Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
| Borough of Doncaster | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | |
 Doncaster shown within South Yorkshire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Ceremonial county | South Yorkshire |
| Admin. HQ | Doncaster |
| Government | |
| • Type | Metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council |
| • Leadership: | Mayor and Cabinet |
| • Mayor | Ros Jones (Lab) |
| • MPs: |
Caroline Flint (Lab), Ed Miliband (Lab), Rosie Winterton (Lab) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 219.3 sq mi (568.0 km2) |
| Area rank | 81st |
| Population (mid-2014 est.) | |
| • Total | 304,185 |
| • Rank | Ranked 34th |
| • Density | 1,400/sq mi (540/km2) |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | British Summer Time (UTC+1) |
| ONS code |
00CE (ONS) E08000017 (GSS) |
| Ethnicity |
96.2% White 1.6% S.Asian[1] |
| Website | doncaster.gov.uk |
The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber Region of England.
In addition to the town of Doncaster, the borough covers the towns of Mexborough, Conisbrough, Thorne, Bawtry and Tickhill.
The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former county borough of Doncaster along with the urban districts of Adwick le Street, Bentley with Arksey, Conisbrough, Mexborough, Tickhill along with Doncaster Rural District and Thorne Rural District, the parish of Finningley from East Retford Rural District and small parts of the parish of Harworth from Worksop Rural District from Nottinghamshire.
Population statistics
According to the 2011 census, the estimated population of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is 302,400.
Verified population statistics per Ward from the 2001 census are shown as
| Ward | Population | Households |
|---|---|---|
| Adwick | 16,142 | 6,220 |
| Armthorpe | 16,977 | 6,495 |
| Askern | 11,414 | 4,293 |
| Balby | 14,336 | 5,514 |
| Bentley Central | 12,168 | 4,665 |
| Bentley North Road | 11,606 | 4,728 |
| Bessacarr | 13,652 | 5,425 |
| Central | 11,481 | 5,144 |
| Conisbrough | 14,894 | 5,837 |
| Edlington & Warmsworth | 12,291 | 4,641 |
| Hatfield | 15,048 | 5,630 |
| Intake | 10,994 | 4,417 |
| Mexborough | 15,282 | 6,281 |
| Richmond | 13,471 | 5,308 |
| Rossington | 12,647 | 4,705 |
| South East | 16,880 | 6,247 |
| Southern Parks | 14,439 | 5,520 |
| Stainforth | 15,447 | 5,825 |
| Thorne | 17,057 | 6,380 |
| Town Field | 11,131 | 4,587 |
| Wheatley | 11,497 | 4,877 |
| Doncaster Total | 288,854 | 112,739 |
Elected mayor
The conviction of 21 Labour councillors for fraud and the jailing of one councillor and a property developer,[2] was a contributing factor behind the establishment of a directly elected mayor in 2001. The first mayor, Martin Winter, representing the Labour Party, was elected in 2002 and successfully defended his post in 2005.
In 2009 the English Democrat candidate, Peter Davies, won the election for mayor.[3][4] In January 2013 Davies left the English Democrats citing "a big influx of new members (of the English Democrats) joining from the British National Party".[5] In the May 2013 mayoral election he was defeated by Labour's Ros Jones.
Borough council
The council as a whole has been dominated by the Labour Party traditionally, but in the 2004 local elections, they lost overall control of the council (though they retained more councillors than any other single party). Labour regained overall control at the 2010 local elections.[6]
2010 Audit Commission report and central government intervention
In January 2010 the Audit Commission initiated a corporate governance inspection of Doncaster Council. This followed the sudden resignation of the Chief Executive leading to a conflict between the mayor and council over the appointment of a successor. The Commission felt that this, along with evidence that the council had not been well run for 15 years, was leading to a loss of public confidence.[7]
The Commission's report was issued in April 2010. It found that Doncaster was a dysfunctional authority and that there were three factors preventing the council from providing good governance:[8]
- The councillors' attempts to undermine the authority of the mayor and cabinet. There was evidence that councillors had never accepted the mayoral system and tried to use their overview and scrutiny powers to frustrate the mayor's policy objectives. In February 2010 the council had rejected the mayor's budget and voted in favour of their own proposals.
- The lack of effective leadership shown by the mayor and cabinet. The mayor was described as "not averse to provocative and inflammatory statements" and it was felt that he "does not always act in a way which demonstrates the need for an elected mayor to lead his authority and represent all the people in Doncaster".
- The failure of chief officers to deliver effectively services. Some senior officers were found to acquiesce in the councillors' misuse of scrutiny powers. There was also a lack of trust and impartiality.
On the recommendations of the commission, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham, used powers to appoint an acting chief executive and an advisory board to oversee the council.[7] A Doncaster Recovery Board, comprising four appointed commissioners and seven other members including the mayor and chief executive held its first quarterly meeting on 10 September 2010.[9]
Places
Settlements in the borough of Doncaster include:
- Adwick-le-Street, Arksey, Armthorpe, Askern, Auckley, Austerfield
- Balby, Barnburgh, Barnby Dun, Bawtry, Belle Vue, Bentley, Bessacarr, Blaxton, Braithwaite, Braithwell, Branton, South Yorkshire, Brodsworth, Burghwallis
- Cadeby, Campsall, Cantley, Carcroft, Clayton, Clifton, Conisbrough, Cusworth
- Denaby, Dunscroft, Dunsville
- Edenthorpe, Edlington
- Fenwick, Finningley, Fishlake
- Hampole, Hatfield, Hatfield Woodhouse, Hayfield, Hexthorpe, Highfields, Hickleton, High Levels, High Melton, Hooton Pagnell Hyde Park
- Intake, Kirk Sandall
- Lindholme, Loversall, Larry's home
- Mexborough, Micklebring, Moorends, Moss
- New Rossington, Norton
- Rossington
- Scawsby, Scawthorpe, Skellow, Sprotbrough, Stainforth, Stainton, South Yorkshire, Sykehouse
- Thorne, Tickhill, Toll Bar, Town Moor
- Wadworth, Warmsworth, West Bessacarr, Wheatley, Wheatley Hills, Woodlands
Media
Radio stations that can be received in Doncaster are Sine FM 102.6 (serving central districts of around 100,000 households in FM stereo), TMCR 95.3 (which serves Northeast Doncaster and other areas in FM stereo), Trax FM, Capital Yorkshire, Hallam FM and BBC Radio Sheffield, although both Viking FM and BBC Radio Humberside overlap into this area. Although the above stations can be received within various areas of Doncaster, the only stations actually owned by Doncaster-based companies are Sine FM 102.6 and TMCR 95.3.
References
- ↑ "Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages); Mid-2005 Population Estimates". National Statistics Online. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ↑ Martin Wainwright (13 March 2002). "Donnygate scandal ends in jail terms". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- ↑ English Democrat wins mayor vote BBC News 5 June 2009
- ↑ Mayoral results 2009 www.doncaster.gov.uk, accessed 6 June 2009
- ↑ "Doncaster mayor quits English Democrats 'because of BNP'". 5 February 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ↑ "Doncaster council". Election 2010. BBC News. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- 1 2 Patrick Butler (19 April 2010). "Ministers take over 'dysfunctional' Doncaster council". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Corporate Governance Inspection: Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council" (PDF). Audit Commission. April 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ↑ "Meetings". Doncaster Recovery Board. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
External links
- Doncaster College
- Doncaster Belles L.F.C. homepage
- Doncaster Rovers F.C. homepage
- StadiumWatch homepage
- Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
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Coordinates: 53°31′21″N 1°07′43″W / 53.52250°N 1.12861°W