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Harrow London Borough Council
Type
Type	London borough
Leadership
Mayor	Salim Chowdhury, Conservative since 16 May 2024
Leader	Paul Osborn, Conservative since 24 May 2022
Managing Director	Alex Dewsnap since May 2023
Structure
Seats	55 councillors
Political groups	Administration (31)   Conservative (31) Other parties (24)   Labour (23)   Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Harrow Arts Centre, 171 Uxbridge Road, Pinner, HA5 4EA
Website
www.harrow.gov.uk

Harrow London Borough Council /ˈhæroʊ/, also known as Harrow Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2022. Full council meetings are held at the Harrow Arts Centre and the council's main offices are at the Council Hub in Wealdstone.

History

The first elected local authority for Harrow was a local board, established in 1850 covering the central part of the ancient parish of Harrow on the Hill. Such boards were reconstituted as urban district councils under the Local Government Act 1894.

The urban district was significantly enlarged in 1934, at which point it was renamed from 'Harrow on the Hill' to just 'Harrow'. Harrow Urban District was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1954, governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Harrow", generally known as the corporation or borough council.

The London Borough of Harrow and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing Harrow Borough Council, which covered the same area. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965. The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Harrow".

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 Harrow) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Harrow has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.

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.

Powers and functions

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. 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.

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2022.

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:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Harrow. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:

Premises

The council has its main offices at the Council Hub on Kenmore Avenue in Wealdstone. The building was purpose-built for the council in 2022. Full council meetings are held at the Harrow Arts Centre in Hatch End, which also houses the mayor's parlour.

Prior to 2022 the council was based at Harrow Civic Centre on Station Road in Harrow, which had been purpose-built for the council, being completed in 1973.

Elections

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

Councillors

As of 5 May 2022, the composition of Harrow Council is 31 Conservative councillors to 24 Labour councillors:

References

1. "Council meeting, 16 May 2024". Harrow Council. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
2. "Cllr Salim Chowdhury, Harrow's first Bangladeshi Mayor". Harrow Council. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
3. Mitchell, Chris (19 May 2023). "Harrow Council appoints new Managing Director". Harrow Online. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
4. Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, p. 368, ISBN 9781405881180
5. Lawes, Edward (1851). The Act for promoting the Public Health, with notes. London: Shaw and Sons. pp. 264–265. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
6. "Local Government Act 1894", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1894 c. 73, retrieved 12 April 2024
7. "Harrow Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
8. "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
9. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
10. "Insurance London Consortium Agreement" (PDF). Sutton Council. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
11. "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
12. Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
13. "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
14. "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
15. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
16. "Harrow". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
17. "Tories get control of Harrow Council after Labour split". BBC News. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
18. "Council minutes". Harrow Council. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
19. "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
20. "Harrow's regeneration business plans approved". London Borough of Harrow. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
21. "Browse meetings: Council". London Borough of Harrow. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
22. Williams, Grant (1 February 2023). "Harrow Council's town hall will be demolished and turned into housing". My London. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
23. London's Town Halls. London: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1998. p. 109. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
24. "The London Borough of Harrow (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2020/72, retrieved 12 April 2024
25. "Your Councillors". www2.harrow.gov.uk. 1 January 2004. Retrieved 23 June 2020.

External links

• London Borough of Harrow website

• Local authorities in London
• London borough councils
• Politics of the London Borough of Harrow
• Leader and cabinet executives
• Local education authorities in England
• Billing authorities in England