Gillingham Borough Council
Gillingham Borough Council | |
|---|---|
| Municipal Borough of Gillingham | |
| Type | |
| Type | Municipal borough council of Gillingham, Kent |
| Houses | Municipal Borough Council |
| History | |
| Established | 17 August 1903 |
| Disbanded | 1 April 1998 |
| Preceded by | Gillingham Urban District Council |
| Succeeded by | Medway Council |
| Leadership | |
First Mayor | |
Last Council Leader | Bob Sayer |
| Seats | 35 (1973–1979); 42 (1979–1998). |
| Motto | |
| "With fort and fleet for home and England." | |
| Meeting place | |
| Municipal Buildings, Canterbury Street, Gillingham (opened 25 September 1937). | |
| Constitution | |
| Royal Charter (1903); Local Government Acts | |
houses, chambers.Gillingham Borough Council was the local authority for the Municipal Borough of Gillingham in Kent from its incorporation in 1903 until 1998. Before 1903, Gillingham had been governed as an Urban District under the 1894 Local Government Act. The town of Gillingham – which had grown rapidly around Chatham Dockyard – saw its population rise to over 40,000 by 1901. A Royal Charter granted on 17 August 1903 created the Borough of Gillingham, with John Robert Featherby as its first (Charter) Mayor. The council continued to expand the borough’s area (notably adding the parish of Rainham in 1928 and managed all local services until local government reorganisation. In 1974 Gillingham was the only one of the Medway towns to remain independent under the new framework. Gillingham Borough Council finally ceased to exist on 1 April 1998, when it merged with Rochester-upon-Medway City Council to form the new unitary Medway Council.