Congleton (borough)

Congleton was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Congleton, Alsager, Middlewich and Sandbach. The headquarters of the borough council were located in Sandbach.

1. History

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of the former Corporation of Congleton, the urban districts of Alsager, Middlewich and Sandbach, and the Congleton Rural District. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation. In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The decision to merge the boroughs of Congleton, Macclesfield, and Crewe and Nantwich to create a single unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007, following a consultation period in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected. The Borough of Congleton was abolished on 31 March 2009, with the area becoming part of the unitary authority of Cheshire East on 1 April 2009.

1. Civil parishes

Congleton was divided into 23 civil parishes and included no unparished areas. Of the 23 civil parishes, four were administered at this level of local government by town councils: Alsager, Middlewich, Sandbach, and Congleton; with the remainder having parish councils. There are two pairs of civil parishes that are grouped together so that they share a parish council. These are Hulme Walfield and Somerford Booths, whose single parish council is called "Hulme Walfield and Somerford Booths Parish Council", and Newbold Astbury and Moreton cum Alcumlow, whose single parish council is called "Newbold Astbury-cum-Moreton Parish Council". The following civil parishes were included in the borough:

1. Demographics

The resident population of the borough, as measured in the 2001 Census, was 90,655, of which 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent were female.

1. = Religion =

The percentage of people of each religion in the borough (trom the Census 2001):

1. Political control

The town of Congleton had been a municipal borough from 1836 to 1974 with a borough council. The first elections to the new Congleton Borough created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was as follows:

1. = Leadership =

The leaders of the council from 1987 were:

1. = Composition =

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:

1. Premises

The council was based at Westfields on Middlewich Road in Sandbach. This was a large nineteenth century house which had been bought in 1960 by the Congleton Rural District Council, one of the council's predecessors. In 2005–2007 a replacement headquarters building, also called Westfields, was built in front of the old house, which was then demolished. The new building was formally opened on 25 January 2008. After Congleton Borough Council's abolition, Westfields became the headquarters for the new Cheshire East Council.

1. Alderman and Freeman of the Borough

The following people and military units received the Freedom of the Borough of Congleton or were an Alderman of the Borough of Congleton.

1. = Individuals =

C. W. Harrison (Alderman 4 October 1984) A. G. Smith (Alderman 4 October 1984) C. H. Kelly (Alderman 25 September 1986) L. Yarwood (Alderman 29 September 1988) J. M. Telfer (Alderman 28 September 1989) F. Bowers (Alderman 5 November 1992) W. Vickers (Alderman 5 November 1992) E. Henshall (Alderman 22 September 1994) R. Tomlinson (Alderman 29 October 1998) R. C. Parry (Alderman 29 January 2004) K. A. Hemsley (Alderman 29 January 2004) K. A. Thompson (Alderman 29 January 2004) M. J. Cooper (Alderman 2009) T. Farrell (Alderman 2009) R. A. Giltrap (Alderman 2009) L. Morris (Alderman 2009) F. Walton (Alderman 2009) D. Brown (Alderman 2009) R. M. Domleo (Alderman 2009) P. J. Edwards (Alderman 2009) R. I. Fletcher (Alderman 2009) D. I. Hough (Alderman 2009) G. Chambers (Freeman 2009)

1. = Military Units =

The Cheshire Yeomanry: 1906. The Cheshire Regiment: 1969. First Battalion of the Mercian Regiment:??? First Battalion of the Mercian Regiment (Freeman ???)

1. Council elections

1973 Congleton Borough Council election 1976 Congleton Borough Council election (New ward boundaries) 1979 Congleton Borough Council election 1980 Congleton Borough Council election 1982 Congleton Borough Council election 1983 Congleton Borough Council election 1984 Congleton Borough Council election 1986 Congleton Borough Council election 1987 Congleton Borough Council election 1988 Congleton Borough Council election 1990 Congleton Borough Council election 1991 Congleton Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same) 1992 Congleton Borough Council election 1994 Congleton Borough Council election 1995 Congleton Borough Council election 1996 Congleton Borough Council election 1998 Congleton Borough Council election 1999 Congleton Borough Council election (New ward boundaries) 2000 Congleton Borough Council election 2002 Congleton Borough Council election 2003 Congleton Borough Council election 2004 Congleton Borough Council election 2006 Congleton Borough Council election 2007 Congleton Borough Council election

1. = Results maps =


1. = By-election results =


1. See also

Education in Congleton Borough

1. Notes


1. References

Nearby Places View Menu

Smallwood, Cheshire

Smallwood is a civil parish and small village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Sandbach and 3 miles south-west of Congleton. It is based in a rural area and is largely agricultural. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 491, increasing to 614 at the 2011 Census. There is a primary school (Smallwood Church of England Primary Academy) within the village, and also a children's day nursery attached to a farm. St John's Parish Church, built between 1843 and 1846, is Grade II listed. A Village Design Statement was created by Smallwood Parish Council, residents of Smallwood and Cheshire East Council. It gives a full description of the village, including its history. In addition it is also a planning document adopted by Cheshire East Council on 14 October 2010.

St John the Baptist's Church, Smallwood

St John the Baptist's Church is in Church Lane, Smallwood, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Congleton, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester. Its benefice is combined with those of St Mary, Astbury, and All Saints, Somerford. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Arclid

Arclid is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Sandbach and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Congleton. The parish had a population of 199 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 276 at the 2011 census.

Neighbourhood

River Croco

The River Croco () is a small river in Cheshire in England. It starts as lowland field drainage west of Congleton, flows along the south edge of Holmes Chapel, and joins the River Dane at Middlewich. It is about 8 miles (13 km) long. According to a historical account, dating back to 1585, the course of the River Croco begins west of Bag Mere, Brereton cum Smethwick: That which they call the Croco is a small Brook, which cometh out of Bagmer-mere, and passeth by Brereton church and hall (the ancient house of the surname of Breretons) through Brereton park, Kinderton park, through Middlewich, and not far from thence, falleth into the Dane at Croxton, near the same place, where the Wheelock falleth in also. The Place-Names of England and Wales (1915) suggests that the name Croco may be Celtic or even earlier. Historical maps show the source of the river to be the lowland field drainage system to the northeast of Brookhouse Green. From here, the river heads north past the hamlet of Illidge Green and then northwest via Brereton Hall, where a weir and boathouse were created to the west of Saint Oswald's Church. The river flows northwest towards Parkmill Farm, where again a weir was constructed to form Brereton Pool. It then heads towards Holmes Chapel before turning west and passing under London Road (A50) at Alum Bridge. The river continues this westward course, passing under the M6 and Poolford Lane near Cinderhill and then Brereton Lane, north of Dockbank Farm at Sproston. The river continues its westward journey via Fender Wood, winding its way north of Kinderton Lodge towards Middlewich, where it is joined by Sanderson's Brook southeast of the town, near Brooks Lane. It then heads northwest on the right-hand side of the Trent and Mersey Canal until it joins the River Dane at the northwest corner of Harbutt's Field. Back in Fender Wood, a weir feeds a channel of water to supply a historical mill race; this watercourse follows the field boundaries, past what was Brookhouse Farm, then under Pochin Way (historically the start of Lodge Lane), through Midpoint 18 business park and under Holmes Chapel Road, before running through the garden of the bungalow to the east of the Old Station House. Here, it disappears through a culvert towards the railway embankment. Historically, this watercourse would have fed the mill pond that powered the Kinderton Corn Mill, as shown in the 1882 Ordnance Survey map. The elevation of the River Croco is about 85 m (280 ft) at source, falling to 27 m (89 ft) at the point where it flows into the River Dane.

Landmark