Local Government Act 1972 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c. 70) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in England and Wales, on 1 April 1974.

Its pattern of two-tier councils remains in use today in large parts of England, although the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 and it was replaced with unitary authorities in many areas in the 1990s. In Wales, it established a similar pattern of counties and districts. These have since been entirely replaced with a system of unitary authorities. In Scotland, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 established a similar system of two-tier regions and districts in 1975 – this was also replaced by a system of unitary council areas in 1996.

Elections were held to the new authorities in 1973, and they acted as 'shadow authorities' until the handover date. Elections to county councils were held on April 12, for metropolitan and Welsh districts on May 10 for non-metropolitan district councils on June 7.

England
Wales
Elections
See also

England

Metropolitan counties

Metropolitan county	Existing geographic county or subdivision	County boroughs	Other parts
Greater Manchester	Cheshire	Stockport	urban north-east Cheshire
	Lancashire	Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Wigan	urban south-east Lancashire
	Yorkshire, West Riding	none	Saddleworth urban district
Merseyside	Cheshire	Birkenhead, Wallasey	most of Wirral peninsula
Merseyside	Lancashire	Bootle, Liverpool, St Helens, Southport	urban south-west Lancashire
South Yorkshire	Yorkshire, West Riding	Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield, Rotherham	southern West Riding
South Yorkshire	Finningley
Tyne and Wear	Durham	Gateshead, South Shields, Sunderland	urban north-east Durham
Tyne and Wear	Northumberland	Tynemouth, Newcastle upon Tyne	urban south-east Northumberland
West Midlands	Staffordshire	Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton	Aldridge-Brownhills
	Warwickshire	Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull	Sutton Coldfield, Meriden Gap
	Worcestershire	Warley	Halesowen and Stourbridge
West Yorkshire	Yorkshire, West Riding	Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield	western West Riding of Yorkshire

Metropolitan districts

Metropolitan county	Metropolitan district	County boroughs	Other components
Greater Manchester	Bury	Bury	Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom (part), Tottington, Whitefield (Lancashire)
	Bolton	Bolton	Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley, Little Lever, Turton (part), Westhoughton (Lancashire)
	Manchester	Manchester	Ringway from Bucklow Rural District (Cheshire)
	Oldham	Oldham	Chadderton, Shaw and Crompton, Failsworth, Lees and Royton (Lancashire); Saddleworth (West Riding)
	Rochdale	Rochdale	Heywood, Littleborough, Middleton, Milnrow and Wardle (Lancashire)
	Salford	Salford	Eccles, Irlam, Worsley, Swinton and Pendlebury (Lancashire)
	Stockport	Stockport	Bredbury and Romiley, Cheadle and Gatley, Hazel Grove and Bramhall and Marple (Cheshire)
	Tameside	none	Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Stalybridge (Cheshire); Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Mossley (Lancashire)
	Trafford	none	Altrincham, Bowdon, Hale, Sale, part of Bucklow Rural District (Cheshire); Stretford, Urmston (Lancashire)
	Wigan	Wigan	Abram, Ashton-in-Makerfield (most), Aspull, Atherton, Billinge-and-Winstanley (part), Golborne (part), Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh, Orrell, Standish-with-Langtree, Tyldesley, part of Wigan Rural District (Lancashire)
Merseyside	Knowsley	none	Huyton-with-Roby, Kirkby, Prescot, Simonswood, part of Whiston Rural District (Lancashire)
	Liverpool	Liverpool	none
	St Helens	St Helens	Ashton-in-Makerfield (part), Billinge-and-Winstanley (part) Haydock, Newton-le-Willows, Rainford, part of Whiston Rural District (Lancashire)
	Sefton	Bootle, Southport	Crosby, Formby, Litherland, part of West Lancashire Rural District (Lancashire)
	Wirral	Birkenhead, Wallasey	Bebington, Hoylake, Wirral (Cheshire)
South Yorkshire	Barnsley	Barnsley	Cudworth, Darfield, Hoyland Nether, Penistone, Royston, Wombwell, Worsbrough; Penistone Rural District, part of Hemsworth Rural District; part of Wortley Rural District (West Riding)
	Doncaster	Doncaster	Adwick le Street, Bentley with Arksey, Conisbrough, Mexborough, Tickhill (West Riding), Finningley (Nottinghamshire)
	Sheffield	Sheffield	Stocksbridge, part of Wortley Rural District (West Riding)
	Rotherham	Rotherham	Maltby, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Wath upon Dearne; Kiveton Park Rural District, Rotherham Rural District (West Riding)
Tyne and Wear	Newcastle upon Tyne	Newcastle upon Tyne	Gosforth, Newburn, part of Castle Ward Rural District (Northumberland)
	North Tyneside	Tynemouth	Wallsend, part of Whitley Bay, Longbenton, part of Seaton Valley (Northumberland)
	Gateshead	Gateshead	Blaydon, Felling, Ryton and Whickham, part of Chester-le-Street Rural District (Durham)
	South Tyneside	South Shields	Jarrow, Boldon, Hebburn (Durham)
	Sunderland	Sunderland	Hetton, Houghton-le-Spring, Washington, part of Easington Rural District, part of Chester-le-Street Rural District (Durham)
West Midlands	Birmingham	Birmingham	Sutton Coldfield (Warwickshire)
	Coventry	Coventry	Allesley and Keresley from Meriden Rural District (Warwickshire)
	Dudley	Dudley	Halesowen and Stourbridge (Worcestershire)
	Sandwell	Warley and West Bromwich	none
	Solihull	Solihull	many parishes from Meriden Rural District, and Hockley Heath from Stratford-on-Avon Rural District (Warwickshire)
	Walsall	Walsall	Aldridge-Brownhills (Staffordshire)
	Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton	none
West Yorkshire	Bradford	Bradford	Baildon, Bingley, Denholme, Ilkley, Keighley, Queensbury and Shelf (part), Shipley, Silsden; part of Skipton Rural District (West Riding)
	Calderdale	Halifax	Brighouse, Elland, Hebden Royd, Queensbury and Shelf (part), Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, Todmorden, Hepton Rural District (West Riding)
	Kirklees	Dewsbury, Huddersfield	Batley, Colne Valley, Denby Dale, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Kirkburton, Meltham, Mirfield, Spenborough (West Riding)
	Leeds	Leeds	Aireborough, Garforth, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell; part of Tadcaster Rural District, part of Wetherby Rural District, part of Wharfedale Rural District (West Riding)
	Wakefield	Wakefield	Castleford, Featherstone, Hemsworth, Horbury, Knottingley, Normanton, Ossett, Pontefract, Stanley; Wakefield Rural District, part of Hemsworth Rural District, part of Osgoldcross Rural District (West Riding)

Non-metropolitan counties

Non-metropolitan county	Existing geographic county or subdivision	County boroughs	Other parts
Avon	Gloucestershire	Bristol	southern part
Avon	Somerset	Bath	northern part (including Weston-super-Mare)
Bedfordshire	Bedfordshire	Luton	all
Berkshire	Berkshire	Reading	all except part around Abingdon in Oxfordshire
Berkshire	Buckinghamshire	none	southern tip (including Slough)
Buckinghamshire	Buckinghamshire	none	all except southern tip (including Slough) in Berkshire
Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely	none	all
Cambridgeshire	Huntingdon and Peterborough	none	all
Cheshire	Cheshire	Chester	all except Tintwistle Rural District (to Derbyshire), north-eastern urban area (to Greater Manchester), Wirral peninsula (to Merseyside)
Cheshire	Lancashire	Warrington	mid-southern part, including Widnes
Cleveland	Durham	Hartlepool	Stockton Rural District
Cleveland	Yorkshire, North Riding	Teesside	urban north
Cornwall	Cornwall	none	all
Cumbria	Cumberland	Carlisle	all
	Westmorland	none	all
	Lancashire	Barrow-in-Furness	North Lonsdale
	Yorkshire, West Riding	none	Sedbergh Rural District
Derbyshire	Derbyshire	Derby	all
Derbyshire	Cheshire	none	Tintwistle Rural District
Devon	Devon	Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay	all
Dorset	Dorset	none	all
Dorset	Hampshire	Bournemouth	area around Christchurch
Durham	Durham	Darlington	all except urban north-east (to Tyne and Wear) and Stockton Rural District (to Cleveland)
East Sussex	East Sussex	Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings	all except eastern strip (to West Sussex)
Essex	Essex	Southend-on-Sea	all
Gloucestershire	Gloucestershire	Gloucester	all except southern part (to Avon)
Hampshire	Hampshire	Portsmouth, Southampton	all except part around Christchurch (to Dorset)
Hereford and Worcester	Herefordshire	none	all
Hereford and Worcester	Worcestershire	Worcester	all except Stourbridge and Halesowen (to West Midlands)
Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	none	all
Humberside	Lincoln, Parts of Lindsey	Grimsby	northern strip including Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes
	Yorkshire, East Riding	Kingston upon Hull	all except northern fringe
	Yorkshire, West Riding	none	Goole and Goole Rural District
Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight	none	all
Kent	Kent	Canterbury	all
Lancashire	Lancashire	Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, Preston	central part only (south-east to Greater Manchester, south-west part to Merseyside, mid-south to Cheshire, North Lonsdale to Cumbria)
Lancashire	Yorkshire, West Riding	none	area including Barnoldswick
Leicestershire	Leicestershire	Leicester	all
Leicestershire	Rutland	none	all
Lincolnshire	Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland	none	all
	Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey	Lincoln	all but northern strip including Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes
	Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven	none
Norfolk	Norfolk	Norwich	all
Norfolk	East Suffolk	none	part of Lothingland Rural District near Great Yarmouth
North Yorkshire	North Riding of Yorkshire	York	all except urban north (to Cleveland) and Startforth Rural District (to Durham)
	Yorkshire, West Riding		northern part including Harrogate, Knaresborough and Selby
	Yorkshire, East Riding		northern part including Filey
Northamptonshire	Northamptonshire	Northampton	all
Northumberland	Northumberland	none	all except urban south-east (to Tyne and Wear)
Nottinghamshire	Nottinghamshire	Nottingham	all except Finningley (to South Yorkshire)
Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	Oxford	all
Oxfordshire	Berkshire	none	area around Abingdon
Salop (Shropshire)	Salop	none	all
Somerset	Somerset	none	all except northern part (including Weston-super-Mare)
Staffordshire	Staffordshire	Burton upon Trent, Stoke-on-Trent	all except Aldridge-Brownhills
Suffolk	East Suffolk and West Suffolk	Ipswich	all, except part of north-east Suffolk near Great Yarmouth to Norfolk
Surrey	Surrey	none	all except Gatwick Airport
Warwickshire	Warwickshire	none	all except Sutton Coldfield and Meriden Gap (to West Midlands)
West Sussex	West Sussex	none	all
West Sussex	East Sussex	none	eastern strip
Wiltshire	Wiltshire	none	all

Non-metropolitan districts

The Local Government Boundary Commission originally proposed 278 non-metropolitan districts in April 1972 (still working with the county boundaries found in the Bill). A further eighteen districts were added in the final proposals of November 1972, which were then ordered.

The splits were as follows (in most cases the splits were not exact, and many other changes to the borders of the districts took place at this time)

Devon: Torridge/North Devon
Dorset : Weymouth and Portland/Purbeck, North Dorset/East Dorset
Durham : Wear Valley/Teesdale
Hereford and Worcester : Hereford/South Herefordshire/Leominster
Humberside: Holderness/North Wolds
Isle of Wight: South Wight/Medina
Lancashire: Hyndburn/Rossendale
Leicestershire : Rutland/Melton, Harborough/Oadby and Wigston
Lincolnshire: Boston/South Holland
Northamptonshire: Daventry/South Northamptonshire
Northumberland : Berwick-upon-Tweed/Alnwick
Shropshire : Oswestry/North Shropshire, Bridgnorth/South Shropshire
Somerset: Taunton Deane/West Somerset
Suffolk: Forest Heath

The new district in Suffolk was necessitated by the decision to keep Newmarket in Suffolk; which would otherwise have become part of the South Cambridgeshire district.

Isles of Scilly

Section 265 af the Act allowed for the continuation of the local government arrangements for the Isles of Scilly. The Isles of Scilly Rural District Council became the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and certain services were to continue to be provided by Cornwall County Council as provided by order in council made by the Secretary of State, although the Isles were not technically in Cornwall before or after 1974.

Wales

New county	Existing geographic county	County boroughs	Other parts
Clwyd	Flintshire	none	all
	Denbighshire	none	all except Llanrwst and area
	Merionethshire	none	Edeyrnion Rural District
Dyfed	Cardiganshire	none	all
	Carmarthenshire	none	all
	Pembrokeshire	none	all
Gwent	Monmouthshire	Newport	except parts in Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan
Gwent	Breconshire	none	Brynmawr and Llanelly
Gwynedd	Anglesey	none	all
	Caernarvonshire	none	all
	Merionethshire	none	all except Edeyrnion Rural District
	Denbighshire	none	Llanrwst and area
Mid Glamorgan	Glamorgan	Merthyr Tydfil	Aberdare, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Pontypridd, Rhondda etc.
	Breconshire	none	Penderyn and Vaynor
	Monmouthshire	none	Bedwas and Machen, Rhymney, part of Bedwellty
Powys	Montgomeryshire	none	all
	Radnorshire	none	all
	Breconshire	none	all except parts to Gwent and Mid Glamorgan
South Glamorgan	Glamorgan	Cardiff	Barry, Cowbridge, Penarth
South Glamorgan	Monmouthshire	none	St Mellons
West Glamorgan	Glamorgan	Swansea	Glyncorrwg, Neath, Llwchwr, Port Talbot

Elections

Elections were held to the new authorities on three different Thursdays in 1973. Each new county and district was divided into electoral divisions. For county councils, each electoral division elected one member; for metropolitan district councils, each ward elected three members; and wards in non-metropolitan districts could elect a varying number of members. There was not sufficient time to conduct a full warding arrangement so a temporary system was used: in some county councils electoral divisions elected multiple councillors.