Local Government Act 1972

245 Status of certain districts, parishes and communities. E+W

(1) If, on a petition presented to Her Majesty by the council of a district praying for the grant of a charter under this subsection, Her Majesty by the advice of Her Privy Council thinks fit so to do, She may by the charter confer on that district the status of a borough, and thereupon—

(a) the council of the district shall bear the name of the council of the borough;

(b) the chairman and vice-chairman of the council shall respectively be entitled to the style of mayor and deputy mayor of the borough.

[F1 (1A) Subsection (1)(b) above does not apply where the council are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive F2 ...]

(2) 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.

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

(4) Where a petition is presented to Her Majesty before 1st April 1974 by the council of a district praying for the grant of a charter under subsection (1) above and it is signified on behalf of Her Majesty before that date that She proposes to accede to the petition and that She approves—

(a) the use for the district of any style previously belonging to an existing borough which on that date will become wholly or partly comprised in the district; and

(b) the use for the chairman and vice-chairman of the council of the district of any style previously belonging to the mayor or deputy mayor of that borough;

those styles may be so used as from 1st April 1974.

[F3 (4A) Where—

(a) a council are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive F4 ...; and

(b) the chairman or vice-chairman of the council has previously used the style of mayor or deputy mayor by virtue of subsection (4)(b), the chairman or vice-chairman, as the case may be, shall no longer use that style.]

(5) 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.

(6) The council of a parish F5 . . . which is not grouped with any other parish F5 . . . may resolve that the parish F5 . . . shall have the status of a town and thereupon—

(a) the council of the parish F5 . . . shall bear the name of the council of the town;

(b) the chairman and vice-chairman of the council shall be respectively entitled to the style of town mayor and deputy town mayor;

(c) the parish meeting F6 . . . shall have the style of town meeting.

(7) A resolution under subsection (6) above shall cease to have effect if the parish F5 . . . to which it relates ceases to exist.

[F7 (7A) A resolution under subsection (6) shall cease to have effect if the parish has an alternative style (within the meaning of section 17A) by virtue of any of the following—

(a) an order under section 11;

(b) a resolution under section 12A;

(c) an order under section 86 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.]

(8) If a parish F5 . . . council which has passed a resolution under subsection (6) above is dissolved without the parish F5 . . . ceasing to exist, the dissolution shall not affect the status of the parish F5 . . . or the application to it of paragraph (c) of that subsection and in England the parish trustees shall have the style of town trustees.

(9) A parish F5 . . . council by whom a resolution under subsection (6) above has been passed or, if the council has been dissolved, the parish meeting in England F8 . . . may resolve that the parish F5 . . . 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 F5 . . ..

(10) 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.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 245(1A) inserted (26.10.2000 (E.) and 28.7.2001 (W.)) by 2000 c. 22, ss. 46, 108(4), Sch. 3 para. 11(1)(2); S.I. 2000/2849, art. 2(e)

F2 Words in s. 245(1A) repealed (10.7.2011) by Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 4), ss. 34(7)(d), 178(2), Sch. 4 Pt. B and words in s. 245(1A) repealed (4.5.2012) by Localism Act 2011 (c. 20), s. 240(2), Sch. 3 para. 5, Sch. 25 Pt. 4; S.I. 2012/1008, art. 4(b)(c)

F3 S. 245(4A) inserted (E.) (6.5.2002) by The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Modification of Enactments) (England) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/1057), art. 5

F4 Words in s. 245(4A) repealed (10.7.2011) by Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 4), ss. 34(7)(d), 178(2), Sch. 4 Pt. B and words in s. 245(4A)(a) repealed (4.5.2012) by Localism Act 2011 (c. 20), s. 240(2), Sch. 3 para. 5, Sch. 25 Pt. 4; S.I. 2012/1008, art. 4(b)(c)

F5 Words in s. 245(6)-(9) repealed (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(5)(8), Sch. 15 para. 51(a), Sch. 18 (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2

F6 Words in s. 245(6)(c) repealed (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(5)(8), Sch. 15 para. 51(b), Sch. 18 (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2

F7 S. 245(7A) inserted (13.2.2008) by Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c. 28), ss. 101, 245, Sch. 5 para. 8(2); S.I. 2008/337, art. 2(c)

F8 Words in s. 245(9) repealed (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(5)(8), Sch. 15 para. 51(c), Sch. 18 (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 245 applied (25.5.2018) by The West Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/639), arts. 1, 17(1) Table

C2 S. 245 applied (25.5.2018) by The East Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/640), arts. 1, 17(1) Table

C3 S. 245 applied (26.5.2018) by The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (Structural Changes) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/648), arts. 1, 36(1)

C4 S. 245 applied (26.5.2018) by The Somerset West and Taunton (Local Government Changes) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/649), arts. 1, 17(1) Table

C5 S. 245 applied (26.5.2018) by The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (Structural Changes) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/648), arts. 1, 21(1)

C6 S. 245 applied (23.5.2019) by The Buckinghamshire (Structural Changes) Order 2019 (S.I. 2019/957), arts. 1, 15(1)

C7 S. 245 applied (14.2.2020) by The Northamptonshire (Structural Changes) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/156), arts. 1, 17(1)