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Woking (borough)
Encyclopedia
- See WokingWokingWoking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
for the town.
Woking is a local government district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
with borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
status in the west of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It was formed in 1895 as an urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
under the Local Government Act 1894
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
. The present-day borough was established in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, and is one of two districts in Surrey to retain the boundaries of a single former urban district (the other being Epsom and Ewell
Epsom and Ewell
Epsom and Ewell is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England, covering the town of Epsom and the village of Ewell. The borough was formed as an urban district in 1894, and was known as Epsom until 1934. It was made a municipal borough in 1937...
). It is also the only district of Surrey not to have a boundary with a district of any other county.
Woking Borough Council's head offices are located in the town of Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, just outside the town square in the Civic Offices.
At the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the population of the borough was 88,125, over 70% of whom (62,796) lived in the town of Woking. The rest of the borough is divided into five areas located around a village. These villages are:
- BrookwoodBrookwood, SurreyBrookwood is a village in Surrey, located about 5 km west of Woking, in a semi-rural location. It lies on the western border of the Woking Borough ....
, population 1,442 - ByfleetByfleetByfleet is an inland island village forming a suburb of Woking in Surrey, England. It is in the east of the borough between the River Wey and the River Mole, and is within the M25 motorway....
, population 6,995 - KnaphillKnaphillKnaphill is an urban village in Surrey, UK. To the east is Woking, to the west, eventually, is Aldershot, while to the south and north on the A322 – which forms its effective western border – are Brookwood, and Bisley, respectively. Some of the village is set on a hill, hence the...
, population 10,062 - MayfordMayfordMayford is a village in Woking borough of the county of Surrey, England. It is roughly 2½ miles south of Woking on Egley Road, part of the A320 between Woking and Guildford, Surrey. The village is mainly centred around the roundabout in the middle of the village...
, population 1,776 - West ByfleetWest ByfleetWest Byfleet is a village in Surrey. Forming part of the Greater London Urban Area it lies in the stockbroker belt just outside the M25 motorway, 19 miles from Charing Cross, 8 miles from London Heathrow. The village grew up around the station on the London & South Western Railway. The...
, population 5,054
Byfleet is the only civil parish in the borough.
Elections
Elections to the council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the 36 seats on the council being elected at each election. The elections are normally battled out between the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. From the 1998 election
Woking Council election, 1998
The 1998 Woking Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Woking Borough Council in Surrey, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council to no overall control....
to 2007 no party had a majority on the council, but in the 2007 election
Woking Council election, 2007
The 2007 Woking Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Woking Borough Council in Surrey, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control....
the Conservative party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
won a majority. Since then until 2009, the Conservatives had 19 seats on the council compared to 17 for the Liberal Democrats.. Following the resignation of councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
Peter Ankers from the Conservatives to sit as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
in 2009 the Conservatives continued in administration as the largest Party with 18 seats but with no overall control. At the the 2011 election 20 Conservative and 16 Liberal Democrats were elected giving the Conservatives an overall majority once again.