LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND AND WALES PART I GENERAL Citation and commencement 1 This Order may be cited as the Shropshire (District of The Wrekin) (Structural Change) Order 1996 and shall come into force for the purposes of articles 2(2), 4(1), (3) and (4), 7 and 8 on the day after the day on which it is made and for all other purposes on 1st April 1998. Interpretation 2 1 In this Order— “ the Act ” means the Local Government Act 1992; “the 1972 Act ” means the Local Government Act 1972 ; “the relevant date” means 5th May 1997; “relevant provision” means a provision in any subordinate legislation made under the Act or made, in connection with the Act or such provision, under any other enactment; “the reorganisation date” means 1st April 1998; “Shropshire” means the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire and “the County Council” means the council of that county; “subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in section 21 of the Interpretation Act 1978 ; and “The Wrekin” (except in references to the county of The Wrekin) means the district of The Wrekin and “The Wrekin Council” means the council of that district. 2 The period beginning with the relevant date and ending immediately before the reorganisation date is specified as the preliminary period for the purposes of any statutory instrument made under the Act. PART II LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION IN THE WREKIN Structural change 3 The functions of the County Council in relation to The Wrekin shall, subject to the following provisions of this Part and to any other relevant provision, be transferred to The Wrekin Council. Fire services 4 1 In this article— “the 1947 Act ” means the Fire Services Act 1947 ; and “the relevant area” means the area comprising Shropshire (as constituted on and after the reorganisation date) and The Wrekin. 2 The Wrekin shall, subject to any combination scheme under the 1947 Act, become the area of a fire authority for the purposes of that Act. 3 For the purposes of the making of a combination scheme with respect to the relevant area before the reorganisation date in accordance with section 10 of the 1947 Act (power to make schemes in advance of alterations to local government areas), section 5(2) of that Act shall have effect, in relation to that area, as if— a in paragraphs (a) and (d) of that subsection, for “the constituent authorities”, wherever those words occur, there were substituted “the council of the county of Shropshire”; and b in paragraphs (e) and (f) of that subsection, for “any of the constituent authorities” there were substituted “the council of the county of Shropshire”. 4 Section 10 of the 1947 Act shall have effect, in relation to the relevant area, as if after the word “but” there were inserted the words “, except so far as it relates to the constitution of an authority as the fire authority for the combined area constituted by the scheme and the performance by that authority of any functions necessary for bringing the scheme into full operation on that date,”. Planning functions 5 1 The structure plan applying immediately before the reorganisation date to Shropshire and any proposals prepared before that date for the alteration or replacement of that plan shall be treated as if it had been prepared jointly by the County Council and The Wrekin Council; and section 50 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act ”) shall apply accordingly. 2 In relation to The Wrekin Council— a section 36(5) of the 1990 Act (which provides that a local plan shall not contain policies in respect of minerals or waste) shall not apply; b subsection (1) of section 37 of that Act (minerals local plans) shall have effect as if, after the words “local plan”, there were added the words “or include in their local plan their detailed policies in respect of development consisting of the winning and working of minerals or involving the deposit of mineral waste”; and c subsection (2) of section 38 of that Act (waste policies) shall have effect as if, after paragraph (b), there were added the following— or c include their waste policies in their local plan. . Constitution of new county of The Wrekin 6 1 The Wrekin shall cease to form part of Shropshire. 2 A new county shall be constituted comprising the area of The Wrekin and shall be named the county of The Wrekin. 3 Section 2(1) of the 1972 Act (which provides that every county shall have a council) shall not apply to the county of The Wrekin. PART III TRANSITIONAL PROVISION Election of councillors in The Wrekin in 1997 and subsequent years 7 1 The District of The Wrekin (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978 shall have effect subject to the provisions of this article. 2 Elections of all councillors of The Wrekin Council shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 1997, 2000, 2003 and every fourth year after 2003 . 3 The term of office of any councillor so elected shall be, in the case of the councillors elected in 1997 and 2000, three years and, in any other case, four years. 4 On the fourth day after any such elections— a the persons who were councillors immediately before those elections shall retire; and b the newly elected councillors shall come into office. Suspension of elections and retirement of councillors 8 1 The ordinary election of councillors in 1997 for the electoral divisions of Shropshire comprised in The Wrekin shall not take place; and any councillor for such a division holding office immediately before the relevant date who would, but for this paragraph, have retired on that date shall, unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant, continue to hold office until the reorganisation date. 2 Section 89 of the 1972 Act (filling of casual vacancies in case of councillors) shall have effect— a in the case of a casual vacancy occurring in the office of councillor of The Wrekin Council before the relevant date, as if the reference in subsection (3) of that section to the day on which the councillor whose office is vacant would regularly have retired were a reference to the relevant date; and b in the case of a casual vacancy occurring in the office of councillor for any electoral division referred to in paragraph (1) above, as if that reference in that subsection were a reference to the reorganisation date. 3 The electoral divisions of Shropshire comprised in The Wrekin shall cease to be electoral divisions on the reorganisation date. Signed by authority of the Secretary of State David Curry Minister of State, Department of the Environment 18th July 1996