Salisbury City Council
Salisbury City Council is a parish-level council for Salisbury, England. It was established in April 2009 and is based in the city's historic Guildhall. Following the May 2021 election, no party has an overall majority. Population. The civil parish of Salisbury – which excludes some of the city's suburbs and satellite villages such as Old Sarum, Laverstock, Hampton Park, Britford, Netherhampton and Odstock – had a population of 40,302 at the 2011 census. Establishment. As New Sarum, Salisbury has been ranked as a city since "time immemorial". The Local Government Act 1972, which took effect in  1974, eliminated the administration of the City of New Sarum under its charters, with the Salisbury District taking over its administrative functions. However, the status of a city was preserved after 1974 by the Charter Trustees of the City of New Sarum. That name was formally changed from "New Sarum" to "Salisbury" by the reforms of 2009 which created Salisbury civil parish, where the first tier of local government would be the new Salisbury City Council. The parish was again granted city status by letters patent dated 1 April 2009. The council met in temporary offices until 2011, while the  18th-century Guildhall was adapted. Coat of arms. On 23 March 2010, the city council was granted a royal licence, transferring to it the armorial bearings of the previous City of New Sarum. The arms and supporters were originally recorded at the heraldic visitations of Wiltshire in 1565 and 1623. The blazon of the arms is: Barry of eight Azure and Or. Supporters: On either side an eagle displayed with two heads Or, ducally gorged Azure. There do not appear to be any meanings attached to the design. The traditional explanation that the blue stripes represent the rivers that meet  in the city is now discounted. It has also been suggested that the eagles derive from the arms of the Bouverie family, Earls of Radnor, benefactors of the city. However, this also can be discounted, as the arms of the city were recorded before the family was connected with it. Membership. The council has 24 members, elected by eight wards which each elect three councillors. Boundary changes confirmed in 2020 and applied at the 2021 election redrew wards in the central, Harnham, Milford and Bishopdown areas and increased the number of councillors from 23. Elections to the city council took  place on Thursday 6 May 2021, with the following results; those marked are also Wiltshire Councillors. History of control. At the first elections to the city council in 2009, the Liberal Democrats gained twelve seats, giving them a majority of one over all other parties. At the next elections, on Thursday, 2 May 2013, no party had overall control. Days after the election, Jo Broom, who had been elected in Fisherton & Bemerton Village as a Liberal Democrat, joined the Conservatives. Then, following the resignation of a Conservative, there was a by-election in the St Martin's & Cathedral ward on  9 January 2014, won by Patricia Fagan for Labour. In 2017, the Conservatives won an overall majority for the first time. In 2021, the Conservatives lost their majority to no overall control. Functions. The council is responsible for the following properties and services: