# Macclesfield (borough)

Macclesfield was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and within its wider area the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Disley, Gawsworth, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton, Prestbury, Rainow, Styal, Sutton and Tytherington.

## History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a merger of Macclesfield municipal borough, Alderley Edge, Bollington, Knutsford and Wilmslow urban districts, along with the single parish Disley Rural District, Macclesfield Rural District and part of Bucklow Rural District. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.
In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The decision to merge the boroughs of Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe and Nantwich to create a single unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007, following a consultation period in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.
The Borough of Macclesfield was abolished on 1 April 2009, when the new Cheshire East unitary authority was formed.

## Civil parishes

The borough contained 52 civil parishes and 2 discrete unparished areas (namely, the towns of Macclesfield and Wilmslow). Of the 52 civil parishes, five (Agden, Little Bollington, Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough, Tatton, and Wincle) held parish meetings rather than elect a parish council. Of the remaining 47 civil parishes, two contained towns (Bollington and Knutsford) and so had town councils rather than parish councils administering them. A number of adjacent or abutting civil parishes were grouped together under a single parish council: Ollerton with Marthall, Plumley with Toft and Bexton, and Tabley (for the parishes of Tabley Inferior and Tabley Superior) The remaining 37 civil parishes had their own parish council.
The following civil parishes were included in the borough:
* Adlington
* Agden
* Alderley Edge
* Ashley
* Aston by Budworth
* Bexton
* Bollington (town)
* Bosley
* Chelford
* Chorley
* Disley
* Eaton
* Gawsworth
* Great Warford
* Henbury
* High Legh
* Higher Hurdsfield
* Kettleshulme
* Knutsford (town)
* Little Bollington
* Little Warford
* Lower Withington
* Lyme Handley
* Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough
* Marthall
* Marton
* Mere
* Millington
* Mobberley
* Mottram St Andrew
* Nether Alderley
* North Rode
* Ollerton
* Over Alderley
* Peover Inferior
* Peover Superior
* Pickmere
* Plumley
* Pott Shrigley
* Poynton with Worth
* Prestbury
* Rainow
* Rostherne
* Siddington
* Snelson
* Sutton
* Tabley Inferior
* Tabley Superior
* Tatton
* Toft
* Wincle

## Political control

The town of Macclesfield had been a municipal borough from 1836 to 1974 with a borough council. The first elections to the new Macclesfield Borough created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:
| Party in control | Party in control | Years |
| | No overall control | 1974–1976 |
| | Conservative | 1976–2009 |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1983 were:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Margaret Duddy | Conservative | 1983 | 2001 |
| Peter Burns | Conservative | 2001 | May 2004 |
| Sue Kipling | Conservative | 2004 | 23 Sep 2004 |
| Wesley Fitzgerald | Conservative | 2004 | 31 Mar 2009 |
Wesley Fitzgerald went on to become the first leader of Cheshire East Council.

### Composition

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:
| Party | Councillors |
| Conservative | 38 |
| Liberal Democrat | 12 |
| Labour | 6 |
| Handforth Ratepayer | 2 |
| Independent | 2 |

## Council elections

* 1973 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1976 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1979 Macclesfield Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 1980 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1982 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1983 Macclesfield Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)
* 1984 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1986 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1987 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1988 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1990 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1991 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1992 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1994 Macclesfield Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)
* 1995 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1996 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1998 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 1999 Macclesfield Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 2000 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 2002 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 2003 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 2004 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 2006 Macclesfield Borough Council election
* 2007 Macclesfield Borough Council election

### Results maps

* 2002 results map
* 2003 results map
* 2004 results map
* 2006 results map
* 2007 results map

### By-election results

North East By-Election 20 June 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 1,278 | 50.5 |
| | Conservative | | 1,008 | 39.8 |
| | Labour | | 245 | 9.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 270 | 10.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,531 | 37.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Prestbury By-Election 12 September 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | | 967 | 78.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 259 | 21.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 708 | 57.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,226 | 28.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Plumley By-Election 3 July 1997 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | | 506 | 56.3 | −1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 392 | 43.7 | +12.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 114 | 12.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 898 | 46.0 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Knutsford Over By-Election 4 November 1999 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | | 478 | 52.5 | +12.3 |
| | Labour | | 275 | 30.2 | +7.5 |
| | Independent | | 120 | 13.2 | −3.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 38 | 4.2 | −7.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 203 | 22.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 911 | 21.9 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Knutsford Bexton By-Election 1 February 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 346 | 45.9 | +11.3 |
| | Conservative | | 336 | 44.6 | −0.9 |
| | Labour | | 72 | 9.5 | −10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10 | 1.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 754 | 34.1 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Morley and Styal By-Election 5 April 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 857 | 59.6 | +12.6 |
| | Conservative | | 580 | 40.4 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 277 | 19.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,437 | 36.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Macclesfield West By-Election 7 June 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | | 1,290 | 60.0 | +0.8 |
| | Conservative | | 538 | 25.0 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 321 | 14.9 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 752 | 35.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,149 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Pornton Central By-Election 7 June 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | | 1,621 | 45.5 | −8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 1,187 | 33.3 | −2.0 |
| | Labour | | 756 | 21.2 | +10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 434 | 12.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,564 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bollington West By-Election 31 July 2003 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Shirley Sockett | 434 | 62.6 | +41.4 |
| | Conservative | | 162 | 23.4 | −17.4 |
| | Labour | | 97 | 14.0 | −24.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 272 | 39.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 693 | 36.6 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Hurdsfield By-Election 27 November 2003 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 467 | 56.3 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative | | 212 | 25.5 | +9.0 |
| | Labour | | 151 | 18.2 | −8.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 255 | 30.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 830 | 24.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Knutsford Nether By-Election 16 September 2004 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Vivien Davies | 385 | 61.1 | −8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Moss | 199 | 31.6 | +12.6 |
| | Labour | | 46 | 7.3 | −4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 186 | 29.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 630 | 30.4 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Plumley By-Election 5 May 2005 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Fisher | 789 | 63.3 | −25.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Heulwen Barlow | 329 | 26.4 | +26.4 |
| | Labour | Laurences Hobday | 129 | 10.3 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 460 | 36.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,247 | 65.3 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Prestbury By-Election 26 January 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Nicholas Stratford | 950 | 89.5 | +89.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne Goddard | 112 | 10.5 | −26.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 838 | 79.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,062 | 25.0 | |
| | Conservative gain from Independent | Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | | |
Hurdsfield By-Election 20 July 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Enid Tomlinson | 500 | 58.2 | +5.2 |
| | Labour | Simon Truss | 178 | 20.7 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative | Matthew Davies | 82 | 9.6 | −12.8 |
| | Independent | Fred Grundy | 53 | 6.2 | +6.2 |
| | Green | John Knight | 45 | 5.2 | +5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 322 | 37.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 858 | 25.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

## Aldermen and Freeman of the borough

The following is a list of people who have been either an Alderman or Freeman of the borough of Macclesfield, and when the title was bestowed.

### Individuals

* Edward Eaton JP (Alderman ???)
* General Sir William Bromley-Davenport (Freeman ???)