Blackrod Town Council


Blackrod Town Council is a local authority with limited powers and covers the town and civil parish of Blackrod in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is made up of nine town Councillors representing three electoral Wards.

Precursor

Blackrod was once a township in the civil parish of Bolton le Moors in the historic county of Lancashire, England.
Under provisions of the Poor Relief Act 1662, townships replaced civil parishes as the main units of local administration in Lancashire. Blackrod became one of the eighteen autonomous townships of the civil parish of Bolton le Moors. The township appointed overseers of the poor who levied a rate to fund the Poor Law. Highway surveyors were also appointed and funded from the rate to maintain the roads. In 1866, Blackrod's status was elevated from a township to a civil parish.
A resolution for the adoption of the Local Government Act 1858 was passed on 9 May 1872 by the owners and ratepayers of the civil parish of Blackrod, and resulted a local board was created to provide for the water supply and drainage of the town. After the Public Health Act 1875 was passed by Parliament in that year, Blackrod Local Board assumed extra duties as an urban sanitary district, although the Local Board's title did not change.
Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1894, Blackrod Local Board was transformed into an elected urban district council of nine members. Blackrod Urban District Council had three electoral wards: Central, North, and South, each represented by three councillors.
Under the Local Government Act 1972, Blackrod Urban District was abolished on 1 April 1974 and its former area became a successor parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester.

Wards and Councillors

Since 1974, Blackrod is served by a Town Council, which is divided into three Wards, each represented by three Town Councillors.

Mayors of Blackrod

Each year the Town Council elects one of the Town Councillors to become the Town Mayor who represents the town over the municipal year. It is a ceremonial position, and some of the holders have held the position more than once.
  • 1974–1974: George Arthur Gardiner
  • 1974–1975: James Kenneth Vickers
  • 1975–1976: Graham Farrington
  • 1976–1977: Reginald Winstanley
  • 1977–1978: Constance Mary Everin
  • 1978–1979: Robert Ratcliffe
  • 1979–1980: Joseph Jolley
  • 1980–1981: John Raymond Birchall Barrow
  • 1981–1982: Graham Farrington
  • 1982–1983: Constance Mary Everin
  • 1983–1984: Robert Ratcliffe
  • 1984–1985: Josephine Ida Johnson
  • 1985–1986: Lancelot Watkinson
  • 1986–1987: John Raymond Birchall Barrow
  • 1987–1988: Graham Farrington
  • 1988–1989: Eric Johnson
  • 1989–1990: Frank Woods
  • 1990–1991: Robert Ratcliffe
  • 1991–1992: Lucy Patricia Barrow
  • 1992–1993: John Monaghan
  • 1993–1994: Eric Johnson
  • 1994–1995: Josephine Ida Johnson
  • 1995–1996: Adrian Roy Mather
  • 1996–1997: Lucy Patricia Barrow
  • 1997–1998: John Monaghan
  • 1998–1999: Beryl Monaghan
  • 1999–2000: Marlene Winward
  • 2000–2001: Beryl Monaghan
  • 2001–2002: Lucy Patricia Barrow
  • 2002–2003: John William Seddon
  • 2003–2004: Michael Hollick
  • 2004–2005: Beryl Monaghan
  • 2005–2006: Keith John Edward Bowes
  • 2006–2007: Isabel Alice Seddon
  • 2007–2008: Ian Badon Hamilton
  • 2008–2009: Marlene Winward
  • 2009–2010: Andrew Bower
  • 2010–2011: Isabel Alice Seddon
  • 2011–2012: Pat Senior
  • 2012–2013: Lucy Patricia Barrow
  • 2013–2014: Stephen Laycock
  • 2014–2015: Beryl Monaghan
  • 2015–2016: Michael Hollick
  • 2016–2017: Ann Cunliffe
  • 2017–2018: Isabel Alice Seddon
  • 2018–2019: Scott Batchelor
  • 2019–2020: John Price
  • 2020–2021: John Price
  • 2021–2022: Nick Bell
  • 2022–2023: Susan Baines
  • 2023–2024: John Price
  • 2024–2025: Derek Snowden
  • 2025–2026: Dr Kathryn Grant