Telford and Wrekin Telford
Unitary authority area and borough
The Wrekin
Nickname:  Wrekin
Shown within Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°40′52″N 2°26′19″W / 52.68111°N 2.43861°W / 52.68111; -2.43861
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)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 88.2% White 5.4% Asian 2.6% Mixed 2.9% Black 0.9% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 47.6% Christianity 40.9% no religion 2.7% Islam 0.7% Hinduism 0.1% Judaism 1.5% Sikhism 0.3% Buddhism 0.5% other 5.6% not stated
Time zone	GMT
ISO 3166 code	GB-TFW
Website	telford.gov.uk

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, named after a prominent hill to the west of Telford. 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.

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 is not part of the original new town of Telford. The borough borders Staffordshire, but is surrounded by the unitary district of Shropshire which covers the area previously administered by Shropshire County Council.

History

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:^[2]

• Dawley Urban District
• Newport Urban District
• Oakengates Urban District
• Wellington Rural District
• Wellington Urban District
• From Shifnal Rural District, the part of the parish of Shifnal within the designated area of Telford New Town (which was added to the parish of Lilleshall)^[3]

The district was initially called "Wrekin", but during 1974 the council changed the name to "The Wrekin".^[4][5] 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.^[6]

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".^[7]

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.^[8]

Telford and Wrekin applied unsuccessfully for city status in 2000. The district was granted borough status in 2002.

Towns, villages and other settlements

Settlements in Telford and Wrekin -

• Coalbrookdale
• Crudgington
• Edgmond
• Great Bolas
• High Ercall
• Ironbridge
• Jackfield
• Lilleshall
• Little Wenlock
• Newport (town)
  • Church Aston
  • Longford
• Roden
• Telford (new town)
  • Dawley (town)
  • Donnington
  • Donnington Wood
  • Hadley
  • Ketley
  • Lawley
  • Madeley (town)
  • Muxton
  • Oakengates (town)
  • Shawbirch
  • Priorslee
  • Stirchley
  • St George's
  • Trench
  • Wellington (town)
• Sambrook, Shropshire
• Tibberton
• Waters Upton
• Wrockwardine

Divisions

Parishes

The borough is divided into 29 civil parishes.

• List of parishes

Wards

For the borough council itself there is a system of thirty wards to elect councillors.

• List of wards at Telford and Wrekin website
• Current ward councillors at Telford and Wrekin website

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

Election history

Borough elections are held every 4 years.

• Previous Election Results

Governance

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.^[9]

Telford and Wrekin is currently a Labour controlled council.

Policing

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.

Economy

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.

Freedom of the Borough

The following People and Military Units and Organisations and Groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of Telford and Wrekin.

Individuals

• Iris Butler: 2002.
• Richie Woodhall: 2002
• Lee Carter: 2005.
• Elizabeth Holt: 2008.
• Peter Gibbons: 2009.
• George Whyle: 2011.
• Corporal Ricky Fergusson: 2012.
• Mickey Bushell: 2014.
• Alan Olver: 2015.
• John Alfred David Gill: 2017.
• Liam Davies: 2023

Military Units

• The Rifles: 29 May 2010.^[10][11]

Organisations and Groups

• Telford Crisis Support: 11 June 2022.^[12]
• The Wrekin Housing Group