The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme is a local government district with borough status in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. It is named after the town of

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

, where the council is based, but includes the town of

Kidsgrove Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276 (2019 census). ...

and villages of Silverdale, Chesterton, Madeley, Halmerend, Keele and Audley. Most of the borough is part of The Potteries Urban Area.

History

The present town is originally a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages there was a large castle here, owned by

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, and a major medieval market. In 1835 Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough was one of the boroughs reformed by the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

which required that rate payers elected councillors. In 1932 it took in what had been the

Wolstanton United Urban District Wolstanton United Urban District was an urban district in the county of Staffordshire. It was formed in 1904 with the civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial ...

, covering the parishes of Chesterton, Silverdale and

Wolstanton Wolstanton is a suburban town on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. History The Roman road the Rykeneld Street passed through Wolstanton. Wolstanton is mentioned in the Norman Domesday book where it is listed amongst the ...

, also taking the parish of Clayton from

Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District was a rural district in the county of Staffordshire. It was formed in 1894 with the civil parishes of Ashley, Audley Rural, Balterley, Betley, Chapel and Hill Chorlton, Clayton, Keele, Madeley, Maer, Muc ...

. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under 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 ...

, as a merger of the Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough, the

Kidsgrove Urban District Kidsgrove Urban District was an urban district in the county of Staffordshire. It was formed in 1894 with the civil parishes of Hardings Wood, Kidsgrove, Newchapel and Talke. It was abolished in 1974, by virtue of the Local Government Act 19 ...

, and

. Up to the time of the passing of the

Municipal Reform Act The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

an election of a mock mayor occurred annually after the election of the real mayor.

Wards

Since the 2018 council election the borough has contained 21

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

. Previously the borough had contained 24

Politics

The borough council has traditionally been dominated by the Labour Party. However, in the 2006 local elections a coalition of Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors gained a majority. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) also made gains in 2007 and 2008 but in 2011 and 2012 losing all seats they were defending, including their group leader, Derrick Huckfield. The council was led between 2006-2011 by Conservative Councillor Simon Tagg. Stephen Sweeney served as the Conservative leader from 2011-2012. The Labour Party regained its majority on the council in 2012, which it held until 2017. After the 2012 Local Elections there were 33 Labour party councillors, 11 Liberal Democrats and 16 Conservatives. After the 2014 election results Labour retained their majority on the council, down one to 32 seats. The Conservatives retained their position as the largest opposition party with 16 seats. Both UKIP and the Green party made gains, five seats and one seat respectively mainly at the expense of the Liberal Democrats losing five seats bringing their total to six. As of 12 April 2022, the political make-up of the local council was as follows:

Demographics

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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 13.1% having no religion, 0.5%

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 0.2%

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

or other and 0.1% stating Jewish or

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

. 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 Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and 11.6% in

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

and other business related activities.

Education

Newcastle-under-Lyme was chosen for the campus of University College of North Staffordshire, established in 1949 at Keele Hall in the village of Keele, two miles from the town centre, and which was granted full university status as Keele University in 1962. Keele University Medical School is based in the grounds of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire at Hartshill in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, about a mile from the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people, military units and organisations and groups have received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Individuals

* Gordon Banks : 23 February 2018.

Military units

* The Staffordshire Regiment: 1973.

Organisations and Groups

* The Royal Stoke University Hospital: 22 May 2021.

References

External links

Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council

Newcastle-under-Lyme local life

The Potteries

Historic chartered accountants based on Chesterton

Keele University

Local Information from ''The Sentinel'' newspaper

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcastle-under-Lyme, Borough of Non-metropolitan districts of Staffordshire Boroughs in England