Shropshire Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1889 (1889-04-01) |
| Leadership | |
Tanya Miles (interim) since 2025[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 74 councillors[3] |
 | |
Political groups |
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| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 1 May 2025 |
Next election | 3 May 2029 |
| Motto | |
| Floreat Salopia (May Shropshire Flourish) | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| The Guildhall, Frankwell Quay,Shrewsbury, SY3 8HQ | |
| Website | |
www | |
Shropshire Council, known between 1980 and 2009 asShropshire County Council and prior to 1980 asSalop County Council, is thelocal authority for thenon-metropolitan county ofShropshire in theWest Midlands region of England. Since 2009 it has been aunitary authority, being acounty council which also performs the functions of adistrict council. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than theceremonial county ofShropshire, which additionally includesTelford and Wrekin.
The council is based at the Guildhall in theFrankwell area ofShrewsbury. At the2025 election, theLiberal Democrats took control of the council.
Elected county councils were established in 1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelectedmagistrates at thequarter sessions. The first elections were held in January 1889 and the county council formally came into being on 1 April 1889. On that day it held its first official meeting at theShirehall in Shrewsbury, the courthouse (built 1837) which had served as the meeting place for the quarter sessions. The first chairman was Alfred Salwey ofOverton, who had also been chairman of the quarter sessions for some years prior to the creation of the county council.[4][5]
The Local Government Act 1888 which created county councils did not specify the names of the counties. As Shropshire was also known as Salop, the names 'Shropshire County Council' and 'Salop County Council' were used interchangeably in the council's early years.[6][7] The council chose to adopt an officialseal inscribed in Latin rather than English:Concilii comitatus Salopiensis sigilum commune.[8] The county's legal name was confirmed as being Salop by theLocal Government Act 1933.[9]
Local government was reformed in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, which saw Salop designated as anon-metropolitan county. The lower tier of local government was reorganised as part of the same reforms. Prior to 1974 the lower tier had comprised numerousboroughs,urban districts andrural districts. They were replaced by sixnon-metropolitan districts:Bridgnorth,North Shropshire,Oswestry,Shrewsbury and Atcham,South Shropshire andThe Wrekin. The county's legal name remained Salop, although two of the districts included 'Shropshire' in their names.[10]
The council changed the county's legal name from Salop to Shropshire with effect from 1 April 1980, after which the council was called Shropshire County Council.[11][12]
In 1998, following the recommendations of theLocal Government Commission, The Wrekin district was removed from the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire, with its council becoming a unitary authority, independent from the county council. The district council chose to rename the district 'Telford and Wrekin' at the same time.[11]
In 2006 the government published awhite paper which encouraged more unitary authorities to be established, particularly in counties with small populations. This started the process which culminated in the2009 structural changes to local government in England.[13]
Shropshire County Council, supported by South Shropshire District Council and Oswestry Borough Council, proposed to the government that the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire should become a single unitary authority. This was opposed by the other three districts in the county. Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council took legal action challenging the government's decision to proceed with the reorganisation, but was unsuccessful.[14]
Shropshire County Council became a unitary authority with effect from 1 April 2009. The way the changes were implemented was that the five remaining districts in the non-metropolitan county were abolished and merged into a single district called Shropshire, but with there being no separate district council. Instead, the existing county council also took on the functions that legislation assigns to district councils. The county council was given the option of omitting the word 'county' from its name as part of the reforms, which it took, becoming 'Shropshire Council'.[15]
As a unitary authority, Shropshire Council provides both county-level and district-level functions. The whole county is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.[16]
In 2025, theLiberal Democrats took control of the council. It had previously been underConservative control since 2005.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[17][18][19]
Upper-tier county council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–2005 | |
| Conservative | 2005–2009 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 2009–2025 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2025–present | |
Theleaders of the council since 2001 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Walker[20][21] | Labour | 2001 | 2005 | |
| Malcolm Pate[22][23] | Conservative | 2005 | 18 Jun 2009 | |
| Keith Barrow[24][25] | Conservative | 18 Jun 2009 | 4 Dec 2015 | |
| Malcolm Pate[26][27] | Conservative | 17 Dec 2015 | 18 May 2017 | |
| Peter Nutting[28][29] | Conservative | 18 May 2017 | May 2021 | |
| Lezley Picton[30][31] | Conservative | 20 May 2021 | May 2025 | |
| Heather Kidd[1] | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2025 | ||
Following the2025 election,[32] and a subsequent change of allegiance later in May 2025 from Reform UK to independent, the composition of the council was:[33][34]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 42 | |
| Reform | 15 | |
| Conservative | 7 | |
| Green | 4 | |
| Labour | 4 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Total: | 74 | |
The next election is due in 2029.[33]
Since the last review of boundaries took effect in 2025, the council has comprised 74councillors representing 72electoral divisions. Most divisions elect one councillor, but theSt Martin's andWem divisions each elect two councillors. Elections are held every four years.[35]
In February 2025, the council relocated to the Guildhall in the Frankwell area of Shrewsbury.[36] The Guildhall had been completed in 2004 as the headquarters for the oldShrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.[37]
The council was previously based at theShirehall on Abbey Foregate in Shrewsbury, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1966. The council announced its intention to vacate Shirehall in 2024.[38]
Prior to 1966 the council was based at theOld Shirehall in Shrewsbury, which was subsequently demolished.[39]
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| National | |
| Other | |
