Croydon London Borough Council

Last updated

Croydon London Borough Council
Coat of arms of the London Borough of Croydon.svg
Coat of arms
Lb croydon logo.svg
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1965 (1965-04-01)
Preceded by Croydon Borough Council and Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council
Leadership
Kola Agboola,
Labour
since 22 May 2024 [1]
Jason Perry,
Conservative
since 9 May 2022
Katherine Kerswell
since September 2020 [2]
Structure
SeatsExecutive mayor plus 70 councillors [3]
United Kingdom Croydon Council 2022.svg
Political groups
Administration (34)
  Conservative (34)
Other parties (37)
  Labour (34)
  Green (2)
  Liberal Democrat (1)
Committees
Committees (9)
  • Appointments & Disciplinary
  • Audit & Governance
  • Civic Mayoralty & Honorary Freedom Selection
  • Ethics
  • General Purposes
  • Licensing
  • Pension
  • Planning
  • Scrutiny & Overview
Boards (2)
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Pension
Other Bodies (non-statutory) (17)
  • Adoption Panel
  • Adult Social Services Review Panel
  • Corporate Parenting Panel
  • Croydon Adult Social Services Users' Panel
  • Croydon Arnhem Working Group
  • Cycle Forum
  • Fostering Panel
  • Housing Disability Panel
  • Members' Learning & Development Panel
  • Mobility Forum
  • Public Transport Liaison Panel
  • Safer Neighbourhood Board
  • Schools Forum
  • Sheltered Housing Panel
  • Staff Partnership Panel
  • Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education
  • Tenant & Leaseholder Panel
Joint committees
(4)
  • Bandon Hill Cemetery
  • Croydon & Lewisham Street Lighting
  • South London Partnership
  • South London Waste Partnership
Length of term
Whole council elected every four years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 5 May 2022
Next election
7 May 2026
Motto
Ad Summa Nitamur
Let us strive after Perfection
Meeting place
Municipal buildings, Croydon (geograph 2164400).jpg
Town Hall, Katherine Street, Croydon, CR0 1NX
Website
www.croydon.gov.uk
Constitution
Constitution of the London Borough of Croydon

Croydon London Borough Council, which styles itself Croydon Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, electing 70 councillors. Since 2022 the council has been led by a directly elected mayor. The council has been under no overall control since 2022, being run by a Conservative minority administration. The council meets at Croydon Town Hall and has its main offices in the adjoining Bernard Weatherill House.

Contents

History

The town of Croydon's first local authority was a body of improvement commissioners established in 1829. [4] They were superseded in 1849 by an elected local board. [5] [6] The town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1883, after which it was governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Croydon", generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. [7] When elected county councils were established in 1889, Croydon was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services. It was therefore made a county borough, independent from the new Surrey County Council, whilst remaining part of Surrey for judicial and lieutenancy purposes. [8] [9] [10]

The larger London Borough of Croydon and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. [11] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's two outgoing authorities, being the councils of the County Borough of Croydon and the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. [12] The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Croydon". [13]

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Croydon) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council, Croydon has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. [14]

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. [15]

On 11 November 2020, the council issued a Section 114 Notice, under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, due to its difficult financial position, a de facto declaration of bankruptcy. [16]

Private Eye magazine named Croydon the most rotten borough in Britain for six years in a row from 2017 to 2022. [17]

In 2022 the council moved to having a directly elected mayor as its political leader. This followed a petition in 2020 and a referendum in October 2021 in which more than 80% of the votes were in favour of the change. [18]

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. [19] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health. [20]

Some 10,000 people work directly or indirectly for the council, at its main offices at Bernard Weatherill House or in its schools, care homes, housing offices or work depots. [21]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2022 election, being run by a minority Conservative administration under Jason Perry, the directly elected Mayor of Croydon. [22]

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: [23]

Party in controlYears
No overall control 1965–1968
Conservative 1968–1971
No overall control 1971–1974
Conservative 1974–1994
Labour 1994–2006
Conservative 2006–2014
Labour 2014–2022
No overall control 2022–present

Leadership

Prior to 2022, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 1965 to 2022 were: [24] [25]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Albert Dunn Conservative 19651967
Digby Weightman Conservative 19671970
Albert Dunn Conservative 19701976
Peter Bowness Conservative 19761979
Stanley Littlechild Conservative 19791980
Peter Bowness Conservative 19801994
Mary Walker Labour 19941996
Geraint Davies Labour 19961997
Val Shawcross Labour 19972000
Hugh Malyan Labour 20002005
Tony Newman Labour 20052006
Mike Fisher Conservative 20063 Jun 2014
Tony Newman Labour 3 Jun 2014Oct 2020
Hamida Ali Labour 22 Oct 20208 May 2022

In 2022 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor as its political leader. The directly elected mayor is termed the 'executive mayor' to distinguish it from the more ceremonial position of the 'civic mayor', who chairs council meetings. [26] The executive mayor since 2022 has been: [27]

MayorPartyFromTo
Jason Perry Conservative 9 May 2022

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections up to May 2024, the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) was as follows:

PartyCouncillors
Labour 34
Conservative 33
Green 2
Liberal Democrats 1
Total70

The next election is due in May 2026.

Cabinet

The cabinet is appointed by the executive mayor. The current composition of Croydon Council's cabinet is as follows: [28]

Party key Conservative
PostMemberWard
Mayor and Deputy Mayor
Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry Elected Mayor
Deputy Mayor of Croydon
Cabinet Member for Homes		Lynne Hale Sanderstead
Cabinet members
Cabinet Member for FinanceJason Cummings Shirley South
Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Maria Gatland South Croydon
Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social CareYvette Hopley Sanderstead
Cabinet Member for Community SafetyOla Kolade Kenley
Cabinet Member for Planning and RegenerationJeet Bains Addiscombe East
Cabinet Member for Streets and EnvironmentScott Roche Shirley South
Cabinet Member for Communities and CultureAndy Stranack Selsdon Vale & Forestdale

Shadow Cabinet

The largest opposition group on the council forms a Shadow Cabinet. The current composition of Croydon Council's Shadow Cabinet is as follows: [29]

Party key Labour
PostMemberWard
Leader and Deputy Leaders of the Opposition
Leader of the OppositionStuart King West Thornton
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance		Callton Young Thornton Heath
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care		Janet Campbell West Thornton
Shadow Cabinet members
Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Young PeopleAmy Foster Woodside
Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities and CultureNina Degrads Crystal Palace & Upper Norwood
Shadow Cabinet Member for Community SafetyEnid Mollyneaux Bensham Manor
Shadow Cabinet Member for HomesChrishni Reshekaron West Thornton
Shadow Cabinet Member for Planning and RegenerationChris Clark Fairfield
Shadow Cabinet Member for Streets and EnvironmentChristopher Herman South Norwood

Premises

The council meets at Croydon Town Hall on Katherine Street, which was completed for the old county borough council in 1896. [30]

Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA: Council's main offices Croydon Council.JPG
Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA: Council's main offices

The council has its main offices at Bernard Weatherill House on Mint Walk, immediately south of the Town Hall. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 2013 to replace the council's former offices at Taberner House on Park Lane, which was subsequently demolished. [31]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2018 the council has comprised 70 councillors representing 28 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [32] The addition of the directly elected mayor in 2022 means that there are now 71 seats on the council overall. The mayor is also elected every four years, at the same time as the council. [33]

Notable councillors

Notable former councillors include former MPs Andrew Pelling, Vivian Bendall, David Congdon, Geraint Davies and Reg Prentice, London Assembly member Valerie Shawcross, Lord Bowness, John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington (Master of the Rolls) and H.T. Muggeridge, MP and father of Malcolm Muggeridge. The first Mayor of the newly created county borough was Jabez Balfour, later a disgraced Member of Parliament. Former Conservative Director of Campaigning, Gavin Barwell, was a Croydon councillor between 1998 and 2010 and was the MP for Croydon Central from 2010 until 2017.

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References

  1. ↑ "New Civic Mayor and Deputy for Croydon appointed". Your Croydon. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Kerswell, Katherine (21 August 2023). "Transforming Croydon while in the eye of the storm". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections". opencouncildata.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "Croydon Improvement Act 1829". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Lawes, Edward (1851). The Act for promoting the Public Health, with notes. London: Shaw and Sons. p. 262. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Lancaster, Brian (2001). The "Croydon Case": Dirty Old Town to Model Town. Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society. ISBN   978-0-906047-16-3 . Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "Croydon Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "Local Government Act 1888", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1888 c. 41
  9. ↑ "Diagram of Surrey showing administrative boundaries, 1963". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  10. ↑ Kelly's Directory of Surrey. 1913. p. 97. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
  12. ↑ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN   0901050679.
  13. ↑ "Service Level Agreement" (PDF). Harrow Council. 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  14. ↑ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
  15. ↑ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN   978-0714648590.
  16. ↑ "Croydon Council bans spending under Section 114 notice". BBC News. 11 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Mayor maintains Croydon’s record in Rotten Boroughs awards", Inside Croydon, 6 January 2023. (Retrieved 18 November 2023.)
  18. ↑ "Croydon: Borough's voters choose directly-elected Mayor system in referendum". OnLondon. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "Workforce profiles | Croydon Council". www.croydon.gov.uk. Croydon Council. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "London elections: Croydon elects Conservative Mayor for first time in history". Evening Standard. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  23. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Council minutes". Croydon Council. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  25. ↑ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  26. ↑ "Your Councillors by Political Grouping". Croydon Council. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  27. ↑ "Role of the Elected Mayor | Croydon Council". www.croydon.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  28. ↑ "Mayor Perry announces first Cabinet for Croydon under new mayoral system". Croydon Council. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  29. ↑ "Shadow Cabinet Members | Croydon Council". www.croydon.gov.uk. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  30. ↑ Historic England. "Municipal Buildings, comprising the clock tower, public library, and Corn Exchange, and including the area balustrade which incorporates a war memorial and a statue of Queen Victoria (Grade II) (1188798)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  31. ↑ "Bernard Weatherill House". AJ Buildings Library. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  32. ↑ "The London Borough of Croydon (Electoral Changes) Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2017/1125, retrieved 5 April 2024
  33. ↑ "How the elections work". London Councils. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
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