Medway Council
Medway Council | ||
---|---|---|
Chief Executive | Richard Hicks since 1 August 2023 | |
Structure | ||
Seats | 59 councillors | |
Political groups |
| |
Length of term | 4 years | |
Elections | ||
First past the post | ||
Last election | 4 May 2023 | |
Next election | 6 May 2027 | |
Motto | ||
Forward Together | ||
Meeting place | ||
Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TR | ||
Website | ||
www | ||
Constitution | ||
Constitution of Medway Council |
Medway Council is the local authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined.
The council was created on 1 April 1998 and replaced
Formation and city status
Throughout the 19th century there had been proposals to join the Medway towns under a single authority. By 1903 moves began to take place: that year saw the creation of the Borough of Gillingham, to which, in 1928, the adjoining parish of Rainham was added.
In 1944, a Medway Towns Joint Amalgamation Committee was formed by the borough corporations of Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester, to discuss the possibility of the towns forming a single county borough. In 1948 the Local Government Boundary Commission recommended that the area become a "most purposes" county borough, but the recommendation was not carried out. In 1956 the Joint Amalgamation Committee decided in favour of the amalgamation and invited representatives from Strood Rural District Council to join the committee.[1] In 1960, a proposal was made by Rochester Council that the merger be effected by the city absorbing the two other towns, in order to safeguard its ancient charters and city status. This led to Gillingham Council voting to leave the committee, as it believed the three towns should go forward as equal partners.[2] On 9 March, the committee held its last meeting, with the Chatham representatives voting to dissolve the body and those from Rochester voting against. The motion to disband was passed on the casting vote of the chairman, Alderman Semple from Chatham.[3]
Under the
On 1 April 1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and
Leadership
Medway Council is led by the Leader of the Council, and a cabinet appointed by the Leader. The Council Leader is currently Vince Maple, after the Labour and Co-Operative Party won the 2023 Medway Council election.
Civic roles
The Councils is chaired by a civic Mayor, currently Cllr Nina Gurang, and a Deputy, Cllr Marian Nestorov.
Cabinet
The current composition of Medway Council's Cabinet is as follows:[13]
Party key | Labour and Co-operative Party |
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Post | Member | |
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Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council | ||
Leader of the Council | Vince Maple | |
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Portfolio Holder for Health and Adults Services |
Teresa Murray | |
Portfolio Holders | ||
Portfolio Holder for Business Management | Zoe Van Dyke | |
Portfolio Holder for Children's Services | Adam Price | |
Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Strategic Regeneration | Simon Curry | |
Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Enforcement | Tristan Osborne | |
Portfolio Holder for Economic and Social Regeneration and Inward Investment | Lauren Edwards | |
Portfolio Holder for Education | Tracy Coombs | |
Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Leisure | Harinder Mahil | |
Portfolio Holder for Housing and Property | Naushabah Khan |
Opposition Spokespeople
The Conservatives as the main opposition group appoints spokespeople to represent the party.[14]
Party key | Conservative |
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Post | Member | |
---|---|---|
Leader of the Conservative Group and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group | ||
Leader of the Opposition | Adrian Gulvin | |
Deputy Leader of the Opposition | George Perfect | |
Spokespeople | ||
Spokesperson for Planning | Gary Etheridge | |
Spokesperson for Children and Young People | George Perfect | |
Spokesperson for Health and Adult Social Care | David Wildey | |
Spokesperson for Regeneration, Culture and Environment | Phil Filmer |
Elections
The council has 59 councillors, elected every four years under the
Composition
Affiliation | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party | 33 | |
Conservative Party | 22 | |
Independent | 4 |
References
- ^ "Medway Towns Amalgamation — Favoured by three councils", The Times, 6 November 1956
- ^ "Gillingham leaving merger scheme", The Times, 3 February 1960
- ^ "Medway Towns split over merger — Committee disbands", The Times, 10 March 1960
- ^ "No. 46243". The London Gazette. 21 March 1974. p. 3651. Letters Patent dated 18 March 1974, text also available from Medway Council archives website
- ^ "No. 48875". The London Gazette. 28 January 1982. p. 1173.Publishing Letters Patent dated 25 January 1982, text also available from Medway Council archives website
- ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997". legislation.gov.uk. 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provision) Order 2009". legislation.gov.uk. 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "Error costs Rochester city status", BBC news, Thursday, 16 May 2002.
- ^ Medway Council – Regeneration and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Report on Rochester City Status, 4 March 2003. Archived 18 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "ASA Adjudication on Medway Council". Asa.org.uk. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ "Medway City Status Bid 2012". Medway Council. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Civic Honours competition results announced". Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ Witherow, Tim. "Who's in the cabinet". www.medway.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ Selby, Jade. "Political groups in Medway". www.medway.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
External links
Media related to Medway Council at Wikimedia Commons