Brentwood Borough Council.[20] [21]

Unparished
Parished

Twinning

Brentwood is twinned with Roth bei Nürnberg in Germany and Montbazon in France.

Arms

Escutcheon:Per fesse rayonée Argent and Gules in chief a Cornish chough Proper between two pilgrim's staves erect Sable in base three ancient crowns two and one Or.
Crest:On a wreath of the colours rising from the battlements of a tower Azure a demi stag Or.
Motto:Ardens Fide (Burning Faith)[22]
Notes:Originally granted to Brentwood Urban District Council on 1 August 1951.

References

  1. Web site: Introducing the new Mayor of Brentwood . Brentwood Borough Council . 29 May 2024 . 1 June 2024.
  2. News: Ferris . Mick . New CEO for Brentwood Council . 2 June 2023 . Yellow Advertiser . 10 September 2019.
  3. Web site: Your Councillors . Brentwood Borough Council . 1 June 2024.
  4. Web site: Brentwood Urban District . A Vision of Britain through Time . GB Historical GIS . 2 June 2023.
  5. si. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972. 1972. 2039. 31 May 2023.
  6. si. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973. 1973. 551. 31 May 2023.
  7. Web site: Bulletin of Changes of Local Authority Status, Names and Areas 1 April 1992 – 31 March 1993. https://web.archive.org/web/20111213221531/http://www.lgbce.org.uk/__documents/lgbce-documents/research/clg-bulletins/bulletin92-93.pdf. dead. 13 December 2011. Department of The Environment. 15 January 2012.
  8. act. Local Government Act 1972. 1972. 70. 31 May 2023.
  9. News: Dedman . Simon . Brentwood Council: Lib Dems to run authority with Labour . 23 May 2023 . BBC News . 19 May 2023.
  10. Web site: Compositions calculator . The Elections Centre . 1 June 2023.
  11. News: Brentwood . 2010-05-07 . . 2009-04-19.
  12. Web site: Lib Dems gain two seats from Tories in local election . 2010-05-07 . 2010-05-07 . Brentwood Weekly News.
  13. Web site: Council minutes . Brentwood Borough Council . 10 June 2022.
  14. Web site: 1 June 2024. 3 May 2024. Brentwood election result. BBC News.
  15. Book: Bettley . J. . Pevsner. N.. 2007. The Buildings of England Series: Essex. Yale University Press. 978-0300116144 .
  16. si. The Borough of Brentwood (Electoral Changes) Order 2001. 2001. 2441. 3 June 2023.
  17. Web site: Greater Anglia . Timetables . 21 May 2023 . 30 September 2023 .
  18. Web site: Transport for London . Elizabeth line timetables . 21 May 2023 . 30 September 2023 .
  19. Web site: c2c . Timetables . 21 May 2023 . 30 September 2023 .
  20. Web site: Election Maps . Ordnance Survey . 3 June 2023.
  21. Web site: Parish Council contact details . Brentwood Borough Council . 3 June 2023.
  22. Web site: East of England Region . Civic Heraldry of England . 8 March 2021.

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