Northumberland County Council Explained

Northumberland County Council
Coa Pic:Arms of Northumberland County Council.svg
Coa Res:100px
Coa Alt:Arms of Northumberland County Council
Logo Pic:Northumberland County Council.svg
Logo Res:250px
House Type:Unitary authority
Foundation:1 April 1889
Leader1 Type:Chair
Leader1:John Beynon
Party1:
Conservative
Election1:1 May 2024[1]
Leader2 Type:Leader
Leader2:Glen Sanderson
Party2:
Conservative
Election2:23 September 2020[2]
Leader3 Type:Chief Executive
Leader3:Helen Paterson
Election3:February 2023[3]
Seats:67 councillors (69 from 2025)
Structure1 Res:250px
Structure1 Alt:Northumberland County Council composition
Political Groups1:
Administration (33)
  • Conservative (33)
    Other parties (34)
  • Labour (19)
  • Independent (9)
  • Green (2)
  • Voting System1:First past the post
    Last Election1:6 May 2021
    Next Election1:1 May 2025
    Session Room:County Hall Morpeth - geograph.org.uk - 305881.jpg
    Session Res:250px
    Meeting Place:County Hall, Morpeth, NE612EF

    Northumberland County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having also taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished.

    The council has been under no overall control since 2021, being led by a Conservative minority administration. It is based at County Hall, Morpeth. Since 2024 the council has been a member of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.

    History

    Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions previously carried out by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The city of Newcastle upon Tyne had been a county corporate since 1400 with its own quarter sessions, and Newcastle's independence from the county was maintained by making it a county borough. The county council was elected by and provided services to the remainder of the county, which area was termed the administrative county. Berwick-upon-Tweed was also a county corporate, but was not considered large enough to provide its own county-level services. It was therefore included in the administrative county of Northumberland.[4] Tynemouth subsequently also became a county borough in 1904, removing it from the administrative county.[5]

    The first elections were held in January 1889. The council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at the Moot Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, the courthouse (built 1811) which had served as the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. The first chairman of the council was Matthew White Ridley, who was also the Conservative MP for Blackpool (in Lancashire).[6]

    The county was reformed in 1974, becoming a non-metropolitan county and ceding further territory around the Newcastle conurbation to the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. Until 1974 the lower tier of local government comprised numerous boroughs, urban districts and rural districts. In 1974 the lower tier was reorganised and Northumberland was left with six districts: Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blyth Valley, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale and Wansbeck.[7]

    Until 1981 the county council had its meeting place at the Moot Hall, which formed an exclave of the administrative county in central Newcastle.[8] The main administrative offices were at the adjoining County Hall. The exclave became part of the city in 1974 and therefore outside the county council's territory.[9] The council moved to Morpeth in 1981.

    As part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, Northumberland's six districts were abolished and their functions were taken over by the county council.[10] [11] As part of the 2009 changes the council was given the option of changing its name to "Northumberland Council".[12] After consultation with the public the council decided to keep the name "Northumberland County Council".[13]

    In 2024 a combined authority was established covering Northumberland, County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, called the North East Mayoral Combined Authority. It is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the North East and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.[14]

    Governance

    Since 2009, Northumberland County Council has provided both county-level and district-level services. The whole county is also covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government.[15]

    Political control

    The council has been under no overall control since 2021, being led by a minority Conservative administration. Following the 2021 election the Conservatives won a majority of the seats, but lost their majority later that year following a Liberal Democrat gain in a December 2021 by-election.[16] [17]

    Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[18] [19] [20]

    Two-tier non-metropolitan county

    Party in controlYears
    1974–1981
    1981–1985
    1985–1989
    1989–2008
    2008–2009

    Unitary authority

    Party in controlYears
    2009–2021
    2021–2021
    2021–present

    Leadership

    The leaders of the council since 1998 have been:[21]

    Councillor Party From To
    Michael Davey[22] [23] 1998 May 2005
    Bill Brooks[24] [25] May 2005 2007
    Peter Hillman 2007 2008
    Jeff Reid[26] [27] 21 May 2008 22 May 2013
    Grant Davey[28] [29] 22 May 2013 24 May 2017
    Peter Jackson 24 May 2017 2 Sep 2020
    Glen Sanderson 23 Sep 2020

    Composition

    Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to March 2024, the composition of the council was:

    Party Councillors
    33
    19
    9
    4
    2
    Total:67
    Eight of the independent councillors sit together as a group. The other is not aligned to any group.[30] The next election is due in 2025.

    Elections

    Since the last full review of boundaries in 2013 the council has comprised 67 councillors representing 66 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillor except Alnwick which elects two. Elections are held every four years.[31] New division boundaries have been drawn up to come into effect for the 2025 elections, increasing the number of councillors to 69.[32]

    Premises

    The council is based at County Hall on the southern outskirts of Morpeth, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1981.[33] Proposals to move the council's headquarters to Ashington were considered between 2014 and 2017, with building work starting on the new site in Ashington. In 2017 work on the new site was aborted after the proposed sale of the Morpeth site fell through. The council subsequently decided to stay in Morpeth and renovate County Hall instead.[34]

    Prior to 1981 the council was based in Newcastle. Meetings were held at the Moot Hall. A large office building called County Hall was built opposite the Moot Hall in 1910 to serve as the council's main offices.

    References

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Council meeting, 1 May 2024 . Northumberland County Council . 10 May 2024.
    2. Web site: Council minutes, 23 September 2020 . Northumberland County Council . 15 August 2022.
    3. News: Robinson . James . New boss in charge at Northumberland County Council . 26 March 2024 . Chronicle Live . 10 February 2023.
    4. act. Local Government Act 1888. 1888. 41. 27 August 2023.
    5. Web site: Tynemouth Municipal Borough / County Borough . A Vision of Britain through Time . GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth . 25 March 2024.
    6. News: Meeting of Northumberland County Council . 26 March 2024 . Morpeth Herald . 6 April 1889 . 2.
    7. si. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972. 1972. 2039. 31 May 2023.
    8. Web site: Administrative Area Series, 1947 . National Library of Scotland . Ordnance Survey . 25 March 2024.
    9. act. Local Government Act 1972. 1972. 70. 1. 25 March 2024.
    10. si. The Northumberland (Structural Change) Order 2008. 2008. 494. 25 March 2024.
    11. Web site: Northumberland County Council. 3 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20081220233428/http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/BB_News.asp?BB_Bulletin_ID=4108. 20 December 2008. dead.
    12. si. The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Other Provision) Order 2009. 2009. 837. 4. 25 March 2024.
    13. Web site: Northumberland County Council. 3 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20081220233358/http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/BB_News.asp?BB_Bulletin_ID=4100. 20 December 2008. dead.
    14. si. The North East Mayoral Combined County Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2024. 2024. 402. 6 May 2024.
    15. Web site: Election Maps . Ordnance Survey . 26 March 2024.
    16. Web site: 7 May 2021. County Council election results. Northumberland County Council.
    17. Web site: Northumberland County Council. 2021-05-07. BBC News. en-GB.
    18. Web site: Compositions calculator . The Elections Centre . 10 August 2022.
    19. Web site: Local election results: Northumberland. Election 2005. BBC News Online. 30 January 2012. 6 May 2005.
    20. Web site: Northumberland. Elections 2008. BBC News Online. 30 January 2012. 6 May 2008.
    21. Web site: Council minutes . Northumberland County Council . 15 August 2022.
    22. Web site: Profile of Cllr. M. Davey . Northumberland County Council . 26 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050310003133/http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/CL_CllrDetailResp.asp?ID=425 . 10 March 2005.
    23. News: Councillors facing standards probe . 26 March 2024 . Chronicle Live . 24 October 2005.
    24. News: Shamed councillor gets top position . 26 March 2024 . Chronicle Live . 12 May 2005.
    25. News: Council leader to give up role . 26 March 2024 . Chronicle Live . 26 April 2007.
    26. Web site: Council minutes, 21 May 2008 . Northumberland County Council . 26 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090228142548/http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Councillor/Meeting.asp?MID=1&Ret=T0#Minutes . 28 February 2009.
    27. News: Robinson . James . Former county council leader slams £4.8bn North East devolution deal . 26 March 2024 . Northumberland Gazette . 17 March 2023.
    28. Web site: Council minutes, 22 May 2013 . Northumberland County Council . 26 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140401095105/http://committees.northumberland.gov.uk/aksnorthumberland/users/public/admin/kab12.pl?operation=SUBMIT&meet=51&cmte=COU&grpid=public&arc=1 . 1 April 2014.
    29. News: O'Connell . Ben . Leader and deputy leader of Labour opposition on Northumberland County Council to stand down . 15 August 2022 . Chronicle Live . 30 January 2019.
    30. Web site: Your Councillors . Northumberland County Council . 26 March 2024.
    31. si. The Northumberland (Electoral Changes) Order 2011. 2011. 2. 26 March 2024.
    32. si. The Northumberland (Electoral Changes) Order 2024. 2024. 124. 26 March 2024.
    33. News: Northumberland County Council to spend £17m on HQ revamp . 26 March 2024 . Hexham Courant . 25 January 2018.
    34. News: Multi-million pound plans to move Northumberland County Council headquarters quashed . 26 March 2024 . ITV News . 18 May 2017.