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 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.[2][3] The earliest surviving charter dates from 1235. The borough was formally incorporated in 1590 under a new charter from Elizabeth I.[4]
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:[6]
The new district was named Newcastle-under-Lyme after its largest town.[a][7] 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.[8][9]
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:[14][15]
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:[16]
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:[23][24]
Civic Offices, Merrial Street: Council's headquarters until 2018, since demolished.
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.[25] 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.[26]
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.[27] 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.[28]
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.[29] The rest of the borough is divided into eleven civil parishes.[13] The parish council for Kidsgrove has declared that parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council".[30]
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Staffordshire
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