Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Shown within Staffordshire
Geography
Status:	Non-metropolitan district, Borough
Region:	West Midlands
Admin. County:	Staffordshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 163rd 210.96 km²
Admin. HQ:	Newcastle-under-Lyme
ONS code:	41UE
Demographics
Population: - Total (2008 est.) - Density	Ranked 162nd 124,700 591 / km²
Ethnicity:	98.0% White
Politics
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council http://www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative / Liberal Democrat
MPs:	Charlotte Atkins, William Cash, Paul Farrelly

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England.

It is named after its main town of Newcastle-under-Lyme where the council is based, but also includes the town of Kidsgrove, the villages of Silverdale and Keele, and the rural area surrounding Audley. Most of the borough forms part of The Potteries Urban Area.

[edit] History

The present town is originally a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages there was a large castle here, owned by John of Gaunt, and a major medieval market. In 1835 Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 which required that rate payers elected councillors. In 1932 it took in what had been the Wolstanton United Urban District, covering the parishes of Chesterton, Silverdale and Wolstanton, also taking the parish of Clayton from Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough, the Kidsgrove Urban District, and Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District.

Up to the time of the passing of the Municipal Reform Act an election a mock mayor occurred annually after the election of the real mayor.

[edit] Wards

The borough contains 24 wards.

[edit] Politics

The local 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. UKIP also made gains in 2007 and 2008.

The Council has been led since 2006 by Conservative Councillor Simon Tagg. [2]

After the 2008 Local Elections there were 25 Conservative councillors, 19 Liberal Democrats, 12 Labour and 4 from the UK Independence Party.^[1]

[edit] 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, 13.1% having no religion, 0.5% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu or other and 0.1% stating Jewish or Sikh.^[2] 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 and 11.6% in financial and other business related activities.^[3]

[edit] 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-upon-Trent, about a mile from the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council
• Newcastle-under-Lyme local life
• The Potteries
• Keele University
• Local Information from The Sentinel newspaper
• Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service

Coordinates: 53°00′40″N 2°13′44″W / 53.011°N 2.229°W / 53.011; -2.229