Telford and Wrekin is a borough and unitary authority in Shropshire, England. In 1974, a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire was created called The Wrekin. In 1998, the district became a unitary authority and was renamed "Telford and Wrekin", which remains part of the Shropshire ceremonial county and shares institutions such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Community Health with the rest the county.
Telford and Wrekin | |
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Unitary authority area and borough | |
![]() Telford and Wrekin shown within Shropshire and England | |
Coordinates: 52°40′52″N 2°26′19″W | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Region | West Midlands |
County | Shropshire |
Admin HQ | Telford |
Government | |
Area | |
• Total | 112.09 sq mi (290.31 km2) |
Population | |
• Total | 185,600 |
• Density | 1,700/sq mi (640/km2) |
Time zone | GMT |
ISO 3166 code | GB-TFW |
Website | www |
The borough's major settlement is Telford, which was designated a "new town" in the 1960s and incorporated the towns of Dawley, Madeley, Oakengates, and Wellington. After the Telford conurbation, which includes the aforementioned towns, the next-largest settlement is Newport which is located in the northeast of the borough and isn't part of the original new town of Telford. The borough borders Staffordshire, but is mostly surrounded by the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire, whose unitary authority is Shropshire District which covers the county previously covered by Shropshire County Council.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of five former districts, plus a small part of a sixth:[1]
The district was initially called "Wrekin", but during 1974 the council changed the name to "The Wrekin".[3][4] A significant part of the new district was within the designated area of the Telford New Town, which had been initially designated in 1963 as Dawley New Town before being enlarged and renamed to Telford in 1968. The Telford Development Corporation existed alongside the elected councils until it was wound up in 1991, running various functions such as town planning which would otherwise have been council responsibilities.[5]
On 1 April 1998, as a result of the Local Government Commission for England's review, the district became a unitary authority, independent from Shropshire County Council. On the same day the district's name was changed from "The Wrekin" to "Telford and Wrekin".[6]
All of the council houses previously owned by Wrekin District Council and the subsequent Telford and Wrekin Council were transferred to a newly created housing association, the Wrekin Housing Trust, in 1999 which now owns the majority of social housing in Telford.[7]
Telford and Wrekin applied unsuccessfully for city status in 2000. The district was granted borough status in 2002.
Settlements in Telford and Wrekin -
The borough is divided into 29 civil parishes.
For the borough council itself there is a system of thirty wards to elect councillors.
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1 – Admaston and Bratton
2 – Apley Castle 3 – Arleston 4 – Brookside 5 – Church Aston and Lilleshall 6 – College 7 – Dawley and Aqueduct 8 – Donnington 9 – Dothill 10 – Edgmond and Ercall Magna 11 – Ercall 12 – Hadley and Leegomery 13 – Haygate 14 – Horsehay and Lightmoor 15 – Ironbridge Gorge |
16 – Ketley and Overdale
17 – Madeley and Sutton Hill 18 – Malinslee and Dawley Bank 19 – Muxton 20 – Newport North and West 21 – Newport South and East 22 – Oakengates and Ketley Bank 23 – Park 24 – Priorslee 25 – Shawbirch 26 – St Georges 27 – The Nedge 28 – Woodside 29 – Wrockwardine 30 – Wrockwardine Wood and Trench |
Borough elections are held every 4 years.
Telford and Wrekin operates a cabinet-style council. It has 54 elected councillors who appoint the seven cabinet members, including the leader, each year. The cabinet members make decisions as a whole and meet every two weeks.[8]
Telford and Wrekin is currently a Labour controlled council.
Telford and Wrekin is part of the West Mercia Police police area. The force is based in Worcester (outside Shropshire) and the borough's area is a Territorial Policing Unit in the force's organisation.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Telford and Wrekin at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.
Year | Regional gross value added[table 1] | Agriculture[table 2] | Industry[table 3] | Services[table 4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 1,763 | 28 | 865 | 870 |
2000 | 2,072 | 20 | 773 | 1,279 |
2003 | 2,370 | 21 | 850 | 1,500 |
The following People and Military Units and Organisations and Groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of Telford and Wrekin.
![]() | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2022) |
The name of the borough was changed from The Wrekin to Telford and Wrekin on 1st April 1998
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