Borough of Chorley

This article is about the local government district formed in 1974. For the borough between 1881 and 1974, see Municipal Borough of Chorley.

Borough of Chorley
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Coat of arms of Borough of Chorley
Coat of arms
Shown within Lancashire and England
Shown within Lancashire and England
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionNorth West England
Ceremonial countyLancashire
Founded1 April 1974
Admin. HQChorley
Government
 • TypeChorley Borough Council
 • MPs:Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker) Paul Foster (Labour)
Area
 • Total
78 sq mi (203 km2)
 • Rank144th
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
118,624
 • RankRanked 204th
 • Density1,500/sq mi (580/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode areas
PR6–PR7-PR25-PR26, BL6, L40
Area codes01257, 01204, 01254, 01704, 01772
ISO 3166-2–
ONS code30UE (ONS)
E07000118 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSD5817
NUTS 3–

The Borough of Chorley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It is named after the town of Chorley, which is an unparished area. The borough extends to several villages and hamlets including Adlington, Buckshaw Village, Croston, Eccleston, Euxton and Whittle-le-Woods.

The neighbouring districts are West Lancashire, South Ribble, Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton and Wigan.

History

[edit]

The town of Chorley had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1853.[2] The commissioners were reconstituted as a local board in 1863.[3] The board was in turn replaced in 1881 when the town was made a municipal borough.[4]

The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[5]

The new district was named Chorley, and the borough status previously held by the town was passed to the new district on the day that it came into being, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Chorley's series of mayors dating back to 1881.[6][7]

Governance

[edit]
Chorley Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Gordon France,
Labour
since 14 May 2024[8]
Alistair Bradley,
Labour
since 15 May 2012
Chris Sinnott
since January 2023[9]
Structure
Seats42 councillors
Political groups
Administration (39)
  Labour (39)
Opposition (3)
  Conservative (3)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Market Street, Chorley, PR7 1DP
Website
www.chorley.gov.uk

Chorley Borough Council, which styles itself "Chorley Council", provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[10]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2012.[11]

The first election to the reformed borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[12]

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1983
No overall control 1983–1990
Labour 1990–1991
No overall control 1991–1995
Labour 1995–2000
No overall control 2000–2006
Conservative 2006–2011
No overall control 2011–2012
Labour 2012–present

Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Chorley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1990 have been:[13]

Councillor Party From To
Jack Wilson Labour 1990 16 May 2006
Peter Goldsworthy Conservative 16 May 2006 15 May 2012
Alistair Bradley Labour 15 May 2012

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:[14][15]

Party Councillors
Labour 39
Conservative 3
Total 42

The next election is due in 2026, where a third of the council's seats will be contested.

Elections

[edit]
See also: Chorley Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2020 the council has comprised 42 councillors representing 14 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four year term of office. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[16]

The wards are:

  1. Adlington & Anderton
  2. Buckshaw & Whittle
  3. Chorley East
  4. Chorley North East
  5. Chorley North West
  6. Chorley North & Astley
  7. Chorley South East & Heath Charnock
  8. Chorley South West
  9. Clayton East, Brindle & Hoghton
  10. Clayton West & Cuerden
  11. Coppull
  12. Croston, Mawdesley & Euxton South
  13. Eccleston, Heskin & Charnock Richard
  14. Euxton

The Chorley constituency was coterminous with the borough from 1997 until 2010 when Croston, Eccleston, Bretherton and Mawdesley were transferred to the South Ribble constituency. The current Member of Parliament for Chorley is Lindsay Hoyle, who was first elected to the seat in 1997.

Premises

[edit]
Civic Offices, Union Street

The council's main offices are at the Civic Offices on Union Street in Chorley.[17] Council meetings are held at Chorley Town Hall on Market Street, which had been completed in 1879 for the old local board.[18][19][20]

Parishes

[edit]
Parishes in Chorley Borough

The borough contains 23 civil parishes. The parish council for Adlington takes the style "town council".[21] The central part of the borough, roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 borough of Chorley, is an unparished area.[22]

  1. Adlington
  2. Anderton
  3. Anglezarke
  4. Astley Village
  5. Bretherton
  6. Brindle
  7. Charnock Richard
  8. Clayton-le-Woods
  9. Coppull
  10. Croston
  11. Cuerden
  12. Eccleston
  13. Euxton
  14. Heapey
  15. Heath Charnock
  16. Heskin
  17. Hoghton
  18. Mawdesley
  19. Rivington
  20. Ulnes Walton
  21. Wheelton
  22. Whittle-le-Woods
  23. Withnell

Settlements

[edit]
class=notpageimage|
Towns, villages and hills in the Borough of Chorley

Freedom of the Borough

[edit]

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Chorley.

Individuals

[edit]

[23]

Military Units

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Chorley Local Authority (E07000118)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Chorley Improvement Act 1853". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  3. ^ "No. 22786". The London Gazette. 6 November 1863. p. 5240.
  4. ^ "Chorley Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  5. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 August 2022
  6. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 22 August 2022
  7. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  8. ^ Faulkner, Paul (16 May 2024). "Chorley Council's new mayor sets out his top priority". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. ^ Aldred, Tim (22 April 2022). "Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council appoint shared chief executive". Lancashire Business View. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  11. ^ Holt, James (7 May 2021). ""Labour maintain strong majority in Chorley: Your full council election analysis"". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Council minutes". Chorley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Election 2024 - Results". Chorley Borough Council. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Labour wins Hyndburn and unseats opposition Tory leader in Chorley". BBC News. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  16. ^ "The Chorley (Electoral Changes) Order 2019", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2019/1124, retrieved 5 October 2023
  17. ^ "Other ways to get in touch". Chorley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 August 2022. Our address is: Civic Offices, Union Street, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 1AL
  18. ^ "Executive Cabinet agenda, 14 July 2022". Chorley Borough Council. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022. Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Chorley
  19. ^ "1875 – Town Hall, Chorley, Lancashire". Archiseek. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Chorley, Lancashire". The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Parish councils contact information". Chorley Council. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  23. ^ a b Clewlow, Stuart (7 October 2021). "The Freedom of Chorley: Who were the people granted this title and were they really allowed to have grazing rights in the town?". The Chorley Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Freedom of the Borough 2017". Government of the United Kingdom.
  25. ^ "3 Medical Regiment to be presented with the Freedom of the Borough". Chorley Council. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2020.

53°39′11″N 2°37′55″W / 53.653°N 2.632°W / 53.653; -2.632

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