Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme

The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England.

It is named after the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, where the council is based. The borough also includes the town of Kidsgrove and several villages and surrounding rural areas lying generally to the west of Newcastle itself. Most of the borough's built-up areas form part of The Potteries Urban Area.

The neighbouring districts are Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Shropshire and Cheshire East.

History
The town of Newcastle-under-Lyme was an ancient borough, established in the twelfth century. It is known to have been granted a charter (since lost) around 1173 by Henry II. The earliest surviving charter dates from 1235. The borough was formally incorporated in 1590 under a new charter from Elizabeth I.

The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which reformed many boroughs across the country. The municipal borough was enlarged several times, notably in 1932 when it took in what had been the Wolstanton United Urban District, covering the parishes of Chesterton, Silverdale and Wolstanton, and at the same time also absorbed the parish of Clayton from Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District.

The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Newcastle-under-Lyme after its largest town. The district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Newcastle's series of mayors dating back to 1318.
 * Kidsgrove Urban District
 * Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough
 * Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District

Governance


Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Staffordshire County Council. Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2021.

The first elections to the enlarged borough council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Newcastle-under-Lyme, with political leadership provided instead by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Composition
Following the 2022 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in November 2023, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2026.

Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2018 the council has comprised 44 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The wards are:


 * Audley
 * Bradwell
 * Clayton
 * Crackley & Red Street
 * Cross Heath
 * Holditch & Chesterton
 * Keele
 * Kidsgrove & Ravenscliffe
 * Knutton
 * Loggerheads
 * Madeley & Betley
 * Maer & Whitmore
 * May Bank
 * Newchapel & Mow Cop
 * Silverdale
 * Talke & Butt Lane
 * Thistleberry
 * Town
 * Westbury Park & Northwood
 * Westlands
 * Wolstanton

Premises
The council is based at Castle House on Barracks Road in the centre of Newcastle. The building was purpose-built for the council as a shared facility with Staffordshire County Council and the police, and opened in 2018. Prior to that the council was based at the Civic Offices on Merrial Street which had been completed in 1967 for the old borough council.

Demography
In the 2001 census, the borough was recorded as having a population of 122,030 with 51.5% being female. 78.% identified themselves as Christian, 13.1% having no religion, 0.5% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu or other and 0.1% stating Jewish or Sikh. 61.2% were classed as economically active, with 22.6% working in manufacturing, 18.5% in wholesale or retail, 11.6% in health/social work and 11.6% in financial and other business related activities.

Education
Newcastle-under-Lyme was chosen for the campus of University College of North Staffordshire, established in 1949 at Keele Hall in the village of Keele, two miles from the town centre, and which was granted full university status as Keele University in 1962. Keele University Medical School is based in the grounds of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire at Hartshill in Stoke-on-Trent, about a mile from the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Media
In terms of television, the area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central broadcasting from Birmingham. Television signals are received the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter and the Fenton relay transmitter. However, Kidsgrove is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada, broadcast from Salford. Television signals in the town are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.

Radio stations for the area are BBC Radio Stoke, Signal 1, Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, 6 Towns Radio and HitMix Radio, a community based station that broadcast from Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The Sentinel is the local newspaper that covers the area.

Towns and parishes
An area roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 municipal borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme (less the parish of Silverdale, created in 2002) is an unparished area; over half the borough's population live in this area. The rest of the borough is divided into eleven civil parishes. The parish council for Kidsgrove has declared that parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council".

The parishes are:


 * Audley Rural
 * Balterley
 * Betley
 * Chapel and Hill Chorlton
 * Keele
 * Kidsgrove
 * Loggerheads, Staffordshire
 * Madeley
 * Maer
 * Silverdale
 * Whitmore

Freedom of the Borough
The following people, military units and organisations and groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Individuals

 * Gordon Banks: 23 February 2018.

Military units

 * The Staffordshire Regiment: 1973.

Organisations and Groups

 * The Royal Stoke University Hospital: 22 May 2021.