Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham.
History
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of three former districts and part of a fourth, which were abolished at the same time:[1]
Northwich Rural District
Northwich Urban District
Runcorn Rural District (part)
Winsford Urban District
The district took its name from Vale Royal Abbey, formerly one of the largest in England, which was situated near the village of Whitegate near the centre of the district. The name was suggested in 1972 by a joint committee of the previous district councils, on the basis of the historic use of the name for the general area of the new district.[2][3] The district was granted borough status on 5 May 1988, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]
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:[7][8]
The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:
Party
Councillors
Conservative
26
Labour
17
Liberal Democrat
11
Weaverham Independents
3
Premises
Until 1990 the council operated from the various offices it had inherited from its predecessors, being Whitehall in Hartford (from Northwich Rural District Council), the Council House in Northwich (from Northwich Urban District Council), Castle Park House in Frodsham (from Runcorn Rural District Council), and Over Hall in Winsford (from Winsford Urban District Council).[15][16] In 1990 the council consolidated its offices into a new purpose-built headquarters called Wyvern House on The Drumber in Winsford.[17] Wyvern House was formally opened by Princess Margaret on 19 July 1991.[18][19] Since the council's abolition in 2009, Wyvern House has been used as one of the offices of its successor, Cheshire West and Chester Council.[20]
Council elections
1973 Vale Royal District Council election
1976 Vale Royal District Council election (New ward boundaries)[21]
1979 Vale Royal District Council election
1983 Vale Royal District Council election (District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)[22]
1987 Vale Royal District Council election
1991 Vale Royal Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)[23]
1995 Vale Royal Borough Council election
1999 Vale Royal Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)[24]
^"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 6 September 2022
^"Vale Royal as new name for District 4?". Crewe Chronicle. 7 December 1972. p. 25. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
^"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 6 September 2022
^"Bulletins of Change 1987–1988" (PDF). Database of Local Government Orders. Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
^BBC News, 25 July 2007 – County split into two authorities. Retrieval Date: 25 July 2007.