Denbighshire County Council

Denbighshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin.

Denbighshire Council

Cyngor Sir Ddinbych
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1996
Preceded byClwyd County Council
Rhuddlan
Glyndŵr (part)
Colwyn (part)
Leadership
vacant[1]
Jason McLellan,
Labour
since 24 May 2022[2]
Chief Executive
Graham Boase
since 1 August 2021[3]
Structure
Seats48 councillors
Political groups
  Labour (16)
  Independent (13)
  Plaid Cymru (8)
  Conservative (7)
  Green (2)
  Liberal Democrats (1)
  Vacant (1)
Length of term
5 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
First election
4 May 1995
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
County Hall, Wynnstay Road, Ruthin, LL15 1YN
Website
www.denbighshire.gov.uk

Elections take place every five years. The last election was on 5 May 2022. The council is under no overall control, being administered by a multi-party cabinet led by Jason McLellan of the Labour Party.

History

Denbighshire County Council was first created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, which established elected county councils to take over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions. That county council and the administrative county of Denbighshire were abolished in 1974, when the area merged with neighbouring Flintshire to become the new county of Clwyd, except for six parishes on the western edge of Denbighshire in the Conwy valley, which went instead to the Aberconwy district of Gwynedd. The remainder of the former administrative county of Denbighshire was split between three of the six districts of Clwyd: Colwyn, Glyndŵr, and Wrexham Maelor.[4]

Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, Clwyd County Council and the county's constituent districts were abolished, being replaced by principal areas, whose councils perform the functions which had previously been divided between the county and district councils. A new principal area and county of Denbighshire was created with effect from 1 April 1996, covering most of Glyndŵr, two communities from Colwyn, and all of Rhuddlan (the latter having been created in 1974 from areas in Flintshire rather than Denbighshire). The new Denbighshire County Council created in 1996 therefore covers a different area to the pre-1974 county.[5]

Political control

The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:[6][7] The last election was 5 May 2022 when the number of councillors elected increased from 47 to 48.[8]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1996–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2000 have been:[9]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Elwyn Edwards[10] Independent6 Jun 200014 May 2002
Eryl Williams Plaid Cymru14 May 200224 Jun 2004
Rhiannon Hughes[11] Independent24 Jun 200422 Oct 2007
Hugh Evans Independent6 Nov 200724 May 2022
Jason McLellan Labour24 May 2022

Since May 2022 the council has been led by Jason McLellan, of Labour. The cabinet is formed of six Labour and three Plaid Cymru councillors.[12] He was preceded by Hugh Evans, a farmer from Llanelidan, who led the council for over 14 years, who was first elected as leader of the council on 6 November 2007. This followed a vote of no confidence in the previous leader, Rhiannon Hughes, two weeks beforehand.[13] Prior to Hughes, Plaid Cymru councillor Eryl Williams was leader, from 2002 until 2004.

From April 2022 the council leader was paid a salary of £53,550.[14]

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to October 2023, the composition of the council was:

Party Councillors
Labour16
Independent13
Plaid Cymru8
Conservative7
Green2
Liberal Democrats1
Vacant1
Total 48

The Liberal Democrat and twelve of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group". The other independent councillor is not aligned to any group.[15] The next election is due in 2027.

One seat (Alyn Valley, Con) was elected unopposed at the 2022 election.[16]

Elections

Summary of the council composition after council elections, click on the year for full details of each election.[17][18]

Year Seats Labour Independent Plaid Cymru Conservative Green Liberal Democrats Notes
1995 49 20 19 7 0 0 3
1999 47 13 23[lower-alpha 1] 8 2 0 1 New ward boundaries.[19]
2004 47 8 23[lower-alpha 2] 7 7 0 2
2008 47 7 13 8 18 0 1
2012 47 18 12 7 9 0 1
2017 47 13 8 9 16 0 1
2022 48 19 12 8 6 2 1 New ward boundaries.[20]
  1. Includes five candidates elected to represent the Democratic Alliance of Wales.
  2. Includes three candidates elected to represent the Democratic Alliance of Wales.

Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.

Premises

The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin. The building was originally built in 1909 for the old Denbighshire County Council. Between 1974 and 1996 the building served as the headquarters of Glyndŵr District Council. Most of the building was demolished in 2002 and a modern building built behind the retained frontage of the 1909 original, with the rebuilt headquarters being completed in 2004.[21][22][23] The council also has offices at Russell House on Churton Road in Rhyl, which had been built in 1991 for the former Rhuddlan Borough Council.[24]

Electoral divisions

The county borough is divided into 29 electoral wards returning 48 councillors.[25] Few communities in Denbighshire are coterminous with electoral wards. The following table lists council wards, communities and associated geographical areas based on the 2017 election:

Ward[26] County
Councillors		 Communities (and community wards)
Bodelwyddan c 1 Bodelwyddan (town) *
Corwen c 1 Corwen (town) *
Denbigh Central 1 Denbigh (town) (Central ward)
Denbigh Lower 2 (Lower ward)
Denbigh Upper/Henllan 2 (Upper ward)
Henllan
Dyserth c 1 Dyserth *
Efenechtyd 1
Llanarmon-yn-Ial/Llandegla 1
Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd/Llangynhafal 1
Llandrillo 1
Llandyrnog 1
Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd/Gwyddelwern 1
Llangollen 2
Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch 1
Prestatyn Central 2 Prestatyn (town) (Central ward)
Prestatyn East 2 (East ward)
Prestatyn Meliden 1 (Meliden ward)
Prestatyn North 3 (North and North West wards)
Prestatyn South West 2 (South West ward)
Rhuddlan c 2 Rhuddlan (town)
Rhyl East 2 Rhyl (town) (East ward)
Rhyl South 2 (South ward)
Rhyl South East 3 (South East ward)
Rhyl South West 2 (South West ward)
Rhyl West 2 (West ward)
Ruthin c 3 Ruthin (town)
St. Asaph East 1 St. Asaph (town) (East ward)
St. Asaph West 1 (West ward)
Trefnant 1
Tremeirchion 1

* = Communities which elect a community council
c = Ward coterminous with community of the same name[27]

Democratic Alliance of Wales

The Democratic Alliance of Wales (DAW) was a political party[28] partly comprising former Labour Party members,

The DAW stood 14 candidates in the 1999 Denbighshire Council election, with five winning seats in Prestatyn.[29] The three successful DAW candidates in Prestatyn North—Michael German, Isobel German and Jeff Hughes—had been elected as Labour councillors at the 1995 elections.[29] One of the DAW founders, Gwynn Clague, was elected as a county councillor for Prestatyn South West, and became mayor of Prestatyn Town Council. He was particularly known for his criticisms of the county council's performance, as well as the town council's finances. By October 2003, he had left DAW and was unaligned.[30]

At the 2004 all-council election, the three DAW councillors in the Prestatyn North ward stood for re-election, retaining their seats.

Following the rejection of Denbighshire council leader Rhiannon Hughes in October 2007, DAW group leader Mike German was touted as a possible successor.[31]

At the 2008 all-council election, the three remaining DAW councillors stood as Independents, losing to the Conservatives.[32]

References
  1. Kendrick, Suzanne (26 September 2023). "Denbighshire community mourns the sudden loss of councillor". Rhyl Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  2. "Council minutes, 24 May 2022". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  3. "New Chief Executive for Denbighshire County Council". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  4. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 6 November 2022
  5. "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 19, retrieved 30 October 2022
  6. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  7. "Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021.
  8. "Welsh Statutory Instruments 2021 No. 1159 (W. 284)". legislation.gov.uk. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. "Council minutes". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  10. Davies, Shaun (27 August 2019). "County council pays tribute to Elwyn Edwards". Denbighshire Free Press. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  11. Darren Devine (23 October 2007). "Leader resigns over schools vote". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  12. Denbighshire County Council (30 May 2022). "The Leader, Cabinet and Elected Councillors". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  13. "Llanelidan farmer is new Denbighshire Council leader", Daily Post (North Wales), 6 November 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  14. "Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales: annual report 2022 to 2023" (PDF). Welsh Government/Llywodraeth Cymru. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  15. "Councillors". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  16. "County council elections (local elections)". Denbighshire County Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  17. "Denbighshire County Council Election Results 1995-2012". Elections Centre Plymouth University. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  18. "Wales at the polls: Local elections 2017". ITV News. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  19. "The County of Denbighshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3139, retrieved 9 November 2022
  20. "The County of Denbighshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/1159, retrieved 9 November 2022
  21. "Planning Applications". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 31 October 2021. Planning application 02/2000/0223: Demolition of existing buildings and retention of main facades of existing Council Offices to allow for construction of new Council Office complex at County Hall, Wynnstay Road, Ruthin, granted 3 July 2000
  22. "New HQ for councillors". BBC. 11 September 2002. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  23. "Who should cut tape for county HQ?". Daily Post. 13 May 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  24. "Council offices". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  25. Welsh Statutory Instruments 2021 No. 1159 (W. 284) (18 October 2021). "Welsh Statutory Instruments, 2021 No. 1159 (W. 284), Local Government, Wales - The County of Denbighshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  26. "Election results by Wards". Denbighshire County Council. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  27. Election Maps, Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  28. "Standing Committee on Bills: Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill". Hansard. Parliament.uk. 3 February 2000. Retrieved 28 November 2020. The Minister has raised the spectre of small political parties, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Democratic Alliance of Wales, committing offences during an election and, because it is the party that appears in court and can be convicted of whatever misdemeanour it is accused of, the party can then disband and the members can go off and form another party, perhaps the democratic alliance of Wales 2001 party.
  29. "Denbighshire County Council Election Results 1995-2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  30. "'Hell will freeze over before I tell them sorry'". Daily Post. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  31. Darren Devine (23 October 2007). "Leader resigns over schools vote". Wales Online. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  32. "Election results for Prestatyn North - Thursday, 1 May 2008". Denbighshire County Council. April 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
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