Nottingham City Council Explained

Nottingham City Council
Logo Pic:Nottingham City Council.svg
Logo Res:250px
House Type:Unitary authority
Leader1 Type:Lord Mayor
Leader1:Carole McCulloch
Party1:
Labour
Election1:22 May 2023[1]
Leader2 Type:Leader
Leader2:Neghat Khan
Party2:
Labour
Election2:20 May 2024
Leader3 Type:Chief Executive
Leader3:Sajeeda Rose
Election3:5 August 2024[2]
Seats:55 councillors
Structure1:Composition_of_Nottingham_City_Council_after_2023.svg
Structure1 Res:250px
Structure1 Alt:Nottingham City Council composition
Political Groups1:
Administration (50)
  • Other parties (5)
  • Term Length:4 years
    Voting System1:First past the post
    Last Election1:4 May 2023
    Next Election1:6 May 2027
    Session Room:Council-House-Nottingham.jpg
    Session Res:250
    Meeting Place:Council House, Old Market Square, Nottingham, NG12DT

    Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2024 the council has been a member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority.

    The council has been under Labour majority control since 1991. The council meets at Nottingham Council House and has its main offices at Loxley House.

    History

    Nottingham was an ancient borough. The earliest known borough charter was issued by Henry II sometime between 1155 and 1165; that charter did not purport to create the borough, but instead confirmed to it the rights that it had already held in the time of Henry I (reigned 1100–1135). The borough was governed by a corporation, also known as the town council. A later charter of 1284 granted the borough the right to appoint a mayor.[3]

    In 1836 Nottingham became a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Nottingham was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from Nottinghamshire County Council.[4]

    Nottingham was awarded city status on 7 August 1897, allowing the corporation to call itself Nottingham City Council.[5] In 1928 the city council was given the right to appoint a lord mayor.[6]

    In 1974 Nottingham became a non-metropolitan district under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming a lower tier authority with Nottinghamshire County Council providing county-level services in the city for the first time. The city kept the same outer boundaries, but did gain an exclave from Nottinghamshire containing the Shire Hall.[7] [8] Nottingham kept its borough and city statuses and its lord mayoralty.[9]

    In 1998, Nottingham City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Nottinghamshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Nottingham covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Nottingham was a county borough prior to 1974.[10] Despite having been removed from the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire (the area administered by Nottinghamshire County Council), the city remains part of the wider ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[11]

    On 29 November 2023, the council declared itself effectively bankrupt, with a £23m overspend forecast for the 2023-24 financial year.[12] This has been speculated to be mainly due to the Robin Hood Energy initiative, which was setup by the council in 2015 and was closed in 2020.[13] Being unable to produce a balanced budget (as required by law), it issued a Section 114 notice which requires all expenditure to cease except for statutory duties.[14]

    In 2024 a combined county authority was established covering Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire, called the East Midlands Combined County Authority. The combined authority is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the East Midlands and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.[15]

    Governance

    As a unitary authority, Nottingham City Council has the functions of a county council and district council combined. There are no civil parishes in Nottingham, which has been an unparished area since the reforms of 1974.[16]

    Political control

    The council has been under Labour majority control since 1991.

    Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[17]

    Non-metropolitan district

    Party in controlYears
    1974–1976
    1976–1979
    1979–1987
    1987–1988
    1988–1991
    1991–1998

    Unitary authority

    Leadership

    The role of Lord Mayor of Nottingham is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1983 have been:[18]

    Councillor Party From To
    Len Maynard May 1983
    Betty Higgins May 1983 May 1987
    Bill Bradbury[19] May 1987 Nov 1988
    Betty Higgins[20] Nov 1988 May 1993
    John Taylor May 1993 May 1995
    Graham Chapman[21] May 1995 3 May 2002
    Brian Parbutt 3 May 2002 16 May 2003
    Jon Collins 16 May 2003 5 May 2019
    David Mellen[22] 20 May 2019 20 May 2024
    Neghat Khan 20 May 2024

    Composition

    Following the 2023 election, a cllr resigning the Labour whip over the war in Gaza in October 2023, and another cllr having the Labour whip suspended for voting against the budget in March 2024, the composition of the council was:[23] [24] [25]

    PartyCouncillors
    49
    3
    3
    Total 55
    The next election is due in 2027.

    Premises

    Full Council meetings are held at Nottingham Council House in the Old Market Square in the city centre, which was completed in 1929 and is now a Grade II* listed building.

    In 2009 the council moved its main offices to Loxley House, a modern office building on Station Street, opposite Nottingham railway station.[26]

    Elections

    Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[27]

    Wards

    The wards are:[27]

    Map No. Ward Councillors
    1 Aspley 3
    2 Basford 3
    3 Berridge 3
    4 Bestwood 3
    5 Bilborough 3
    6 Bulwell Forest 3
    7 Bulwell 3
    8 Castle 2
    9 Clifton East 3
    10 Clifton West 2
    11 Dales 3
    12 Hyson Green & Arboretum 3
    13 Leen Valley 2
    14 Lenton & Wollaton East 3
    15 Mapperley 3
    16 Meadows 2
    17 Radford 2
    18 Sherwood 3
    19 St. Ann's 3
    20 Wollaton West 3

    Arms

    Escutcheon:Gules issuant from the base a ragged cross couped Proper between two ducal coronets in chief Or the lower limb of the cross enfiled with a like coronet (recorded at the 1614 visitation).
    Crest:On a wreath of the colours a castle walled triple-towered and capped Proper the dexter tower surmounted of a crescent Argent and the sinister tower by an estoile Or (granted 10 June 1898).
    Supporters:On either side standing on a staff raguly erased a royal stag guardant Proper ducally gorged Or (granted 3 November 1908).
    Motto:Vivit Post Funera Virtus (Virtue Survives Death)[28]
    Badge:A saltire raguly Vert ensigned by a stag's head caboshed Proper (granted 7 November 1911).
    Standard:Barry of six Or and Argent the bands Gules edged Gold inscribed Sable fringed Gold and Red.

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Council minutes, 22 May 2023 . Nottingham City Council . 30 June 2023.
    2. News: Huge change needed at council, says new chief executive . 9 August 2024 . BBC . 6 August 2024.
    3. Book: Royal Charters Granted to the Burgesses of Nottingham, A.D. 1155-1712. 1890. Nottingham. Thomas Forman and sons. Corporation of Nottingham.
    4. Web site: Nottingham Municipal Borough / County Borough . A Vision of Britain through Time . GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth . 1 July 2023.
    5. News: The City of Nottingham: Receipt of the Royal Charter . 1 July 2023 . Nottingham Daily Guardian . 13 August 1897 . 8.
    6. The Municipal Journal and Public Works Engineer. 24 February 1939.
    7. si. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972. 1972. 2039. 28 June 2023.
    8. Web site: 1:25,000 Administrative Area Map, 1953 . National Library of Scotland . Ordnance Survey . 1 July 2023.
    9. Web site: District Councils and Boroughs . . 4 December 2021 . 28 March 1974.
    10. si. The Nottinghamshire (City of Nottingham) (Structural Change) Order 1996. 1996. 1877. 19 August 2022.
    11. act. Lieutenancies Act 1997. 1997. 23. 1. 29 May 2024.
    12. Web site: Nottingham City Council declares itself effectively bankrupt. 29 November 2023 . 29 November 2023 . BBC News . BBC.
    13. Web site: The Robin Hood Energy saga that ended up costing Nottingham City Council £38m. 11 September 2023 . 23 January 2024 . Nottinghamshire Live . Nottinghamshire Live.
    14. News: Nottingham City Council stops all but essential spending after effectively declaring itself bankrupt . 29 November 2023 . ITV News . 29 November 2023.
    15. si. The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024. 2024. 232. 6 May 2024.
    16. Web site: Election Maps . Ordnance Survey . 1 July 2023.
    17. Web site: Compositions calculator . The Elections Centre . 10 August 2022.
    18. Web site: Council minutes . Nottingham City Council . 19 August 2022.
    19. News: Tories take city - by a whisker! . 19 August 2022 . Evening Post . 8 May 1987 . Nottingham . 1.
    20. News: Power switch . 19 August 2022 . Evening Post . 4 November 1988 . Nottingham . 1.
    21. News: Astill . Patrick . Jobs and security head new city leader's aims . 19 August 2022 . Evening Post . 9 May 1995 . Nottingham . 5.
    22. News: Pridmore . Oliver . David Mellen officially leaving office as new Nottingham City Council leader takes charge . 29 May 2024 . Nottinghamshire Live . 20 May 2024.
    23. Web site: Local elections 2023: live council results for England. The Guardian.
    24. News: Beck . Laycie . Two Labour councillors resign from party and slam Kier Starmer over Israel and Palestine conflict . 15 December 2023 . Nottingham Post . 18 October 2023.
    25. Web site: Labour suspends Sheriff of Nottingham over budget cuts vote. The BBC.
    26. Web site: Swaap, Aimee. Information Governance Office, Nottingham City Council. Nottingham City Council. Loxley House - a Freedom of Information request to Nottingham City Council. whatdotheyknow.com. mySociety by UK Citizens Online Democracy. 22 March 2018. 23 November 2010.
    27. si. The Nottingham (Electoral Changes) Order 2018. 2018. 856. 19 August 2022.
    28. Web site: East Midlands Region . Civic Heraldry of England . 8 March 2021.