- Dorset County Council
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Dorset County Council Type Type County council of Dorset Leadership Leader Angus Campbell, Conservative Party Structure Members 45 Political groups Conservative Party
Liberal Democrats
IndependentsElections Voting system First past the post Last election 4 June 2009 Meeting place County Hall, Dorchester Website www.dorsetforyou.com Dorset County Council (DCC) is the county council of the Dorset in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council has 45 elected councillors and is based at County Hall in Dorchester.[1]
Contents
Political composition
When councillors are elected they represent one of England's major political parties or are "independent". The Conservative Party currently have the highest number of councillors in the chamber. As such, the leader of the cabinet (effective head of the chamber) also represents the Conservative Party and can choose the cabinet members from the Conservative Party as well. The Liberal Democrats have the second highest number of councillors and the final councillor is an independent.
Dorset County Council election, 2009[2] Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/- Conservative 28 +3 62.22 48.76 76,357 Liberal Democrat 16 +1 35.56 35.59 55,733 UKIP 0 0 7.35 11,505 Labour 0 -4 0 6.00 9,399 Green 0 0 0.95 1,488 BNP 0 0 0.1 150 Independent 1 0 2.22 0.94 1,479 Other 0 0 0.32 494 Responsibilities for services
Map of Dorset's six shire districts and two unitary authorities. 1-6 are administered by Dorset County Council, but 7 and 8 are the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth and Poole, which are self-governed on local issues; they are considered part of the ceremonial county of DorsetDorset County Council's responsibilities include schools, social care for the elderly and vulnerable, road maintenance, libraries and trading standards.
The county council's area is also administered by six smaller authorities that have their own district or borough councils. The responsibilities of these councils include local planning, council housing, refuse collection, sports and leisure facilities, and street cleaning. The district areas are further divided into civil parishes, which have "parish councils" or "town councils"; the latter of which often use a town hall. Typical activities undertaken by a parish council include maintaining allotments, footpaths, playing fields and the local community or village hall. On some matters, the county council share responsibilities with the district and parish councils. These include economic development and regeneration, emergency planning, tourism promotion and coastal protection.
No. District Type of council Population (mid-2008 est.) Extent of area (hectares)[3] 1 Weymouth and Portland Borough council 65,000 4,175 2 West Dorset District council 97,200 108,148 3 North Dorset District council 67,900 60,992 4 Purbeck District council 46,000 40,440 5 East Dorset District council 85,900 35,437 6 Christchurch Borough council 45,800 5,040 Flag
The 'Dorset Cross' was chosen as the flag of Dorset on 16 September 2008 following a public vote, open to all Dorset residents, and organised by Dorset County Council.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "County Hall". Dorset County Council. http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=347782.
- ^ "Dorset Council elections". BBC News. 5 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/local_council/09/html/3856.stm.
- ^ "Standard Area Measurements (extent of the realm)" (ZIP). Office for National Statistics. 31 December 2007. http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/geography/products/geog-products-other/sam/standard-area-measurements.zip. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ "Dorset Cross becomes Dorset flag". BBC News. 17 September 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7620605.stm.
Coordinates: 50°42′58″N 2°26′26″W / 50.71611°N 2.44056°W
Ceremonial county of Dorset Dorset Portal Unitary authorities Bournemouth · PooleBoroughs or districts Major settlements Beaminster · Blandford Forum · Bournemouth · Bridport · Chickerell · Christchurch · Dorchester · Ferndown · Gillingham · Lyme Regis · Poole · Portland · Shaftesbury · Sherborne · Stalbridge · Sturminster Newton · Swanage · Upton · Verwood · Wareham · Weymouth · Wimborne Minster
See also: List of civil parishes in DorsetRivers Topics Beaches · County Council · Flag · Geology · History · Lord Lieutenants · Museums · People · Places · Settlements · SSSIs · TransportCounty councils of England Buckinghamshire · Cambridgeshire · Cumbria · Derbyshire · Devon · Dorset · East Sussex · Essex · Gloucestershire · Hampshire · Hertfordshire · Kent · Lancashire · Leicestershire · Lincolnshire · Norfolk · North Yorkshire · Northamptonshire · Nottinghamshire · Oxfordshire · Somerset · Staffordshire · Suffolk · Surrey · Warwickshire · West Sussex · WorcestershireCategories:- Politics of Dorset
- County councils of England
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