North Tyneside Council

Last updated

North Tyneside Council
North Tyneside Council logo.svg
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Steve Cox,
Labour
since 16 May 2024 [1]
Norma Redfearn,
Labour
since 6 May 2013
Paul Hanson
since August 2018 [2]
Structure
SeatsElected mayor plus 60 councillors
North Tyneside Council 2024.svg
Political groups
Administration (51)
  Labour (51)
Other parties (9)
  Conservative (8)
  Independent (1)
Joint committees
North East Combined Authority
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Council HQ - Cobalt Business Park.jpg
Quadrant East, 16 The Silverlink North, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE27 0BY
Website
my.northtyneside.gov.uk

North Tyneside Council, or North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the North East Combined Authority since 2024.

Contents

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011. It is based at Quadrant East in Cobalt Park, a large business park in the centre of the borough.

History

North Tyneside and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of five districts within the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. The district covered the whole area of three former districts and parts of another two, which were all abolished at the same time:

The whole area had been in Northumberland prior to the reforms; as a county borough, Tynemouth had been independent from Northumberland County Council but had been part of Northumberland for ceremonial purposes. [3] The new district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing it to appoint a mayor. [4]

North Tyneside Council initially provided district-level functions, with county-level functions being provided by Tyne and Wear County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986, after only twelve years in existence, and its functions passed to the area's five district councils. [5]

In 2002 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor; prior to that the mayor had been a more ceremonial position.

Governance

Since 1986 the council has provided both district-level and county-level functions, with some services being provided through joint arrangements with the other Tyne and Wear councils. In 2024 a combined authority was established covering North Tyneside, County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, 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. [6] [7]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [8] [9]

Party in controlYears
Labour 1974–1986
No overall control 1986–1987
Labour 1987–2004
No overall control 2004–2008
Conservative 2008–2010
No overall control 2010–2011
Labour 2011–present

Leadership

Prior to 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. In 2002 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor. There have been periods where the mayor is of one party but the majority of the councillors are of another party.

The leaders from 1974 to 2002 were:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Jim Bamborough [10] Labour 1 Apr 197418 May 1984
Brian Flood Labour 18 May 19845 May 1996
Rita Stringfellow [11] Labour May 19965 May 2002

The mayors since 2002 have been:

MayorPartyFromTo
Chris Morgan Conservative 6 May 200218 Apr 2003
Linda Arkley Conservative 12 Jun 20038 May 2005
John Harrison Labour 9 May 20057 Jun 2009
Linda Arkley Conservative 8 Jun 20095 May 2013
Norma Redfearn Labour 6 May 2013

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) was: [12] [13]

PartyCouncillors
Labour 51
Conservative 8
Independent 1
Total60

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 60 councillors representing 20 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. [14]

Premises

Wallsend Town Hall: Council's meeting place 1974-2008 Wallsend Town Hall.jpg
Wallsend Town Hall: Council's meeting place 1974–2008

Since 2008 the council has been based at Quadrant East, a modern office building at Cobalt Park, a large business park in the centre of the borough. [15] With an NE27 postcode, the building comes under the Newcastle upon Tyne post town, although the council itself quotes the address as "North Tyneside" (administratively accurate but not postally). [16] [17] The building is in the part of the borough which was the County Borough of Tynemouth prior to 1974. [18]

Prior to 2008 the council's offices were in several locations across the borough. Meetings were held at Wallsend Town Hall. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyne and Wear</span> County of England

Tyne and Wear is a ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tyneside</span> Metropolitan borough in England

North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead</span> Metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England

The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Felling, Birtley, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell. The borough forms part of the Tyneside conurbation, centred on Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2021 census, the borough had a population of 196,154.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tynemouth (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

Tynemouth is a constituency in Tyne and Wear represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Sir Alan Campbell, a member of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tyneside (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

North Tyneside was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its creation by the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle City Council</span> Local government body in England

Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It has been under Labour majority control since 2011. In 2024 the council became a member of the North East Combined Authority. The council is based at Newcastle Civic Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunderland City Council</span> Local authority of Sunderland, England

Sunderland City Council is the local authority of Sunderland, a metropolitan borough with city status in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five such councils in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in Sunderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumberland County Council</span> Local authority in North East England

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.

Tyneside was a parliamentary constituency in the Tyneside area of north-east England, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham County Council</span> Local authority in North East England

Durham County Council is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of County Durham in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county of County Durham, which additionally includes Darlington, Hartlepool and the parts of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees. The county council has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyneside Passenger Transport Executive</span>

The Tyneside Passenger Transport Executive was the operations arm of the Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority, created by the Transport Act 1968. and came into operation on 1 January 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Tyneside Council</span>

South Tyneside Council is the local authority of for the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five metropolitan boroughs in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in South Tyneside. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1979. It is based at South Shields Town Hall. The council is a constituent member of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North of Tyne Combined Authority</span> Local government body in north east England

The North of Tyne Combined Authority was a mayoral combined authority which consisted of the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into being on 2 November 2018 under the statutory name Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority. The three local authorities previously formed part of the North East Combined Authority, which continued to exist covering a smaller area. The two combined authorities cooperated on the North East Joint Transport Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Tyne and Wear County Council election</span> Election

The 1973 Tyne and Wear County Council election was held on 12 April 1973 as part of the first elections to the new local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales. 104 councillors were elected from 95 electoral divisions across the region's five boroughs. Each division returned either one or two county councillors each by First-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The election took place ahead of the elections to the area's metropolitan borough councils, which followed on 10 May 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in North Tyneside

The 2022 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors—20 out of 60—on North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council were elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The county of Northumberland has returned four MPs to the UK Parliament since 1983. Under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, the boundaries of the historic/administrative county were significantly altered with the south-east of the county, comprising more than half the electorate, being transferred to the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. These changes were reflected in the following redistribution of parliamentary seats which did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, resulting in a reduction in the county's representation from 10 to 4 MPs.

The ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear has returned 12 MPs to the UK Parliament since 2010. It was created under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, comprising the urban areas around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear, previously parts of the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Combined Authority</span> Combined authority in North East England

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) is a combined authority in North East England. NECA has a directly-elected Mayor and seven member councils; two county unitary authorities and five metropolitan boroughs.

The 2024 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections held in the United Kingdom on the same day. All seats were up for election following boundary changes. Labour retained its majority on the council.

References

    1. Shakespeare, Austen (17 May 2024). "New North Tyneside Council chairman elected who has served 26 years as councillor". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
    2. Holland, Daniel (22 June 2018). "Who is Paul Hanson? Meet North Tyneside Council's new chief executive". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
    3. "Local Government Act 1972: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70 (sch.1)
    4. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
    5. "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 28 March 2024
    6. "The North East Mayoral Combined County Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2024", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2024/402, retrieved 6 May 2024
    7. "North East devolution deal". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
    8. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
    9. "North Tyneside". BBC News Online . 19 April 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
    10. Trelease, Helen (10 May 1984). "Council boss loses battle: 10-year reign ends". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne. p. 9. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
    11. "Ex-Labour leader will stand down". Chronicle Live. 5 November 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
    12. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
    13. "Your councillors by party". North Tyneside Council. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
    14. "The North Tyneside (Electoral Changes) Order 2024", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2024/138, retrieved 27 March 2024
    15. "Quadrant, North Tyneside Council". Art UK. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    16. "Contact the council". North Tyneside Council. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
    17. "Find an address". Royal Mail. Retrieved 9 June 2024. Searching for the council's NE27 0BY postcode on the Royal Mail address finder gives the official postal address as "North Tyneside Council, 16 The Silverlink North, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE27 0BY"
    18. "Georeferenced maps". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
    19. "Budget Changes Secure Services". BBC. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 21 November 2020.