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Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

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Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority for Redcar and Cleveland, a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council was created in 1974 as Langbaurgh Borough Council and was a lower-tier authority until 1996 when it was renamed and became a unitary authority, taking over county-level functions from the abolished Cleveland County Council.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Neil Bendelow,
Labour
since 23 May 2024[1]
Alec Brown,
Labour
since 25 May 2023
John Sampson
since 2019[2]
Structure
Seats59 councillors
Political groups
Administration (22)
  Labour (22)
Other parties (37)
  Conservative (14)
  Independent (13)
  Liberal Democrat (10)
Joint committees
Tees Valley Combined Authority
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, Ridley Street, Redcar, TS10 1TD
Website
www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017. The council has been under no overall control since 2013, being led by a minority Labour administration since 2023. It is based at the Civic Centre in Redcar.

History

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The district and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as one of four districts within the new county of Cleveland. The new district covered the whole area of four former districts and part of a fifth, all of which were abolished at the same time:[3]

The district was named Langbaurgh after the ancient Langbaurgh Wapentake.[4] The county borough of Teesside had only been created six years earlier in 1968; the wards from Teesside which became part of Langbaurgh broadly corresponded to the pre-1968 municipal borough of Redcar, urban district of Eston and parish of Ormesby.[5]

The first election was held in in 1973. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities. The new district and its council formally came into being on 1 April 1974, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. The district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6] The council changed the district's name from Langbaurgh to Langbaurgh-on-Tees with effect from 1 January 1988.[7]

From 1974 until 1996 the council provided only district-level services, with county-level services provided by Cleveland County Council. The county and its council were abolished in 1996 and the area's four boroughs became unitary authorities. The way this change was implemented was to rename the existing borough Redcar and Cleveland, and create a new non-metropolitan county of Redcar and Cleveland covering the same area as the borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county-level functions.[8] At the same time the borough was transferred for ceremonial purposes to North Yorkshire, but as a unitary authority it has always been independent from North Yorkshire Council.[9][10]

Governance

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Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council provides both county-level and district-level services. Parts of the borough are included in civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas. The north-west of the borough, corresponding to the parts that were in the County Borough of Teesside between 1968 and 1974, is an unparished area.[11][12]

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.[13]

Political control

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The council has been under no overall control since 2013.[14] Following the 2023 election a minority Labour administration took control of the council.[15]

Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[16][17]

Langbaurgh (lower-tier district)

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1979
Labour 1979–1987
No overall control 1987–1991
Labour 1991–1996

Redcar and Cleveland (unitary authority)

Party in control Years
Labour 1996–2003
No overall control 2003–2011
Labour 2011–2013
No overall control 2013–present

Leadership

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The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Redcar and Cleveland. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:

Councillor Party From To
George Dunning[18] Labour 17 May 2007 12 Feb 2015
Mary Lanigan Independent 12 Feb 2015 28 May 2015
Sue Jeffrey Labour 28 May 2015 23 May 2019
Mary Lanigan[19] Independent 23 May 2019 7 May 2023
Alec Brown[20] Labour 25 May 2023

Composition

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Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance, the composition of the council was:[21][22]

Party Councillors
Labour 22
Conservative 14
Independent 13
Liberal Democrats 10
Total 59

Of the 13 independent councillors, 11 sit together as the "Independent Group".[23] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

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See also: Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 59 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[24]

Premises

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Redcar and Cleveland House, Kirkleatham Street, Redcar, TS10 1RT: Council's main offices.

The council meets at the Civic Centre on Ridley Street in Redcar. It has its main offices in the adjoining Redcar and Cleveland House at the corner of Ridley Street and Kirkleatham Street, which was built in 1996 to accommodate the extra staff the council took on when it became a unitary authority.[25] The Civic Centre opened in 2014 as part of a £31 million development called the "Leisure and Community Heart", which incorporates a council chamber, mayor's parlour, register services, meeting rooms, 44 business units, as well as sport and leisure facilities.[26][27][28]

 
Town Hall, Fabian Road, Teesville: Council's headquarters 1974–2012
 
Cargo Fleet Building: Council's additional offices 1981–2002

When first created in 1974 the council used Eston Town Hall on Fabian Road in Teesville as its headquarters, which had been built in 1961 for the old Eston Urban District Council.[29][30] In 1981 the council also bought the former headquarters of the Cargo Fleet Iron Company in South Bank, which had been built in 1916. The Cargo Fleet building closed in 2002 and Eston Town Hall was demolished in 2012.[31]

Cabinet

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As of June 2024, the makeup of the council's cabinet was as follows:[32]

Councillor Portfolio
Alec Brown Leader
Carrie Richardson Climate, Environment and Culture, and deputy leader
Lynn Pallister Growth and Enterprise
Christopher Massey Resources
Lisa Robson Adults
Bill Suthers Children
Ursula Earl Health, Welfare and Housing
Carl Quartermain Highways and Transport
Adam Brook Neighbourhoods

References

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  1. ^ "The Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland". Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ Peters, Dan (25 July 2019). "New management model with no chief approved". localgov.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  3. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 12 June 2024
  4. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 12 June 2024
  5. ^ "Diagram of Yorkshire (North Riding) showing administrative boundaries, 1966". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  6. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  7. ^ Bulletin of Changes of Local Authority Status, Names and Areas (PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1988. p. 2. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  8. ^ "The Cleveland (Further Provision) Order 1995: Article 3", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1747 (art. 3), retrieved 12 June 2024
  9. ^ "The Local Government Changes for England (Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1748, retrieved 6 March 2024
  10. ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1997 c. 23. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Yorkshire North Riding: Diagram showing administrative boundaries, 1971". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  13. ^ "The Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/449, retrieved 25 February 2024
  14. ^ Hetherington, Graeme (31 July 2013). "Redcar and Cleveland Labour group lose overall control of council following latest defections". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  15. ^ Arnold, Stuart (27 May 2023). "New local authority leader wants rival councillors to work together to 'bridge differences'". Teesside Live. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  17. ^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Redcar and Cleveland council leader George Dunning resigns". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  19. ^ Cain, James (13 May 2019). "Who is Mary Lanigan? The experienced and outspoken new leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council". Teesside Live. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  20. ^ Arnold, Stuart (27 May 2023). "New council leader wants rival cllrs to 'bridge differences'". TeessideLive. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  22. ^ Arnold, Stuart (18 November 2023). "Vera's return as independent councillor rejoins Conservative group two years after quitting". Teesside Live. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Your councillors". Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  24. ^ "The Redcar and Cleveland (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2018/1177, retrieved 22 February 2024
  25. ^ "£1.6m office block will be built for council". Herald and Post. Middlesbrough. 8 November 1995. p. 3. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Redcar civic centre and sports complex opens to the public". Middlesbrough Evening Gazette. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  27. ^ "Multi-million pound leisure centre opens its doors in Redcar". Northern Echo. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  28. ^ "Redcar and Cleveland Council first meeting after 28k seating-row". BBC News. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  29. ^ Municipal Year Book. London: Municipal Journal. 1976. p. 770.
  30. ^ "Time is running out for old hall". Teesside Live. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  31. ^ "New life for old building". Teesside Live. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  32. ^ "The cabinet | Redcar and Cleveland". www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
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