| South Bedfordshire | |
|---|---|
| Non-metropolitan district | |
 District Council Offices, High Street North, Dunstable | |
 Shown within Bedfordshire non-metropolitan county | |
| Area | |
| • 1974 | 124,423 acres (503.52 km2)[1] |
| Population | |
| • 1973 | 94,750[1] |
| • 1992 | 110,110[2] |
| • 2007 | 118,200 |
| History | |
| • Origin | Municipal Borough of Dunstable Leighton-Linslade Urban District Luton Rural District |
| • Created | 1 April 1974 |
| • Abolished | 31 March 2009 |
| • Succeeded by | Central Bedfordshire |
| ONS code | 09UE |
| Government | South Bedfordshire District Council |
| • HQ | Dunstable |
| • Motto | By Truth and Diligence |
 | |
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| Subdivisions | |
| • Type | Civil parishes |
South Bedfordshire was alocal government district inBedfordshire, in theEast of England, from 1974 to 2009. Its main towns wereDunstable,Houghton Regis andLeighton Buzzard.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local authorities in England and Wales carried out under theLocal Government Act 1972. South Bedfordshire was formed by the amalgamation of three former districts which were all abolished at the same time:[3]
The council initially used the former Dunstable Borough Council offices atGrove House in Dunstable as its headquarters, but also continued to use the former Leighton-Linslade offices at the White House in Leighton Buzzard and the former Luton Rural District Council offices on Sundon Road in Houghton Regis. A new headquarters for the council was built in 1989 on the site of the formerDunstable North railway station, called the District Council Offices.[4][5][6] Following the council's abolition in 2009 the building was used as a secondary office by Central Bedfordshire Council, being renamed as Watling House.
The district comprised the followingcivil parishes:[7]
The first election to South Bedfordshire District Council took place on 7 June 1973, with the 45 councillors elected forming a shadow authority until 1 April 1974.[1] Following ward boundary changes, the number of councillors was increased to 53, with an election of the whole council held in 1976. The council resolved to hold elections by thirds thereafter. Councillors had a four-year term of office, and one third of the council was elected in three years out of four. Elections toBedfordshire County Council took place in years that there were none to the district council. In 2002 the wards were again redrawn, and the size of the council was reduced to 50 members.[7] An election of the whole council was held on the new boundaries.[7] The electoral cycle continued by thirds in later years. The elections due to take place in May 2008 were cancelled, with councillors staying in office until the abolition of the council in 2009.[8]
The first council elected was under no overall control, with theConservative Party having the largest number of councillors.[9] The party dominated the council for most of its existence, gaining a majority in 1976 which they held until 1995.[10][11] In 1996 they were supplanted by theLabour Party as the largest grouping on the council, in a year that saw a strong vote against the unpopular Conservative government ofJohn Major.[12] In 1999 theLiberal Democrats briefly became the largest group on the council, which remained under no overall control.[13] The Conservatives staged a recovery in 2000, taking 10 seats from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, and again gaining a plurality of councillors.[14] They subsequently regained their majority, which they held until the council's abolition.
| Year | Conservative | Labour | Liberal/ Liberal Democrat | Independent | Other | Control | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973[9] | 17 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1976[10] † | 40 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | Conservative gain from no overall control | |
| 1978[15] | 37 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1979[16] | 37 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1980[17] | 35 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1982[18] | 34 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1983[19] | 38 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1984[20] | 41 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1986[21] | 37 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1987[22] | 39 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1988[23] | 39 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1990[24] | 37 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1991[25] | 34 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1992[26] | 37 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 vacancy | Conservative hold | |
| 1994[27] | 35 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 1995[11] | 24 | 15 | 11 | 2 | Ratepayers 1 | Conservative loss to no overall control | |
| 1996[12] | 15 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1998[28] | 13 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1999[13] | 16 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 0 | No overall control | |
| 2000[14] | 26 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 0 | No overall control | |
| 2002[29] † | 28 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 2003[30] | 31 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 2004[31] | 34 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 2006[32] | 35 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
| 2007[33] | 34 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | Conservative hold | |
† New ward boundaries
On 27 November 1976 South Bedfordshire District Council was grantedarmorial bearings by theCollege of Arms. The arms combined elements from the devices of the three merged councils, and wereblazoned as follows:
Or a pile gules over all a single-arched bridge throughout argent masoned sable the keystone charged with an ear of wheat between on the pile three sickles proper all within a bordure engrailed sable; and for a Crest on a wreath of the colours out of a mural crown argent masoned sable in front of a demi-Bull three cog-wheels in fesse Or; and for a Badge or Device: Upon a roundel embattled gules irradiated with rays of the sun a demi-bull rampant couped Or.[34]
The gold and red colouring was derived from the arms of the Bedfordshire County Council. The triangular "pile" and black engrailed border around the shield came from the device of Dunstable Borough Council, itself based on the arms ofDunstable Priory. The bridge across the centre of the shield was from the arms of Leighton Linslade UDC, and the sickles from those of Luton RDC. The crest above the shield was a gold bull, one of thesupporters of the county council arms. Themotto of Leighton-Linslade,"By Truth and Dilgence" was adopted.[34]
In 2006 theDepartment for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the2009 structural changes to local government in England. On 6 March 2008 it was announced that South Bedfordshire would merge withMid Bedfordshire to form a newunitary authority calledCentral Bedfordshire. The new council was formed on 1 April 2009.[35]
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