Borough of Guildford

The town of Guildford was an ancient borough, with its first known charter dating from 1257.{{cite book |editor1-last=Malden |editor1-first=H. E. |title=A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 |date=1911 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=560–570 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp560-570 |access-date=12 January 2024}} It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised the way many boroughs operated across the country. The borough boundaries were enlarged several times, notably in 1836, 1933 and 1954.{{cite book |title=Municipal Corporations Act |date=1835 |page=456 |url=https://archive.org/details/statutesunitedk35britgoog/page/456/mode/2up |access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=Guildford Municipal Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10001614 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=12 January 2024}}

The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of two former districts, which were both abolished at the same time:{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan District (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973|year=1973|number=551|access-date=3 January 2024}}

• Guildford Municipal Borough
• Guildford Rural District

Guildford's borough status transferred to the new district from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Guildford's series of mayors dating back to at least the fifteenth century.{{cite web |title=District Councils and Boroughs |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1974/mar/28/district-councils-and-boroughs#S5CV0871P0_19740328_CWA_145 |website=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) |access-date=4 December 2021 |date=28 March 1974}}

{{Infobox legislature

| name = Guildford Borough Council

| logo_pic = Guildford Borough Council.svg

| logo_res = 250px

| foundation =

| house_type = Non-metropolitan district

| leader1_type = Mayor

| leader1 = Sallie Barker

| party1 =
Conservative

| election1 = 8 May 2024{{cite news |title=Guildford has a new mayor |url=https://guildford-dragon.com/guildford-has-a-new-mayor/ |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=Guildford Dragon |date=19 May 2024}}

| leader2_type = Leader

| leader2 = Julia McShane

| party2 =
Liberal Democrat

| election2 = 11 October 2022

| leader3_type = Chief Executive

| leader3 = Pedro Wrobel

| party3 =

| election3 = 8 April 2024

| members = 48 councillors

| structure1 = Borough_of_Guildford_Council_2023.svg

| structure1_res = 250px

| political_groups1 =

;Administration (25)

:{{nowrap|{{Color box |{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}} |border=darkgray}} Liberal Democrats (25)}}

;Other parties (23)

:{{Color box |{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}} |border=darkgray}} Conservative (10)

:{{Color box |{{party color|Residents for Guildford and Villages}} |border=darkgray}} Residents (7)

:{{nowrap|{{Color box |{{party color|Guildford Greenbelt Group}} |border=darkgray}} Greenbelt Group (3)}}

:{{Color box |{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}} |border=darkgray}} Labour (3)

|term_length=4 years

| session_room = Millmead House - geograph.org.uk - 3804820.jpg

| meeting_place = Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford, GU2{{nbsp}}4BB

| last_election1 = 4 May 2023

| next_election1 = 6 May 2027

| website = {{URL|www.guildford.gov.uk}}

|}}

Guildford Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1972|year=1972|chapter=70|access-date=31 May 2023}} Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=9 January 2023}}

The council owns significant heritage assets that include monuments such as Guildford Castle, as well museums, art collections and civic regalia.{{Cite web |url=http://www.guildford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=12951&p=0 |title=Guildford Borough Council Statement of Accounts 2011-12, pp 4, 12 and 79 |access-date=9 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200616/http://www.guildford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=12951&p=0 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}

The council has shared a chief executive with neighbouring Waverley Borough Council since 2021.{{cite news |last1=Coady Stemp |first1=Emily |title=New £150,000 joint chief executive set to be appointed to lead Waverley and Guildford councils |url=https://www.farnhamherald.com/news/politics/new-ps150000-joint-chief-executive-set-to-be-appointed-to-lead-waverley-and-guildford-councils-195959 |access-date=19 July 2023 |work=Farnham Herald |date=1 November 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Coady-Stemp |first1=Emily |last2=Caulfield |first2=Chris |title=Guildford Borough Council appoints new chief executive |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-67802271 |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=BBC News |date=22 December 2023}}

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2023 election.{{cite news| url=https://guildford-dragon.com/new-borough-council-administration-kicks-off-by-re-electing-lib-dem-leader/ | work=Guildford Dragon | title=New borough council administration kicks off by re-electing Lib Dem Leader | date=18 May 2023}}

Political control of the old municipal borough council from 1836 to 1974 was as follows:{{cite book |last1=Ottewill |first1=Roger |title=Guildford Borough Council: A Compendium of Municipal Election Results, 1835–1974 |date=2005 |publisher=LGC Elections Centre |location=Plymouth |url=https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/?page_id=2476 |access-date=12 January 2024}}

Political control of the modern borough council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:{{cite web |title=Compositions Calculator |url=https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/composition_calc.html |access-date=26 November 2024 |website=The Elections Centre |publisher=University of Exeter}} (Put "Guildford" in search box to see specific results.)

{{further|Mayor of Guildford}}

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Guildford. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been:

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2023/may/04/elections-2023-results-live-local-council-england#le-full-results|title=Local elections 2023: live council results for England|work=The Guardian}}{{cite web |title=Guildford election results in full as Liberal Democrats take control |url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/guildford-borough-council-local-election-26846436 |website=SurreyLive |access-date=6 May 2023}}

The next election is due in 2027.

{{also|Guildford Borough Council elections}}

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 48 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Guildford (Electoral Changes) Order 2022|year=2022|number=1178|access-date=12 January 2024}}

{{See also|List of Parliamentary constituencies in Surrey}}

The borough straddles five parliamentary constituencies:

File:Guildhall, Guildford.jpg: Used for council's annual meetings.]]

The council is based at Millmead House on Millmead in Guildford. The original house dates from the late seventeenth century, with extensive modern additions to the rear.{{NHLE|num=1188094|desc=Millmead House, Millmead|grade=II|accessdate=14 July 2022|fewer-links=yes}} Prior to the local government reorganisation of 1974, the building had been the headquarters of Guildford Rural District Council.{{cite journal |title=The Rural District Council of Guildford |journal=London Gazette |date=29 November 1932 |issue=33887 |page=7597 |quote=...at the Rural District Council Offices, Millmead House, Guildford... |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33887/page/7597 |access-date=14 July 2022}} The council's annual meeting when new mayors are appointed each May is held at Guildford Guildhall.{{cite web |title=Council minutes, 10 May 2023 |url=https://democracy.guildford.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=159&MId=1464 |website=Guildford Borough Council |access-date=19 July 2023}}

Guildford has the second largest population of Surrey's eleven districts (based on census statistics, only 600 residents behind Reigate and Banstead).List of English districts by population Approximately half of the borough's population live in the town of Guildford.

The central part of the borough, corresponding to the pre-1974 borough and covering the majority of the Guildford built-up area, is an unparished area.{{cite web |title=Surrey: Diagram showing administrative boundaries, 1971 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/241244539 |website=National Library of Scotland |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=12 January 2024}} This area includes Bellfields, Boxgrove, Onslow Village, Park Barn, Stoughton, Westborough, and the (former) villages of Burpham, and Merrow.

The rest of the borough is covered by civil parishes:[http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Parishes+by+district?opendocument#Elmbridge Surrey County Council] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926214043/http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Parishes%20by%20district?opendocument |date=26 September 2011 }}

{{Columns-list|colwidth=15em|

• Albury
• Artington
• Ash
• Ash Vale
• Compton
• East Clandon
• East Horsley
• Effingham
• Normandy
• Ockham
• Pirbright
• Puttenham
• Ripley
• Seale and Sands
• Send
• Shackleford
• Shalford
• Shere
• St Martha
• Tongham
• Wanborough
• West Clandon
• West Horsley
• Wisley
• Worplesdon

}}

File:Guildford Parishes.png which provide an additional layer of government.]]

Notes

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References

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{{Surrey}}

{{SE_England}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guildford, Borough of}}

Category:Non-metropolitan districts of Surrey

Category:Boroughs in England