Macclesfield (borough)

Last updated

Borough of Macclesfield
Macclesfield UK locator map.svg
Shown within Cheshire
History
 • Origin Macclesfield Municipal Borough
Alderley Edge Urban District
Bollington Urban District
Knutsford Urban District
Wilmslow Urban District
Disley Rural District
Macclesfield Rural District
Bucklow Rural District (part of)
 • Created1 April 1974
 • Abolished31 March 2009
 • Succeeded by Cheshire East
Status Non-metropolitan district
ONS code 13UG
 •  HQ Macclesfield

Macclesfield was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and within its wider area the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Disley, Gawsworth, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton, Prestbury, Rainow, Styal, Sutton and Tytherington.

Contents

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a merger of Macclesfield municipal borough, Alderley Edge, Bollington, Knutsford and Wilmslow urban districts, along with the single parish Disley Rural District, Macclesfield Rural District and part of Bucklow Rural District. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor. [1]

In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The decision to merge the boroughs of Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe and Nantwich to create a single unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007, following a consultation period in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected. [2]

The Borough of Macclesfield was abolished on 1 April 2009, when the new Cheshire East unitary authority was formed. [3]

Civil parishes

The borough contained 52 civil parishes and 2 discrete unparished areas (namely, the towns of Macclesfield and Wilmslow). Of the 52 civil parishes, five (Agden, Little Bollington, Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough, Tatton, and Wincle) held parish meetings rather than elect a parish council. [4] Of the remaining 47 civil parishes, two contained towns (Bollington and Knutsford) and so had town councils rather than parish councils administering them. [4] A number of adjacent or abutting civil parishes were grouped together under a single parish council: Ollerton with Marthall, Plumley with Toft and Bexton, and Tabley (for the parishes of Tabley Inferior and Tabley Superior) The remaining 37 civil parishes had their own parish council. [4]

The following civil parishes were included in the borough:

Political control

The town of Macclesfield had been a municipal borough from 1836 to 1974 with a borough council. [5] The first elections to the new Macclesfield Borough created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was as follows: [6]

Party in controlYears
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–2009

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1983 were:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Margaret Duddy [7] Conservative 19832001
Peter Burns [8] Conservative 2001May 2004
Sue Kipling [9] Conservative 200423 Sep 2004
Wesley Fitzgerald [10] Conservative 20042008
Frank Keegan [11] [12] Conservative 20082009

The penultimate leader, Wesley Fitzgerald, went on to become the first leader of Cheshire East Council. [13]

Composition

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:

PartyCouncillors
Conservative38
Liberal Democrat12
Labour6
Handforth Ratepayer2
Independent2

Council elections

Results maps

By-election results

North East By-Election 20 June 1996
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats 1,27850.5
Conservative 1,00839.8
Labour 2459.7
Majority 27010.7
Turnout 2,53137.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Prestbury By-Election 12 September 1996
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative 96778.8
Liberal Democrats 25921.1
Majority 70857.7
Turnout 1,22628.0
Conservative hold Swing
Plumley By-Election 3 July 1997
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative 50656.3−1.3
Liberal Democrats 39243.7+12.6
Majority 11412.6
Turnout 89846.0
Conservative hold Swing
Knutsford Over By-Election 4 November 1999
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative 47852.5+12.3
Labour 27530.2+7.5
Independent 12013.2−3.9
Liberal Democrats 384.2−7.0
Majority 20322.3
Turnout 91121.9
Conservative hold Swing
Knutsford Bexton By-Election 1 February 2001
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats 34645.9+11.3
Conservative 33644.6−0.9
Labour 729.5−10.5
Majority 101.3
Turnout 75434.1
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing
Morley and Styal By-Election 5 April 2001
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats 85759.6+12.6
Conservative 58040.4+2.8
Majority 27719.2
Turnout 1,43736.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Macclesfield West By-Election 7 June 2001
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour 1,29060.0+0.8
Conservative 53825.0+4.5
Liberal Democrats 32114.9+0.4
Majority 75235.0
Turnout 2,149
Labour hold Swing
Pornton Central By-Election 7 June 2001
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative 1,62145.5−8.5
Liberal Democrats 1,18733.3−2.0
Labour 75621.2+10.5
Majority 43412.2
Turnout 3,564
Conservative hold Swing
Bollington West By-Election 31 July 2003
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Shirley Sockett43462.6+41.4
Conservative 16223.4−17.4
Labour 9714.0−24.0
Majority 27239.2
Turnout 69336.6
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing
Hurdsfield By-Election 27 November 2003
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats 46756.3−0.3
Conservative 21225.5+9.0
Labour 15118.2−8.7
Majority 25530.8
Turnout 83024.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Knutsford Nether By-Election 16 September 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Vivien Davies38561.1−8.0
Liberal Democrats Paul Moss19931.6+12.6
Labour 467.3−4.6
Majority 18629.5
Turnout 63030.4
Conservative hold Swing
Plumley By-Election 5 May 2005
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Fisher78963.3−25.6
Liberal Democrats Heulwen Barlow32926.4+26.4
Labour Laurences Hobday12910.3−0.8
Majority 46036.9
Turnout 1,24765.3
Conservative hold Swing
Prestbury By-Election 26 January 2006
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Nicholas Stratford95089.5+89.5
Liberal Democrats Anne Goddard11210.5−26.5
Majority 83879.0
Turnout 1,06225.0
Conservative gain from Independent Swing
Hurdsfield By-Election 20 July 2006
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Enid Tomlinson50058.2+5.2
Labour Simon Truss17820.7−3.9
Conservative Matthew Davies829.6−12.8
Independent Fred Grundy536.2+6.2
Green John Knight455.2+5.2
Majority 32237.5
Turnout 85825.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Aldermen and Freeman of the borough

The following is a list of people who have been either an Alderman or Freeman of the borough of Macclesfield, and when the title was bestowed.

Individuals

References

  1. ↑ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 28 March 1974. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  2. ↑ BBC News, 25 July 2007 – County split into two authorities. Retrieval Date: 25 July 2007.
  3. ↑ "The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008". opsi.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 "Parish Clerks". Borough of Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  5. ↑ "Macclesfield Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Macclesfield" in search box to see specific results.)
  7. ↑ "Tributes paid to 'truly remarkable' leader". Macclesfield Express. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "Council leader resigns after arrest". Macclesfield Express. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Sue answers God's call". Manchester Evening News. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Slater, Chris (3 July 2013). "Plea to give our town its own political voice". Macclesfield Express. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Reeves, Lisa (1 May 2011). "Conservative candidate interview: Frank Keegan". alderleyedge.com. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  12. ↑ Bebbington, Gina (21 January 2009). "Taxpayers face big bill for shake up". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  13. ↑ Ellis, Jean (28 May 2008). "Wesley leads". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  14. ↑ The Borough of Macclesfield (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978
  15. ↑ The Macclesfield and Vale Royal (Areas) Order 1982
  16. ↑ legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire and Greater Manchester (County and District Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  17. ↑ legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire and Greater Manchester (County and District Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  18. ↑ legislation.gov.uk – The Cheshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester (County and District Boundaries) Order 1993. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  19. ↑ legislation.gov.uk – The Borough of Macclesfield (Electoral Changes) Order 1998. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Freedom of Macclesfeild
    To be Presented to Alderman E. Eaton"    . Wilmslow and Alderley and Knutsford Advertiser. 6 January 1939. p. 7. Retrieved 29 December 2024– via Newspapers.com.
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