Borough of Oswestry

52.861°N 3.055°W / 52.861; -3.055

Borough of Oswestry
Shown within Shropshire non-metropolitan county
History
• Origin	Oswestry Rural District
• Created	1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)
• Abolished	31 March 2009 (2009-03-31)
• Succeeded by	Shropshire
Status	Non-metropolitan district, Borough
ONS code	39UD
Government	Oswestry Borough Council
• HQ	Oswestry

The Borough of Oswestry was a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England, from medieval times until its abolition in 2009. Until 1974 the borough just covered the town of Oswestry itself. The borough was enlarged in 1974 to also include the surrounding rural area.^[1]

Its council was based in Oswestry, the only town and largest settlement in the borough. Villages in the borough included Morda, St Martin's, Whittington, Gobowen, Pant, Trefonen and Ruyton XI Towns.^[2]

The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009 when the new Shropshire unitary authority was established, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England.^[3]

History

The town of Oswestry was an ancient borough, governed under the terms of various charters dating back to at least 1398.^[4] The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. By the mid-twentieth century some municipal boroughs were considered too small to efficiently provide all the services expected of them, and so the government introduced the concept of rural boroughs under the Local Government Act 1958. This allowed a small municipal borough to merge with a neighbouring rural district, whilst allowing the former municipal borough to retain some of its privileges, such as the ability to appoint a mayor. In other regards, such rural boroughs were comparable to parish councils. Oswestry became a rural borough on 1 April 1967, becoming part of the surrounding Oswestry Rural District.^[5]

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the Oswestry Rural District became a non-metropolitan district, and the borough status which had previously only applied to the town of Oswestry itself was transferred to the larger district, allowing the new district council to take the name Oswestry Borough Council.^[6][7]

The borough of Oswestry 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.^[8]

Political control

The first elections to the enlarged 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:^[9][10]

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1974–1987
	No overall control	1987–1991
	Independent	1991–2003
	No overall control	2003–2007
	Conservative	2007–2009

Leadership

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

Councillor	Party		From	To
David Lloyd[11][12]		Conservative	pre-2006	31 Mar 2009

Council elections

• 1973 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 1976 Oswestry Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)^[13]
• 1979 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 1983 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 1987 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 1991 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 1995 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 1999 Oswestry Borough Council election
• 2003 Oswestry Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)^[14][15]
• 2007 Oswestry Borough Council election

By-election results

Llanyblodwel By-Election 1 June 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent		122	43.0
	Liberal Democrats		90	31.7
	Conservative		72	25.4
Majority			32	11.3
Turnout			284	46.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Victoria By-Election 28 June 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		291	44.2
	Liberal Democrats		266	40.4
	Independent		101	15.3
Majority			25	3.8
Turnout			658
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Gatacre By-Election 6 September 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats		327	53.7	+21.5
	Conservative		158	25.9	+25.9
	Labour		77	12.6	−12.7
	Independent		33	5.4	+5.4
	Independent		14	2.3	+2.3
Majority			169	27.8
Turnout			609	26.4
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Cambrian By-Election 10 June 2004^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Edwards	341	42.8	+20.0
	Independent		281	35.3	−1.1
	Conservative		174	21.9	−18.9
Majority			60	7.5
Turnout			796	39.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Royton & West Felton 29 September 2005

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Castle By-Election 3 November 2005^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frances Burman	255	55.3	+9.9
	Liberal Democrats	Elaine Channon	206	44.7	+7.0
Majority			49	10.6
Turnout			461	23.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Sweeney Trefonen By-Election 3 November 2005^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joyce Barrow	314	71.0	+32.0
	Liberal Democrats	Romer Hoseason	128	29.0	+15.6
Majority			186	42.0
Turnout			442	14.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Whittington By-Election 30 November 2006^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		314	57.2	+57.2
	Labour		121	22.0	−4.1
	Liberal Democrats		114	20.7	+20.7
Majority			193	35.2
Turnout			549	30.8
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Llanyblodwell and Pant By-Election 21 June 2007

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		254	73.6	+41.9
	Independent		91	19.8
	Independent		81	17.6
	Independent		34	7.4
Majority			163
Turnout			460	24.0
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Sweeney and Trefonen By-Election 1 May 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		684	54.9	−14.8
	Liberal Democrats		562	45.1	+14.8
Majority			122	9.8
Turnout			1,246	40.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Castle By-Election 2 October 2008^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Romer Hoseason	198	38.7	+0.3
	Conservative	Phil May	174	34.1	−27.5
	Independent	Alan Davies	139	27.2	+27.2
Majority			59	4.6
Turnout			511	22.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

References

1. "Oswestry | England, United Kingdom | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
2. "The Borough of Oswestry (Electoral Changes) Order 2000". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021.
3. Andrews, Mark. "'Time to change the way our council works'". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
4. "Oswestry Borough Records". Discovery Catalogue. The National Archives. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
5. "Oswestry Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
6. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 6 September 2022
7. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
8. "The Shropshire (Structural Change) Order 2008", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2008/1866, retrieved 18 September 2022
9. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
10. "Oswestry". BBC News Online. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
11. "Leaders split on shake-up". Shropshire Star. 27 October 2006. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
12. "2009 will see many changes". Oswestry Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
13. The Borough of Oswestry (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1975
14. "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
15. legislation.gov.uk - The Borough of Oswestry (Electoral Changes) Order 2000. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
16. "Tories make gains in byelections". guardian.co.uk. 18 June 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
17. "Tories claim clean sweep in council byelections". guardian.co.uk. 4 November 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
18. "Lib Dems gain four seats in council byelections". guardian.co.uk. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
19. "Lib Dems win their fifth seat". Shropshire Star. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.

• By-election results Archived 29 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine