North Shropshire

For the parliamentary constituency, see North Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency).

52.856°N 2.723°W / 52.856; -2.723

North Shropshire District
Shown within Shropshire non-metropolitan county
History
• Origin	Market Drayton Rural District North Shropshire Rural District
• Created	1 April 1974
• Abolished	31 March 2009
• Succeeded by	Shropshire
Status	District
ONS code	39UC
Government	North Shropshire District Council
• HQ	Wem

North Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England from 1974 to 2009. The district council was based at Edinburgh House in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Market Drayton and Whitchurch, as well as the large villages of Shawbury and Baschurch. The district bordered onto Wales, Cheshire and Staffordshire as well as the Shropshire districts of Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Atcham and the unitary Telford and Wrekin.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of Market Drayton Rural District and North Shropshire Rural District.^[1]

The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009, when the new Shropshire Council unitary authority was established, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England.^[2]

Settlements

The district council classified Wem, Market Drayton, Whitchurch and Ellesmere as the market towns of North Shropshire, while it gave the classification of "main service villages" to Baschurch, Cheswardine, Clive, Cockshutt, Dudleston Heath, Hadnall, Hinstock, Hodnet, Prees, Shawbury, Tilstock, Welshampton and Woore. The district also included many other smaller villages and hamlets.

Infrastructure

The main roads in the district were the A41, A49 and the A53. There were no motorways.

There were four railway stations in the district: (Yorton, Wem, Prees and Whitchurch), all on the Welsh Marches Line. The Shrewsbury to Chester Line ran through the district as well, but the only station on that section of the line within North Shropshire had been at Baschurch, which had closed in 1965, prior to the district's creation. The Shropshire Union Canal and Ellesmere Canal/Llangollen Canal both ran through the district.

Political control

The first elections to the council 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 held by the following parties:^[3]

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1973–2003
	No overall control	2003–2007
	Conservative	2007–2009

Leadership

The last leader of the council was David Minnery, a Conservative.

Councillor	Party		From	To
David Minnery[4]		Conservative		31 Mar 2009

Council elections

• 1973 North Shropshire District Council election
• 1976 North Shropshire District Council election (New ward boundaries)^[5]
• 1979 North Shropshire District Council election
• 1983 North Shropshire District Council election
• 1987 North Shropshire District Council election
• 1991 North Shropshire District Council election (District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)^[6]
• 1995 North Shropshire District Council election
• 1999 North Shropshire District Council election
• 2003 North Shropshire District Council election (New ward boundaries)^[7][8]
• 2007 North Shropshire District Council election

By-election results

Market Drayton North By-Election 3 October 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		405	61.9
	Conservative		249	38.1
Majority			156	23.8
Turnout			634	23.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Prees By-Election 19 November 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		277	55.4
	Independent		233	46.6
Majority			44	8.8
Turnout			510	23.0
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Wem Rural By-Election 22 June 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		290	82.9
	Independent		60	17.1
Majority			230	65.8
Turnout			350	40.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Sutton By-Election 27 July 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		111	55.2
	Independent		66	32.8
	Independent		24	11.9
Majority			45	22.4
Turnout			201	32.0
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Weston Rhyn By-Election 26 April 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats		369	60.8
	Independent		238	39.2
Majority			131	21.6
Turnout			607	31.4
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Clive By-Election 13 September 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Whitchurch South By-Election 6 October 2005

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Dakin	204	51.6	+24.5
	Independent	Andrew Richardson	191	48.4	+2.6
Majority			13	3.2
Turnout			395	17.4
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Hordley, Tetchill and Lyncal By-Election 19 October 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Davenport	169	59.7
	Independent	William Lewis	74	26.1
	Independent	Jennifer Wright	40	14.1
Majority			95	33.6
Turnout			283	26.5
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

See also

• North Shropshire constituency - the name of the UK Parliament constituency which covers the former North Shropshire district and also the former Oswestry borough.
• Parishes in North Shropshire - the main subdivisions used within the district.

References

1. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 6 September 2022
2. "The Shropshire (Structural Change) Order 2008", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2008/1866, retrieved 18 September 2022
3. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
4. "Council leaves positive legacy after tough time". Shropshire Star. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
5. legislation.gov.uk - The District of North Shropshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976. Retrieved on 19 November 2015.
6. legislation.gov.uk - The Shropshire (District Boundaries) Order 1987. Retrieved on 6 November 2015.
7. legislation.gov.uk - The District of North Shropshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2000. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
8. legislation.gov.uk - The District of North Shropshire (Electoral Changes) (Amendment) Order 2006. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.