The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

with borough status in the counties of County Durham and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

, England. The borough had a population of 191,600 in 2011. The main settlement and namesake of the borough is Stockton-on-Tees, which lies on the north bank of the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has bee ...

with the towns of

Billingham Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its ...

and

Norton-on-Tees Norton is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It stands on higher ground to the south, further away from the River Tees than Stockton town centre. They are small areas west of the area called Roseworth an ...

. All three towns are in County Durham. The towns of Ingleby Barwick, Thornaby-on-Tees and Yarm are south of the river in North Yorkshire. The borough governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, and the current mayor is Cllr Ross Patterson. The borough is part of

Tees Valley Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was establishe ...

with nearby boroughs of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a borough with unitary authority status in North Yorkshire, England. Its main settlements are Redcar, South Bank, Eston, Brotton, Guisborough, the Greater Eston part of Middlesbrough, Loftus, Saltburn and Skelton. T ...

and

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. All River Tees bridges from Yarm Viaduct to Transporter Bridge are in the borough at least on one side, with the Borough of Middlesbrough to the south downstream on the other side to the east of the borough. Teesside International Airport is shared between the borough and the Borough of Darlington.

History

Municipal authority

Stockton previously held borough status as the Municipal Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in historic County Durham.

Loss of status

In 1968, the borough was merged into Teesside County Borough; this civil parish was a part of the ceremonial (not administrative) North Riding county until its abolition.

District authority

The town regained borough status on 1 April 1974 as a result of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. It became a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non ...

of the County of Cleveland, itself established at the same time. Multiple parishes and boroughs merged into Stockton's newly formed district borough: *Teesside County Borough's area covering the former Stockton, Billingham and Thornaby municipal boroughs, *Hilton, Ingleby Barwick, Kirklevington, Maltby, and Yarm parishes of the previous North Riding County-administrated

Stokesley Rural District Stokesley was a rural district in the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Stokesley, which it contained. The parish was enlarged in 1932 when it took in part of the Middlesbrough Rural District. It lost p ...

, and *Part of the County Durham-administrated Stockton Rural District parishes.

Unitary authority

The borough became a

on 1 April 1996. It is ceremonially split between County Durham and North Yorkshire, to the north and south of the Tees respectively. It is the only council in England to be split between two

ceremonial counties The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

. The former districts and boroughs of Durham now form the unitary authority of County Durham, so ceremonial County Durham now has four unitary authorities.

Council

The Borough has 26 wards with either one, two or three councillors representing each. There are 56 councillors in total. Following the 2019 elections, the councillors are divided politically as follows: *24 Labour *14

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and several smaller groups.

Economy

The

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...

has published
chart
(pp. 240–253) of the trend of regional gross value of Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees (figures in

Sterling Sterling may refer to: Common meanings * Sterling silver, a grade of silver * Sterling (currency), the currency of the United Kingdom ** Pound sterling, the primary unit of that currency Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city w ...

illions. includes hunting and forestry. includes energy and construction. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Local Nature Reserves

The council maintains a number of local nature reserves including Barwick Pond, Charlton's Pond, Greenvale, Hardwick Dene and Elm Tree Woods, Norton Grange Marsh, Quarry Wood (Eaglescliffe), and Stillington Forest Park.

References

External links

Statistics
about Stockton-on-Tees from the

Census 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockton-on-Tees, Borough of Unitary authority districts of England Places in the Tees Valley Local government in County Durham Local government districts of North Yorkshire Local government districts of North East England Boroughs in England