Shrewsbury MP calls for return of borough status
Wednesday 27th October 2010, 11:29AM BST.
Shrewsbury’s MP today launched a campaign to get the town’s lost “borough” status returned – claiming a part of its history had been eroded.
Daniel Kawczynski said he was concerned that Shrewsbury & Atcham had lost its important borough status following a major shake-up of local government in Shropshire last year.
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council ceased to exist in April 2009.
It was replaced by Shrewsbury Town Council under the new unitary authority system.
Mr Kawczynski said the title of borough was granted through Royal Charter and was an important part of the town’s history.
He said: “The term ‘borough’ conveys a certain status. But since the reorganisation it has been stripped from Shrewsbury so it is now just known as Shrewsbury Town Council.
“I want Shrewsbury to have the status returned or even be known as a Royal borough. I will be writing to government ministers to ask if the name can be changed to Shrewsbury Borough Town Council.
“It’s important that we retain the status of a borough, it does add a certain sense of prestige to the town and as the county town it’s very important.”
Borough status in the UK is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district.
Until the local government reforms of 1973 and 1974, boroughs were communities possessing charters of incorporation conferring considerable powers, and were governed by a municipal corporation headed by a mayor.
Many of the older boroughs can trace their origin to medieval charters or were boroughs by prescription, with Saxon origins.
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Your bosses, central government are really going to be enthusiastic about what they would see as an extra layer/set of bureaucracy.
I though his quota of press-time has been a bit low recently.
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What is the use of the town council? Cut the grass and grow a few flowers.Quite expensive and no value for money. Put the lot under the Shropshire Council and get rid of all town councillors and admin staff.
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Is this the best that Shrewsbury’s pimpernel of politics can come up with in the wake of what’s been going on in parliament over the last few weeks and how devastating the effects of his party’s public spending butchery will be?
Perhaps Mr Kawczynski should write one of his now legendary ‘strongest of letters’ to central government about his ‘campaign’to restore Shrewsbury’s Borough status. I understand the mail office at Westminster like a laugh.
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And how much is this little crusade likely to cost local taxpayers in view of the fact that the last one (an appeal against the inevitable creation of Unitary Council by SABC) cost approx £50,000??
In view of the current economic climate-please can all councils, be it town or unitary spend our money on worthwhile action….
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