19-514: Download coordinates as: South Somerset was a local government district in Somerset , England, from 1974 to 2023. The district covered an area of 370 square miles (958 km) ranging from the borders with Devon , Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels . It had a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district was Yeovil . On 1 April 2023,
38-463: A unitary authority for the area previously served by Somerset County Council . Elections for the new council took place in May 2022. It ran alongside South Somerset and the other district councils in the county until their abolition. Its main towns included: The electoral wards included: Camelot and Wessex . County schools (those which are not independent ) in the five non-metropolitan districts of
57-500: A parish council may be set up. Where a parish council (whether the successor of a former borough or not) has resolved to style itself a town council, then its chair is entitled to the designation of town mayor, though in practice, the word "town" is often dropped. The right to appoint a lord mayor is a rare honour, even less frequently bestowed than city status . Currently, 23 cities in England have lord mayors: In May 2022, Southampton
76-576: A two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs , able to appoint a mayor and refer to itself as a borough council. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically a district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have
95-461: A two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with a borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them
114-505: A unitary authority or those that transferred from one county to another, including those that changed name. Nor does it include unitary authorities that have been abolished ( Bournemouth and Poole ). Mayors in England In England , the offices of mayor and lord mayor have long been ceremonial posts, with few or no duties attached to them. In recent years they have doubled as more influential political roles while retaining
133-558: Is in practice seldom used for a Town Mayor. These honorific styles are used only before the Mayoral title and not before the name, and are not retained after the term of office. A mayor can also be styled Mr Mayor and usually appoints a consort, usually a spouse, other family member or fellow councillor. In England (and the Commonwealth ) the designated female consort of a mayor is usually styled Mayoress or occasionally Mrs Mayor and accompanies
152-618: The Chard Rural District , Langport Rural District , Wincanton Rural District and Yeovil Rural District . The district covered the whole of the Yeovil constituency , and part of Somerton and Frome . The district was governed by the South Somerset District Council, last elected in the 2019 South Somerset District Council election . On 1 April 2023, the district council was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council ,
171-584: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with
190-511: The Sovereign, in their district, but they are not addressed as mayor. In England, where a borough or a city is a local government district or a civil parish , the mayor is elected annually by the council from their number and chairs meetings of the council with a casting vote . Where the mayoralty used to be associated with a local government district but that district has been abolished, charter trustees may be set up to provide continuity until
209-449: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by
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#1732852194492228-413: The ceremonial functions. A mayor's term of office denotes the municipal year . Traditionally mayors and provosts have been elected by town , borough and city councils. Since 2000, several districts now have directly elected mayors with extensive powers. The role of the chair of a district council is exactly the same as the mayor of a borough council; they have the same status as first citizen, after
247-471: The county were operated by Somerset County Council (now Somerset Council ). For a full list of schools see: List of schools in Somerset Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially shire counties ) in
266-463: The district was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council , a unitary district for the area previously served by Somerset County Council . The district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil , adopting the South Somerset name in 1985. It was formed by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Chard , Yeovil , along with Crewkerne and Ilminster urban districts and
285-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming
304-565: The right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues a style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system
323-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since
342-673: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in
361-495: Was added to the list. The Lord Mayors of London and York are styled The Right Honourable . All other Lord Mayors, as well as the Mayors of cities and the original Cinque Ports ( Sandwich , Hythe , Dover , Romney and Hastings ), are styled The Right Worshipful . (Bristol styles its lord mayor "Right Honourable" instead, but this usage is without official sanction.) All other Mayors are styled The Worshipful , though this
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