Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Malcolm Head,
Liberal Democrats
since 25 May 2023[1]
Alec Brown,
Labour
since 25 May 2023
John Sampson
since 2019[2]
Structure
Seats59 councillors
Political groups
Administration (23)
  Labour (23)
Other parties (36)
  Conservative (13)
  Independent (12)
  Liberal Democrat (11)
Joint committees
Tees Valley Combined Authority
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, Ridley Street, Redcar, TS10 1TD
Website
www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority for Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 1996 it has been a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The council was created in 1974 as Langbaurgh Borough Council and was a district-level authority until 1996 when it was renamed and became a unitary authority, taking over county-level functions from the abolished Cleveland County Council. The council is based at the Civic Centre in Redcar.

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017.

Governance

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council provides both county-level and district-level services. Parts of the borough are included in civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas. The north-west of the borough, corresponding to the parts that were in the County Borough of Teesside between 1968 and 1974, is an unparished area.[3][4]

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.[5]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2013.[6] Following the 2023 election a minority Labour administration took control of the council.[7]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[8][9]

Langbaurgh (non-metropolitan district)

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1979
Labour 1979–1987
No overall control 1987–1991
Labour 1991–1996

Redcar and Cleveland (unitary authority)

Party in control Years
Labour 1996–2003
No overall control 2003–2011
Labour 2011–2013
No overall control 2013–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Redcar and Cleveland. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:

Councillor Party From To
George Dunning[10] Labour 17 May 2007 12 Feb 2015
Mary Lanigan Independent 12 Feb 2015 28 May 2015
Sue Jeffrey Labour 28 May 2015 23 May 2019
Mary Lanigan[11] Independent 23 May 2019 7 May 2023
Alec Brown[12] Labour 25 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in November 2023, the composition of the council was:[13][14]

Party Councillors
Labour 23
Conservative 13
Independent 12
Liberal Democrats 11
Total 59

Eleven of the twelve independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group".[15] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

See also: Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 59 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[16]

Premises

Redcar and Cleveland House, Kirkleatham Street, Redcar, TS10 1RT: Council's main offices.

The council meets at the Civic Centre on Ridley Street in Redcar. It has its main offices in the adjoining Redcar and Cleveland House at the corner of Ridley Street and Kirkleatham Street, which was built in 1996 to accommodate the extra staff the council took on when it became a unitary authority.[17] The Civic Centre opened in 2014 as part of a £31 million development called the "Leisure and Community Heart", which incorporates a council chamber, mayor's parlour, register services, meeting rooms, 44 business units, as well as sport and leisure facilities.[18][19][20]

Town Hall, Fabian Road, Teesville: Council's headquarters 1974–2012
Cargo Fleet Building: Council's additional offices 1981–2002

When first created in 1974 the council used Eston Town Hall on Fabian Road in Teesville as its headquarters, which had been built in 1961 for the old Eston Urban District Council.[21][22] In 1981 the council also bought the former headquarters of the Cargo Fleet Iron Company in South Bank, which had been built in 1916. The Cargo Fleet building closed in 2002 and Eston Town Hall was demolished in 2012.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 25 May 2023". Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  2. ^ Peters, Dan (25 July 2019). "New management model with no chief approved". localgov.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Yorkshire North Riding: Diagram showing administrative boundaries, 1971". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  5. ^ "The Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/449, retrieved 25 February 2024
  6. ^ Hetherington, Graeme (31 July 2013). "Redcar and Cleveland Labour group lose overall control of council following latest defections". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  7. ^ Arnold, Stuart (27 May 2023). "New local authority leader wants rival councillors to work together to 'bridge differences'". Teesside Live. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  9. ^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Redcar and Cleveland council leader George Dunning resigns". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  11. ^ Cain, James (13 May 2019). "Who is Mary Lanigan? The experienced and outspoken new leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council". Teesside Live. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  12. ^ Arnold, Stuart (27 May 2023). "New council leader wants rival cllrs to 'bridge differences'". TeessideLive. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Arnold, Stuart (18 November 2023). "Vera's return as independent councillor rejoins Conservative group two years after quitting". Teesside Live. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Your councillors". Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ "The Redcar and Cleveland (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2018/1177, retrieved 22 February 2024
  17. ^ "£1.6m office block will be built for council". Herald and Post. Middlesbrough. 8 November 1995. p. 3. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Redcar civic centre and sports complex opens to the public". Middlesbrough Evening Gazette. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Multi-million pound leisure centre opens its doors in Redcar". Northern Echo. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Redcar and Cleveland Council first meeting after 28k seating-row". BBC News. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  21. ^ Municipal Year Book. London: Municipal Journal. 1976. p. 770.
  22. ^ "Time is running out for old hall". Teesside Live. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  23. ^ "New life for old building". Teesside Live. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

External links

Local authorities in North Yorkshire
Unitary authorities of England
Authority control databases
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