Budc - Wdc

[keith lockey]

Can anyone remember when Bedlington Urban District Council (BUDC) became Wansbeck District Council (WDC). I believe it was in 1974 but I need confirmation. Also, has anyone got any photos of the old Council yard / depot which used to be behind where Moods is now. (Or there-abouts)

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Wikipedia has an entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wansbeck and states -

Wansbeck was a local government district in south-east Northumberland, England. Its main population centres were Ashington, Bedlington and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

The area which was bounded by the district is mostly urban, on the North Sea coast north of the Tyneside conurbation. It bordered Blyth Valley district to the south, the border being the River Blyth. It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the urban districts of Ashington,Bedlingtonshire and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. It is named after the River Wansbeck.

The district council was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England effective from 1 April 2009 with responsibilities being transferred to Northumberland County Council, a unitary authority.

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But no idea if this correct.

[tonyg]

I think it was the april 1974

[keith lockey]

April 1st!! - April Fool's Day!! That sounds about right for Wansbeck District Council. I started my apprenticeship with them in 1974 and thought they had just merged. Cheers lads.

[threegee]

And... hardly a month later (4 March 1974) the appallingly incompetent Edward Heath (the second worst Prime Minister in UK history) was booted out, and pipe-smoking Harold was back. Like many other thoroughly bad things that were foisted on us undemocratically (the EU included) Ted the Incompetent was right behind The Local Government Act 1972.  Mind you it was also backed by Labour, though like many things they really didn't know if they were for or against it, or indeed what day of the week Tuesday was!

 

The irony of all this was that Heath was the first leader the Tories ever elected "democratically".  Sort of suggesting that a bunch of time-served old codgers in a smoke-filled room was a vastly better system of choosing a national leader than electing the ex-public school twit who (at the time) had offended the least number of Tory Party members!