Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 51°28′00″N0°40′00″W / 51.4667°N 0.6667°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Ceremonial county | Berkshire |
Status | Unitary authority |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Admin HQ | Maidenhead |
Government | |
• Type | Unitary authority |
• Body | Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council |
• Leadership | Cllr Simon Werner (Leader of the Council) (Liberal Democrats) |
• MPs | |
Area | |
• Total | 76.61 sq mi (198.43 km2) |
• Rank | 146th (of 296) |
Population (2021 [1] ) | |
• Total | 153,921 |
• Rank | 137th (of 296) |
• Density | 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 00ME (ONS) E06000040 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | SU926750 |
Website | www |
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough and unitary authority in Berkshire, South East England. While it is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland Windsor and Ascot Racecourse. It is one of four boroughs entitled to be prefixed Royal and is one of six unitary authorities in the county, which has historic and ceremonial status.
The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as one of six standard districts or boroughs within Berkshire, under the Local Government Act 1972, from minor parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire which remained for more than two decades Administrative Counties, and such that Berkshire assumed the high-level local government functions for the resultant area. The change merged the boroughs of Maidenhead and Windsor (formally the Royal Borough of New Windsor), the rural districts of Cookham and Windsor, and in Buckinghamshire, north of the River Thames (on the left bank): Eton urban district and the parishes of Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury in its rural district. [3] The area immediately inherited by law royal borough status from the town of Windsor which contains Windsor Castle.
The local authority is its Council. Its area became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998 with virtually full local government powers as Berkshire County Council was abolished. [4] A minority of the area in terms of population has a lower level of local government, the civil parish.
The borough straddles the River Thames. Approximately half of its flow through the borough has a bypass and seasonally-variable flood relief channel, the Jubilee River. Further flood relief channels are planned for the reaches below the Borough to benefit many other settlements including Datchet and Wraysbury in the borough which were the settlements most widely affected by the UK storms of January-February 2014. [5]
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead contains the following towns and villages:
The Royal Borough is represented at Westminster by two members of parliament of the Conservative Party: Adam Afriyie (for Windsor) and Theresa May (for Maidenhead). Maidenhead has been held by the Conservative Party since its creation in 1997. Windsor has been held by the same party since 1874 with varying representation from its 1484 creation including more than 350 initial years with two MPs. Small parts of other districts, notably Slough and Wokingham have intermittently been included in each constituency to prevent malapportionment which is a definition of boundaries which causes any MP to serve a significantly different number of potential voters (electors) than the others. [6] [7]
The irregular, elongated shape of the Windsor seat being the south-east half of the Borough has been criticised by academics who noted the net changes which the Heath administration led through Parliament in 1972, implemented in 1974, intensified difference. They frequently grouped right-leaning suburban areas within urban historic centres and more modern, urban left-leaning areas such as the bulk of Slough. This ostensibly amounted to nationwide gerrymandering or homogenisation to install a greater number safe seats at the expense of marginal seats however also reflected the majority of social associations of people in each area. [8]
Elections for councillors to the Royal Borough take place every four years; the last took place in 2023. The local authority is controlled a cabinet. The Royal Borough is currently under a Liberal Democrat administration, with Cllr Simon Werner the leader of the council. [9]
The borough's Mayor is Cllr Neil Knowles, and Mayor's Consort Theresa Knowles. [10]
41 councillors represent the electorate of 19 wards. [9] The political control of the Royal Borough is as follows: [11] [12] [13]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1973–1991 | |
No overall control | 1991–1995 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1995–1997 | |
No overall control | 1997–2003 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2003–2007 | |
Conservative | 2007–2023 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2023–present |
There are 14 parish councils and 1 town council in the borough:
The towns of Maidenhead and Windsor are unparished.
The Windsor and Maidenhead LEA provides a comprehensive system, with a three-tier successive school system in Windsor, and two-tier education elsewhere. Colleges and sixth forms are available in the main two towns as well as across its borders in Egham, Slough and Wokingham. [14]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is twinned with the following Towns:
The Royal County of Berkshire, commonly known as simply Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town.
Colnbrook is a village in the Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the Colne, the Colne Brook and Wraysbury River. These two streams have their confluence just to the southeast of the village. Colnbrook is centred 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the Slough town centre, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Windsor, and 19 miles (31 km) west of central London.
Eton is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had a population of 4,692 at the 2011 Census. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Buckinghamshire, in 1974 it came under the administration of Berkshire following the Local Government Act 1972; since 1998 it has been part of the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead. The town is best known as the location of Eton College.
Horton is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is between Windsor and Staines-upon-Thames.
Windsor (/ˈwɪnzə/) is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Adam Afriyie of the Conservative Party. It was re-created for the 1997 general election after it was abolished following the 1970 general election and replaced by the Windsor and Maidenhead constituency.
Eton Rural District was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, covering an area in the south-east of the county. It was named after but did not contain Eton, which was an urban district.
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, which is a unitary authority in Berkshire, England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district. Elections are held every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2019 there have been 41 councillors elected from 19 wards.
North Ascot is an area of Bracknell Forest in the county of Berkshire in England, with a few acres straddling the town of Ascot in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It lies north of the A329 and west of the A332, adjoining the Ascot Racecourse, Heatherwood Hospital and the village of Burleigh.
Windsor and Maidenhead was a county constituency in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
East Berkshire was a county constituency in the county of Berkshire. It 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.
The Windsor Link Railway was a proposed new railway in Windsor, Berkshire, connecting the Great Western and South Western franchise areas and linking both to London Heathrow Airport.
Thames Valley Buses Limited, trading as Thames Valley Buses, is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. It was known as Courtney Buses until 2021. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire and small parts of Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. In March 2019 it was purchased by Reading Buses, with the company having gradually rebranded to its current name between October 2019 and April 2021.
Eton and Castle is an electoral ward of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. As its name suggests, it comprises the town of Eton and Windsor Castle. It is currently represented by George Fussey of the Liberal Democrats. Nationally, the ward forms part of the UK Parliamentary constituency of Windsor and is currently represented by Adam Afriyie of the Conservative Party.
The Windsor and Eton Express was founded on August 1, 1812 by Charles Knight Snr and his son, Charles Knight Jnr. Charles Knight Snr was a local book seller and printer and edited and printed the newspaper from Church Street in Windsor. When Charles Knight Snr died the paper was passed to his son, who was unhappy with the cost of the newspaper, which was six-and-a-half pence when it began and rose to seven pence in September 1815 due to a heavy stamp duty. Charles Knight Jnr believed in a cheap press, but at the start of the Express newspapers were only ever subscribed to by the wealthy, before the abolition of stamp duty in 1855.
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council is the local authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Windsor and Maidenhead is divided into 19 wards, electing 41 councillors. The council was created by the Local Government Act 1972 and replaced six local authorities: Cookham Rural District Council, Eton Urban District Council, Eton Rural District Council, Maidenhead Borough Council, New Windsor Borough Council and Windsor Rural District Council. Since 1 April 1998 it has been a unitary authority, assuming the powers and functions of Berkshire County Council.
The Borough of Slough is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, Southern England. The borough is centred around the town of Slough and includes Langley. It forms an urban area with parts of Buckinghamshire and extends to the villages of Burnham, Farnham Royal, George Green, and Iver. Part of the district's area was in Buckinghamshire prior to the district's formation and in Middlesex until 1965.