Salisbury City Council is a parish-level council for

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, England. It was established in April 2009 and is based in the city's historic

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

. Following the May 2021 election, no party has an overall majority.

Population

The

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

of Salisbury – which excludes some of the city's suburbs and satellite villages such as

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest ...

, Laverstock, Hampton Park,

Britford Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592. Geography ...

, Netherhampton and Odstock – had a population of 40,302 at the 2011 census.

Establishment

As New Sarum, Salisbury has been ranked as a city since "

time immemorial Time immemorial ( la, Ab immemorabili) is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record". The phrase is used in legally significant contexts as well as i ...

". 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 ...

, which took effect in 1974, eliminated the administration of the City of New Sarum under its charters, with the Salisbury District taking over its administrative functions. However, the status of a city was preserved after 1974 by the

Charter Trustees In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established. Duties are ...

of the City of New Sarum. That name was formally changed from "New Sarum" to "Salisbury" by the reforms of 2009 which created Salisbury civil parish, where the first tier of local government would be the new Salisbury City Council. The parish was again granted

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...

dated 1 April 2009. The council met in temporary offices until 2011, while the 18th-century Guildhall was adapted.

Coat of arms

On 23 March 2010, the city council was granted a royal licence, transferring to it the

armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of the previous City of New Sarum. The arms and

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...

were originally recorded at the

heraldic visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...

s of Wiltshire in 1565 and 1623. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visua ...

of the arms is:

Barry of eight Azure and Or. Supporters: On either side an eagle displayed with two heads Or, ducally gorged Azure.

There do not appear to be any meanings attached to the design. The traditional explanation that the blue stripes represent the rivers that meet in the city is now discounted. It has also been suggested that the eagles derive from the arms of the Bouverie family, Earls of Radnor, benefactors of the city. However, this also can be discounted, as the arms of the city were recorded before the family was connected with it.

Membership

The council has 24 members, elected by eight wards which each elect three councillors. Boundary changes confirmed in 2020 and applied at the 2021 election redrew wards in the central, Harnham, Milford and Bishopdown areas and increased the number of councillors from 23. Elections to the city council took place on Thursday 6 May 2021. The current makeup of the council is shown below - those marked are also

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of Borough of Swindon, Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authorit ...

lors.

History of control

At the first elections to the city council in 2009, the Liberal Democrats gained twelve seats, giving them a majority of one over all other parties. At the next elections, on Thursday, 2 May 2013, no party had overall control. Days after the election, Jo Broom, who had been elected in Fisherton & Bemerton Village as a Liberal Democrat, joined the Conservatives. Then, following the resignation of a Conservative, there was a by-election in the St Martin's & Cathedral ward on 9 January 2014, won by Patricia Fagan for Labour. In 2017, the Conservatives won an overall majority for the first time. In 2021, the Conservatives lost their majority to no overall control.

Functions

The council is responsible for the following properties and services: *Parks and associated public conveniences *Car parks *Cemeteries and Salisbury Crematorium *Play areas *Sports pitches *Open spaces *Allotments *Charter market etc. *Charter fair *The Guildhall *Bemerton Heath neighbourhood centre *General fund shops and garages owned by the city prior to 1974 *Events: Christmas Lights,

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sai ...

, Salisbury Food Festival, Music in the Parks,

Britain in Bloom Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

*City Centre management *General Community Fund

References

External links

* * {{Wiltshire elections Parish councils of England Local authorities in Wiltshire Politics of Salisbury Local precepting authorities in England