Thurrock Council | |
---|---|
Third of council elected three years out of four | |
Coat of arms
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|
Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Unicameral |
Term limits
|
None |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Preceded by | Thurrock Urban District Council |
New session started
|
25 May 2016 (Municipal year 2016/2017) |
Leadership | |
Cllr Robert Gledhill, Conservative
Since 25 May 2016 |
|
Mayor
|
Cllr Cathy Kent
Since 25 May 2016 |
Opposition Leader
|
Cllr Graham Snell, UKIP
Since 25 May 2016 |
Structure | |
Seats | 49 councillors |
Committees |
6
|
Joint committees
|
East of England Local Government Association |
18 / 49
|
|
17 / 49
|
|
14 / 49
|
|
Elections | |
Plurality-at-large | |
Last election
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2012 (one third of councillors) 2014 (one third of councillors) 2015 (one third of councillors) 2016 (one third of councillors) |
Next election
|
2018 (one third of councillors) |
Motto | |
Secundum Tamesim Quovis Gentium | |
Meeting place | |
Civic Offices, New Road, Grays | |
Website | |
www |
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Constitution | |
Constitution |
Thurrock Council is the local council for the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. Since 1997, Thurrock is a unitary authority, combining the functions of a non-metropolitan county with that of a non-metropolitan district. The other such authority in Essex is Southend-on-Sea. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
The Mayor is elected at the annual meeting which is held following council elections or in May in years when there are no council elections. The most recent mayors have been:
Thurrock is divided into 20 wards and elects 49 councillors. The council comprises (as of 21 September 2016):
Prior to the Thurrock Council election, 2015 the council was run by a Labour minority administration, after the Labour Party lost its small majority at the 2014 election. Thurrock had previously been a hung council for several years after the Conservatives lost control in 2007.
The Borough's 20 electoral wards are:
Thurrock District Council was first elected in 1973, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the Thurrock District on 1 April 1974. It replaced Thurrock Urban District Council, which governed a slightly larger area including part of Basildon New Town and had been formed in 1936 as an amalgamation of Grays Thurrock Urban District Council, Purfleet Urban District Council, Tilbury Urban District Council, and Orsett Rural District Council including associated parish councils; a result of the Local Government Act 1929. The council received borough status, permitting the council to be known as Thurrock Borough Council. It was originally constituted as non-metropolitan district council in a two-tier arrangement, sharing service provision with Essex County Council. As a result of the 1992 Local Government Commission for England on 1 April 1998 Thurrock absorbed the powers of Essex County Council for its area, becoming a unitary authority. The planning function for large developments was exercised by the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation in the whole of the borough from 2003 to 2012. The development corporation was absorbed by the council on 1 April 2012.