Shrewsbury Town Council is the town council of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, established in April 2009 as part of structural changes to local government in England that abolished Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and created in its place the unitary Shropshire Council.[1] Shrewsbury was previously unparished, with the Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham acting as the town's mayor. With a population of over 76,000, Shrewsbury is the fourth-most populous parish in England.
The town council provides horticultural services and is responsible for parks, sports pitches, recreation grounds, allotments and highway verges. The council also manages provision of the town market, community facilities, bus shelters, street lighting and public toilets.[2]
The town is subdivided into 17 wards, each of which returns one councillor to sit on the town council. Elections are held every four years, alongside Shropshire Council elections, using first-past-the-post. The wards are mostly coterminous with the Shropshire Council divisions created in 2009.
See also: List of Mayors of Shrewsbury. Prior to 2009, the Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council acted as Mayor of Shrewsbury.[3] The Mayor is elected annually for a one-year term alongside the Deputy Mayor. By convention the Deputy Mayor becomes Mayor the following year.
| Term | Mayor | Ward | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Alan Townsend | Belle Vue | Labour | |
| 2010-11 | Kathleen Owen | Meole | Conservative | |
| 2011-12 | Tony Durnell | Monkmoor | Conservative | |
| 2012-13 | Keith Roberts | Radbrook | Conservative | |
| 2013-14 | Jon Tandy | Sutton and Reabrook | Labour | |
| 2014-15 | Beverley Baker | Bagley | Liberal Democrat | |
| 2015-16 | Miles Kenny | Underdale | Liberal Democrat | |
| 2016-17 | Ioan Jones | Harlescott | Labour |
| Shrewsbury Town Council | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| valign=top style="width: 40px" | Year | valign=top style="width: 40px" | Lab | valign=top style="width: 40px" | Con | valign=top style="width: 40px" | Lib | valign=top style="width: 40px" | Green |
| 2009 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2010* | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2012* | 4 | 10 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2013 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2017 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| 2021 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |||||
| The changing political make-up of the town council. * = by-election | |||||||||
The third elections to Shrewsbury Town Council were held on 4 May 2017, coinciding with elections to Shropshire Council.[4]
The Conservatives gained Bagley from the Liberal Democrats while the Greens gained Porthill, its first seat on Shrewsbury Town Council, also from the Liberal Democrats. That left Labour with 7 seats, the Conservatives with 6, the Liberal Democrats with 3 and the Green Party with 1.
All wards are single seat.
The second elections to Shrewsbury Town Council were held on 3 May 2013, coinciding with elections to Shropshire Council.
Labour gained Column, Monkmoor and Sundorne from the Conservatives while the Liberal Democrats gained Bagley and Quarry and Coton Hill. The composition of the town council was subsequently 7 for Labour, 5 for the Conservatives and 5 for the Liberal Democrats. With the Conservatives losing overall control, Labour and the Liberal Democrats took control of the control.[5]
The first elections to Shrewsbury Town Council were held on 4 June 2009, coinciding with elections to Shropshire Council and the European Parliament.[6]
The Conservatives won 12 seats (4 of which were uncontested), Labour won 3 and the Liberal Democrats won 2.