Greenwich London Borough Council

There has been a Greenwich local authority since 1856 when the Greenwich District was created, governed by an elected board. It was one of the lower tier authorities within the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.^[3] In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs, each with a borough council, two of which were called Greenwich and Woolwich.^[4]

The London Borough of Greenwich and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.^[5] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities, being the councils of the two metropolitan boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich.^[6] The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished.^[7]

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Greenwich) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.^[8] Greenwich became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved.^[9]

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.^[10]

In 2012 the borough was given the additional honorific status of being a royal borough.^[11] The council's full legal name since then has been "The Mayor and Burgesses of the Royal Borough of Greenwich".^[12]

In May 2014 the Labour-run council refused to support the building of a memorial to Lee Rigby, whose murder by Islamists occurred in the borough, in spite of being "overwhelmed by interest in a local memorial". The authority previously faced criticism at the time of the killing, with the cabinet attending an away day immediately after the murder, therefore missing a visit by the Prime Minister.^[13] Following a campaign which saw 25,000 people sign a petition in support of the memorial the council dropped its opposition to the tribute.^[14]

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.^[15] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.^[16]

The council has been under Labour majority control since 1971.

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:^[17]

The role of Mayor of Greenwich is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:^[18][19]

Although named after Greenwich, the council has always had its main offices and meeting place in Woolwich. Council meetings are held at Woolwich Town Hall on Wellington Street, which was completed in 1906 for the old Woolwich Borough Council.^[20]

The council's main offices are at the Woolwich Centre, on the opposite side of Wellington Street from the Town Hall. The Woolwich Centre was completed for the council in 2011 and also includes a library.^[21]

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[22]