Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority for Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 1996 it has been a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The council was created in 1974 as Langbaurgh Borough Council and was a district-level authority until 1996 when it was renamed and became a unitary authority, taking over county-level functions from the abolished Cleveland County Council. The council is based at the Civic Centre in Redcar.

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017.

Governance

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council provides both county-level and district-level services. Parts of the borough are included in civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas. The north-west of the borough, corresponding to the parts that were in the County Borough of Teesside between 1968 and 1974, is an unparished area.

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2013. Following the 2023 election a minority Labour administration took control of the council.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Langbaurgh (non-metropolitan district)

Redcar and Cleveland (unitary authority)

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Redcar and Cleveland. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in November 2023, the composition of the council was:

Eleven of the twelve independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group". The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 59 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council meets at the Civic Centre on Ridley Street in Redcar. It has its main offices in the adjoining Redcar and Cleveland House at the corner of Ridley Street and Kirkleatham Street, which was built in 1996 to accommodate the extra staff the council took on when it became a unitary authority. The Civic Centre opened in 2014 as part of a £31 million development called the "Leisure and Community Heart", which incorporates a council chamber, mayor's parlour, register services, meeting rooms, 44 business units, as well as sport and leisure facilities.

When first created in 1974 the council used Eston Town Hall on Fabian Road in Teesville as its headquarters, which had been built in 1961 for the old Eston Urban District Council. In 1981 the council also bought the former headquarters of the Cargo Fleet Iron Company in South Bank, which had been built in 1916. The Cargo Fleet building closed in 2002 and Eston Town Hall was demolished in 2012.

References

External links

• Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Official website.