A petition for a charter under subsection (1) above shall not be presented except on a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the members voting thereon at a meeting of the council specially convened for the purpose with notice of the object.

No charter under subsection (1) above shall take effect before 1st April 1974.

A district which has the status of a borough, or for which the style of borough may be used, by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section and the council of any such district shall not be treated as a borough or the council of a borough for the purposes of any Act passed before 1st April 1974.

A resolution under subsection (6) above shall cease to have effect if the parish or community to which it relates ceases to exist.

If a parish or community council which has passed a resolution under subsection (6) above is dissolved without the parish or community ceasing to exist, the dissolution shall not affect the status of the parish or community or the application to it of paragraph (c) of that subsection and in England the parish trustees shall have the style of town trustees.

A parish or community council by whom a resolution under subsection (6) above has been passed or, if the council has been dissolved, the parish meeting in England or a community meeting in Wales may resolve that the parish or community shall cease to have the status of a town and thereupon subsection (6)(a) to (c) above and subsection (8) above shall cease to apply to the parish or community.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect subject to any provision made by a grant under Her Majesty’s prerogative and, in particular, to any such provision granting the status of a city or royal borough or conferring the style of lord mayor, deputy lord mayor or right honourable.

Subject to subsection (3) below, subsection (1) above shall come into force in relation to a district which has the status of a borough, or for which the style of borough may be used, three months after the day on which, at a specially convened meeting of the council, it is resolved by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting that the Welsh language form of the council’s description shall be used.

A resolution under subsection (2) above may be passed by the council of a district in Wales notwithstanding that, at the time it is passed, the council does not have the status of a borough; but, if a resolution is passed at such a time, subsection (1) above shall not come into force unless, nor earlier than, the status of a borough is conferred on the district by virtue of section 245(1) above.

Subsection (1) above shall cease to be in force in relation to a district which has the status of a borough, or for which the style of borough may be used, three months after the day on which, at a specially convened meeting of the council, it is resolved by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting that the Welsh language form of the council’s description shall cease to be used.

Subsection (5) above shall come into force in relation to a community which has the status of a town three months after the day on which, at a specially convened meeting of the council, it is resolved by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting that the Welsh language form of the council’s description shall be used.

Subsection (5) above shall cease to be in force in relation to a community which has the status of a town three months after the day on which, at a specially convened meeting of the council, it is resolved by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting that the Welsh language form of the council’s description shall cease to be used.

Subsection (10) of section 245 above has effect in relation to this section as it has effect in relation to the foregoing provisions of that section.

The council of a community which is not grouped with any other community may, subject to subsection (3) below, resolve that the community shall have the status of a town.

Where the provisions of section 27(4) above apply in relation to a community, the council of that community shall not pass a resolution under subsection (1) above unless it is satisfied that those provisions have been complied with in relation to the community.

Any such resolution shall cease to have effect if the community to which it relates ceases to exist.

If a community council which has passed such a resolution is dissolved without the community ceasing to exist, the dissolution shall not affect the status of the community.

A community council by whom a resolution has been passed under subsection (1) above or, if the council has been dissolved, a community meeting of the community may resolve that the resolution shall cease to have effect.

On the passing of a resolution under subsection (6) above, the community shall cease to have the status of a town.

This section shall have effect subject to any provision made by a grant under Her Majesty’s prerogative and, in particular, to any provision conferring any style on any person.

Any privileges or rights belonging immediately before 1st April 1974 to the citizens or burgesses of an existing city or borough shall belong on and after that date to the inhabitants of the area of the existing city or borough.

Where by virtue of Part I or II of this Act, the area of an existing city or borough on 1st April 1974 becomes a parish in England or becomes a community in Wales having a separate community council, any powers to appoint local officers of dignity exercisable immediately before that date by the corporation of the city or borough shall be exercisable on and after that date by the parish or community council.

Subsections (1), F5and (3) above and any order applying subsection (3) made pursuant to subsection (5) above shall have effect subject to any provision made by a grant under Her Majesty’s prerogative or any provision of a charter granted by Her Majesty under section 245 above and any other provision of this Act or an instrument thereunder, and a charter under subsection (2) above shall have effect subject to any provision made by any such grant or any other provision of this Act or an instrument thereunder.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F6

If an area or part of an area for which charter trustees have been constituted under subsection (4) above becomes, or becomes comprised in, a parish or a separate community council is established for a community consisting of such an area, that subsection shall cease to apply to the area or part and accordingly the charter trustees shall cease to act therefor.

Where charter trustees have been constituted for an area which is altered by an order under Part IV of this Act and F7subsection (8) does not apply in relation to the alteration, the order may make such provision with respect to the charter trustees as may appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate.

The sums required to meet the expenses of charter trustees shall be chargeable on, but only on, the area for which the charter trustees act, and for the purpose of obtaining those sums the charter trustees shall issue precepts to the council of the district in which that area is situated.

Where the amount of the income received by charter trustees in any year from their property exceeds any expenditure incurred in connection with that property, they shall pay the excess to the rating authority for the rating area in which the area for which the charter trustees act is situated to be credited to the last-mentioned area.

Every cheque or other order for the payment of money by charter trustees shall be signed by two of them.

Charter trustees shall keep such accounts as may be prescribed of their receipts and payments.

Sections 15(5) and 34(5) above shall apply in relation to a city or town mayor holding office by virtue of this section as they apply to the chairman of a parish or community council.

F8Section 168 above, except subsection (5), shall apply in relaton to charter trustees as if the charter trustees were the council of a parish or community consisting of the area for which they act.

Sections 173 to 178 above shall apply in relation to charter trustees as if the charter trustees were the members of the council of a parish or community consisting of the area for which they act.

Subject to subsection (2) below, Her Majesty may by Order in Council authorise any new local authority specified in the Order to bear and use any armorial bearings which may be so specified and which, immediately before 1st April 1974, were lawfully borne and used by an existing local authority which ceases to exist by virtue of section 1 of section 20 above.

An Order in Council under this section shall provide that before any armorial bearings of an existing local authority may be borne and used by a new local authority in accordance with the Order, they shall be exemplified according to the laws of arms and recorded in the College of Arms.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, nothing in this Act shall affect any person’s status, or the right of any person to be admitted, as a freeman of a place which is an existing borough; and in this section any such place is referred to as a city or town.

On and after 1st April 1974 the roll of freemen of a city or town shall be kept by the proper officer of the relevant district council, that is to say, the council of the district which comprises the whole or the greater part of the city or town.

If at any time on or after 1st April 1974 any person claims to be admitted as a freeman of a city or town, his claim for admission shall be examined by the chairman of the relevant district council, as defined in subsection (2) above, and, if the person’s claim is established, his name shall be entered on the roll of freemen of that city or town.

A person who is on 1st April 1974, or becomes thereafter, an inhabitant of a city or town shall, as such, have and enjoy the same rights, whether in respect of property or otherwise, as were held and enjoyed immediately before that date by an inhabitant of that city or town.

A principal council may, by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the members voting thereon at a meeting of the council specially convened for the purpose with notice of the object, confer the title of honorary aldermen on persons who have, in the opinion of the council, rendered eminent services to the council as past members of that council, but who are not then councillors of the council.

No honorary alderman shall, while serving as a councillor of the council, be entitled to be addressed as alderman or to attend or take part in any civic ceremonies of the council as an alderman.

Services rendered to the council of an existing county, county borough, borough or urban or rural district the area of which becomes wholly or partly included in a new county or district shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) above as services rendered to the council of the new county or district, as the case may be.

The council of a London borough or a district having the status of a city, borough or royal borough F9or any parish or community having by grant under the royal perogative the status of city and any parish or community entitled by such grant to be called and styled a royal town may, by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the members voting thereon at a meeting of the council specially convened for the purpose with notice of the object, admit to be honorary freemen of the city, borough or royal borough F9or parish or community as aforesaid, persons of distinction and persons who have, in the opinion of the council, rendered eminent services to the city, borough or royal borough F9or parish or community as aforesaid,, but the admission of a person to be an honorary freeman shall not confer on him any such rights as are referred to in section 248(4) above.

The council of a London borough or a district which has the status of a city, borough or royal borough F10or parish or community as aforesaid may spend such reasonable sum as they think fit for the purpose of presenting an address or a casket containing an address to a person upon whom they have conferred the title of honorary alderman or admitted to be an honorary freeman of the city, borough or royal borough F10or parish or community as aforesaid.