Salisbury City Council


Salisbury City Council is an English city council in which the Conservatives currently have an overall majority.
The council came into being in April 2009 to serve the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, although its first elections were not held until June 2009. It is based in the city's historic Guildhall, following the adaptation of the building. Until that was completed it had its offices and meetings at 22, Bedwin Street, Salisbury.

Population

The civil parish of Salisbury – which excludes some of the city's suburbs such as Laverstock, Ford, Britford, Netherhampton and Odstock – had a population of 40,302 at the 2011 census.

City status

As New Sarum, Salisbury has been ranked as a city since "time immemorial". The Local Government Act 1972, which took effect in 1974, eliminated the administration of the City of New Sarum under its charters, with the Salisbury District taking over its administrative functions. However, the status of a city was preserved after 1974 by the Charter Trustees of the City of New Sarum. That name was only formally changed from "New Sarum" to "Salisbury" by the reforms of 2009, which established the new Salisbury City Council. The parish was once again granted city status by letters patent dated 1 April 2009.

Coat of arms

On 23 March 2010, the city council was granted a royal licence, transferring to it the armorial bearings of the previous City of New Sarum. The arms and supporters were originally recorded at the heraldic visitations of Wiltshire in 1565 and 1623. The blazon of the arms is:
Barry of eight Azure and Or. Supporters: On either side an eagle displayed with two heads Or, ducally gorged Azure.

There do not appear to be any meanings attached to the design. The traditional explanation that the blue stripes represent the rivers that meet in the city is now discounted. It has also been suggested that the eagles derive from the arms of the Bouverie family, Earls of Radnor, benefactors of the city. However, this also can be discounted, as the arms of the city were recorded before the family was connected with it.

Membership

The council consists of twenty-three councillors, elected in eight wards, each having three councillors except St Mark's & Bishopdown ward which has two. Elections to the city council took place on Thursday, 4 May 2017. The city councillors are now as follows, those marked with an are also Wiltshire Councillors:

History of control

At the first elections to the city council in 2009, the Liberal Democrats gained twelve seats, giving them a majority of one over all other parties.
At the next elections, on Thursday, 2 May 2013, the council had no overall control. Days after the election, Jo Broom, who had been elected in Fisherton & Bemerton Village as a Liberal Democrat, joined the Conservatives. Then, following the resignation of a Conservative, there was a by-election in the St Martin's & Cathedral ward on 9 January 2014, won by Patricia Fagan for Labour.
In 2017, the Conservatives won an overall majority for the first time.

Functions

The council is initially responsible for the following properties and services: