Boards of improvement commissioners weread hoc urbanlocal government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors theKingdom of Great Britain and theKingdom of Ireland. Around 300 boards were created, each by alocal act of Parliament, typically termed animprovement act.[1] The powers of the boards varied according to the acts which created them. They often includedstreet paving,cleansing,lighting, providingwatchmen or dealing with variouspublic nuisances.[2] Those with restricted powers might be calledlighting commissioners,paving commissioners,police commissioners, etc.
Older urban government forms included thecorporations ofancient boroughs,vestries ofparishes, and in some cases thelord of the manor. These were ill-equipped for the larger populations of theIndustrial Revolution: the most powerful in theory, the corporations, were also the most corrupt; and many new industrial towns lackedborough status. While Binfield states that the first improvement commission in Great Britain was theManchester Police Commission, established by theManchester Improvement Act 1765 (5 Geo. 3. c. 81), followed by theBirmingham Street Commissioners established by theBirmingham Improvement Act 1769 (9 Geo. 3. c. 83),[3] the Webbs list theCommissioners of Scotland Yard, formed by theLondon and Westminster Streets Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2. c. 2) for sewerage and street-cleaning in theCity of London andCity of Westminster,[4] and thenNew Sarum by theNew Sarum Improvement Act 1736 (10 Geo. 2. c. 6), andLiverpool in 1748 by theLiverpool Improvement Act 1747 (21 Geo. 2. c. 24),[5] as well as variousharbour commissioners from 1698.[6] Jones and Falkus give the number of such bodies created:[7]
| Period | 1725–49 | 1750–59 | 1760–69 | 1770–79 | 1780–89 | 1790–99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 4 | 17 | 31 | 36 | 39 | 33 |
Improvement acts empowered the commissioners to fund their work by levyingrates. Some acts specified named individuals to act as commissioners, who replenished their number byco-option. Other commissions held elections at which all ratepayers could vote, or took all those paying above a certain rate as automatic members.[3] During the mid-19th century, some commissions came underChartist control, for example, the Manchester Police and Gas Commissions, theLeeds Improvement Commission, theBradford Highway Commission and theSheffield Highway Commission.[8]
Improvement commissioners were gradually superseded by reformedmunicipal boroughs (from 1835) andboards of health (from 1848), which absorbed commissioners' powers by promoting private acts.[9] From 1872 England and Wales were divided into urban and ruralsanitary districts, with improvement commissioners districts (also termed improvement act districts) becoming a type of urban sanitary district.[10] Those improvement commissioners still acting as urban sanitary authorities by 1894 had their districts converted intourban districts, governed instead by an elected council.[11] Harbour commissioners remained separate in many cases, and they or their successor body are thecompetent harbour authority in many UK ports.
In Ireland the first and best known improvement commission was the DublinWide Streets Commission by theParliament Street Act 1757 (31 Geo. 2. c. 19 (I)), which covered the area ofDublin Corporation and theadjoining Liberties.[12]Newtown Pery was governed by improvement commissioners from 1807 until 1853, when it was absorbed intoLimerick city.[13] TheMunicipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 (3 & 4 Vict. c. 108) abolished most corporations, but the ad hoc improvement commissioners were superseded by standardisedtown commissioners appointed under the terms of acts of Parliament of 1828 and later.
 |
Note for table: 'ICD' stands for improvement commissioners district.
Improvement commissioners district | County | Created | Act of Parliament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whittlesey ICD | Cambridgeshire | 1849 | Whittlesea Improvement Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c. 32) |
| Llandudno ICD | Caernarfonshire | 1854[15][16] | Llandudno Improvement Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. cii) |
| Milford ICD | Pembrokeshire | 1857 | Milford Improvement Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 74) |
| Chiswick ICD | Middlesex | 1858 | Chiswick Improvement Act 1858 (21 & 22 Vict. c. 69) |
| West Worthing ICD | Sussex | 1865 | West Worthing Improvement Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. xxvii) |
By 1894 many earlier bodies of improvement commissioners had been replaced by local boards or borough corporations. There were 30 towns across England and Wales where the improvement commissioners were still the primary form of local government, acting as the urban sanitary authority. These districts, allconverted into urban districts under theLocal Government Act 1894, were:[17]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)The Public Health Bill having received the Royal Assent on the 10th of August 1872, the provisions with regard to the constitution of the several sanitary districts and authorities took effect from that day.
Local and Personal Act, 7 & 8 Victoria I, c. xciv: An Act for lighting, paving, cleansing, widening, and improving the Streets of the Town or Parish of Wells in the County of Norfolk; for removing and preventing Nuisances therein; and for making new Streets or Roadways.