Warrington Borough Council

Warrington Borough Council
Type
Type	Unitary authority
Leadership
Mayor	Wendy Johnson, Liberal Democrats since 1 July 2024 [1]
Leader	Hans Mundry, Labour since 4 Dec 2023
Chief Executive	Steven Broomhead since June 2012 [2]
Structure
Seats	58 councillors [3]
Political groups	Administration (41)   Labour (41) Other Parties (17)   Liberal Democrats (12)   Independent (4)   Conservative (1)
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	4 May 2028
Meeting place
Town Hall, Sankey Street, Warrington, WA1 1UH
Website
www.warrington.gov.uk

Warrington Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Warrington, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Warrington has had a borough council since 1847, which has been reformed on several occasions. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011. It meets at Warrington Town Hall and has its main offices at 1 Time Square.

History

The town of Warrington was made a municipal borough in 1847, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Warrington", generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. ^[4] This first incarnation of the borough council replaced an earlier body of improvement commissioners which had governed the town since 1813. ^[5] From its creation in 1847 the borough straddled Lancashire and Cheshire, with the county boundary being the River Mersey; the town centre and most of the built-up area was on the north bank of the river in Lancashire, but the borough also included the built-up parts of Latchford on the south bank of the river in Cheshire. ^[4]

In 1889 boroughs which straddled county boundaries were placed entirely in the county which had the majority of the population, and so the part of the borough south of the Mersey was transferred from Cheshire to Lancashire. ^[6] The borough boundaries were subsequently enlarged on several occasions, notably in 1890, 1933 and 1954. ^{[7] [8]}

In 1900 Warrington was made a county borough, making it independent from Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of Lancashire for ceremonial purposes. ^[9]

The borough was substantially enlarged in 1974, taking in a number of surrounding parishes from both Lancashire and Cheshire, including Lymm, which had been a separate urban district. The enlarged borough was transferred from Lancashire to Cheshire and was redesignated as a non-metropolitan district, with Cheshire County Council providing county-level services. ^[10]

The borough council regained control of county-level functions 24 years later in 1998. The way this change was implemented was by creating a new non-metropolitan county called Warrington covering the borough, but with no separate county council. Instead, the existing borough council took on county council functions, making it a unitary authority. ^[11] It remains part of Cheshire for ceremonial purposes. ^[12]

Governance

As a unitary authority, Warrington Borough Council has the functions of a county council and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. ^[13] Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas. ^[14]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: ^[15]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in control		Years
	Conservative	1974–1979
	No overall control	1979–1983
	Labour	1983–1998

Unitary authority

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1998–2006
	No overall control	2006–2011
	Labour	2011–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Warrington is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1985 have been: ^[16]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Mike Hall		Labour	1985	1992
John Gartside		Labour	1992	23 May 2002
Mike Hughes [17]		Labour	23 May 2002	23 Feb 2004
John Joyce		Labour	23 Feb 2004	22 May 2006
Ian Marks		Liberal Democrats	22 May 2006	23 May 2011
Terry O'Neill [18]		Labour	23 May 2011	17 Dec 2018
Russ Bowden		Labour	17 Dec 2018	4 Dec 2023
Hans Mundry		Labour	4 Dec 2023

The Mayors since 1998 have been: ^[19]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Albert Clemow		Labour	1998	1999
Tom Swift		Labour	1999	2000
Sheila Woodyatt		Conservative	2000	2001
Jeff Richards		Labour	2001	2002
George Warburton		Labour	2002	2003
Pauline Nelson		Labour	2003	2004
Edward Lafferty		Liberal Democrats	2004	2005
Hans Mundry		Labour	2005	2006
Linda Dirir		Labour	2006	2007
Celia Jordan		Liberal Democrats	2007	2008
Graham Welborne		Liberal Democrats	2008	2009
Brian Axcell		Liberal Democrats	2009	2010
John Joyce		Labour	2010	2011
Michael Biggin		Liberal Democrats	2011	2012
Steve Wright		Labour	2012	2013
Peter Carey		Labour	2013	2014
Ted Finnegan		Liberal Democrats	2014	2015
Geoff Settle		Labour	2015	2016
Faisal Rashid		Labour	2016	2017
Les Morgan		Labour	2017	2018
Karen Mundry		Labour	2018	2019
Wendy Johnson		Liberal Democrats	2019	2020
Maureen Creaghan		Labour	2021	2022
Jean Flaherty		Labour	2022	2023
Steve Wright		Labour	2023	2024
Wendy Johnson		Liberal Democrats	2024	2025

The Mayor's role is to perform civic duties across the Borough, such as attending large events in different communities and taking the lead on certain recognised days, such as Remembrance Sunday. The Mayor has no power over policies, as that is the job of the Leader. The Mayor also chairs Full Council meetings. Though elected as a Councillor representing a particular Party, the Mayor remains impartial when chairing but also has a vote of their own (often voting with their Party line).

Composition

Following the 2024 election, plus a defection from the Labour administration in October 2024 ^[20] the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Labour	41
	Liberal Democrats	12
	Independent	4
	Conservative	1
Total		58

The next elections are due in May 2028.

Elections

See also: Warrington Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 58 councillors representing 22 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. ^[21]

Premises

The council generally meets at Warrington Town Hall on Sankey Street. The building was originally built in 1750 as a large house, and was formerly called Bank Hall. It was bought by the borough council in 1870 and converted into a town hall, with its grounds becoming a public park. ^[22]

The council's main offices are at 1 Time Square which was completed in 2020, replacing earlier offices at New Town House on Scotland Road which have since been demolished. ^{[23] [24]}

Investments

Elected members have approved a number of significant commercial investments by the local authority. In September 2016, Warrington Borough Council became one of the first local councils in the UK to buy clean-tech bonds in Swindon Solar Park through its owner, specialist investment management firm Rockfire Capital. ^[25]

In September 2019, the council acquired a 50% shareholding in Clydebank-based energy retailer Together Energy for £18m. ^{[26] [27]} In September 2020, Bristol Energy's brand and residential accounts – 155,000 meter points – were sold by Bristol City Council to Together Energy for £14 million. ^[28] In August 2021, Warrington Council's total financial exposure to Together Energy was reported to be £41.2m. ^[29] In October 2021, Ofgem issued a provisional order to several suppliers, including Together Energy, who had not made Renewables Obligation payments; Together Energy's obligation was over £12m. ^[30] Following sharp increases in wholesale gas and electricity prices which began in autumn 2021, ^[31] Together Energy Retail Ltd announced on 18 January 2022 that it was ceasing to trade. ^{[32] [31]}

Other loans and investments include almost £30 million paid in stages between 2017 and 2019 for a 33% stake in Redwood Bank, a "challenger bank" which has a Warrington office. ^[33] In 2021 a £202m loan facility, secured against commercial property, was provided to Matt Moulding, founder of Cheshire-based e-commerce business The Hut Group. ^{[34] [35]}

In September 2021, the council confirmed that its borrowing had reached £1.7 billion, but that the current value of its investment assets were £2.173 billion. ^[36]

In May 2024, just after the local election, it was announced by the Government that they had commissioned a "Best Value" inspection into the council's finances. ^[37] In June 2024 Moody's Ratings withdrew its credit rating from the council after it failed to provide accounts signed-off by an auditor. ^[38]

References

1. "Wendy Johnson to be Mayor of Warrington for second time". Warrington Borough Council. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
2. Skentelbery, Gary (4 December 2013). "Broomhead re-appointed to top job". Warrington Worldwide. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
3. "Councillors | warrington.gov.uk". www.warrington.gov.uk.
4. "Warrington Improvement and Market Act 1854". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
5. "Warrington Improvement and Bridewell Act 1813". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
6. Local Government Act 1888
7. "Warrington Extension and Water Act 1890". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
8. "Warrington Extension Act 1932". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
9. "Warrington Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
10. Local Government Act 1972
11. "The Cheshire (Boroughs of Halton and Warrington) (Structural Change) Order 1996: Article 6", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1996/1863 (art. 6), retrieved 23 July 2024
12. "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 19 January 2024
13. Sandford, Mark (22 July 2021). Unitary local government (Report). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
14. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
15. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
16. "Council minutes". Warrington Borough Council. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
17. "Hughes to resign this month, say sources". Warrington Guardian. 3 February 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
18. Dhillon, Aran (28 October 2019). "Former council leader Terry O'Neill dies". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
19. "Mayor's role and history | warrington.gov.uk". www.warrington.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
20. Okell, Nathan. "Councillor resigns as council finds Warrington traveller transit site". Warrington Guardian.
21. "The Warrington (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2016/115, retrieved 19 January 2024
22. Historic England. "Town Hall, Warrington (Grade I) (1329725)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 1 December 2012.
23. "New council offices bring financial benefits". Warrington Borough Council. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
24. Barnes, Jessica (21 September 2022). "New Town House demolition begins in Warrington town centre". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
25. "Solar farm deal to generate council cash". www.themj.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
26. "Tories raise further "serious concerns" over being denied access to Auditor's letter". 7 September 2021.
27. "Bristol Energy: Troubled company sells off domestic customer base". BBC News. 8 September 2020.
28. "Bristol Energy: Troubled company sells off domestic customer base". BBC News. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
29. "Council remains confident in investment in Together Energy despite growing condemnation". 14 August 2021.
30. "Ofgem orders seven suppliers to pay £17.9m in unpaid Renewables Obligations payments".
31. Pickard, Jim; Thomas, Nathalie (7 January 2022). "UK council has £52m exposure to troubled power company" . Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
32. Lempriere, Molly (18 January 2022). "Together Energy becomes first supplier to collapse in 2022 amidst continuing high power prices". Current. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
33. Dhillon, Aran (24 September 2019). "Redwood Bank under 'close scrutiny' from Bank of England". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
34. Dhillon, Aran (27 August 2021). "Warrington Borough Council loans £151m to The Hut Group". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
35. Ambrose, Jillian (26 August 2021). "Warrington council lends billionaire founder of the Hut Group £151m". TheGuardian.com . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
36. "Council debt totals £1.7bn – but value of assets worth more".
37. "Best value inspection | warrington.gov.uk". www.warrington.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
38. Davies, Rob (17 June 2024). "Moody's withdraws credit rating of Warrington council". The Guardian.