Dacorum

Not to be confused with Decorum.
Dacorum
Borough of Dacorum
Borough, Non-metropolitan district

Dacorum Civic Centre

Flag of the Borough of Dacorum

Dacorum shown within Hertfordshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region East of England
Administrative county Hertfordshire
Founded 1974
Admin. HQ Hemel Hempstead
Government
 • Type Non-metropolitan district
 • Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
 • Mayor Gbola Adeleke
 • Leader Andrew Williams
 • MPs: David Gauke
Mike Penning
Area
 • Total 82.0 sq mi (212.5 km2)
Area rank 162nd
Population (mid-2014 est.)
 • Total 149,741
 • Rank Ranked 129th
 • Density 1,800/sq mi (700/km2)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Postcode HP
ONS code 26UC (ONS)
E07000096 (GSS)
Ethnicity 93.1% White
3.2% South Asian
1.4% Black
1.5% Mixed
Website dacorum.gov.uk

The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England that includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and the western part of Kings Langley. The district, which was formed in 1974, had a population of 137,799 in 2001.[1] Its name was taken from the old hundred of Dacorum which covered approximately the same area.

History

The name Dacorum comes from Latin and it means "hundred of the Dacians". The latter word was used mistakenly in the Middle Ages for 'Danes'. This happened because of a legend asserting that certain tribes from Dacia had migrated to Denmark.[2] The hundred of Dacorum was first recorded in 1196, although it has existed since the 9th and 10th centuries, when it lay near the southern boundary of the Danelaw, on the River Lea. In 1086, the Domesday Book records the hundreds of Tring and Danais in places that became parts of the hundred of Dacorum.

In 1974, the modern district of Dacorum was formed under the Local Government Act 1972. Major components were the municipal borough of Hemel Hempstead, the urban districts of Berkhamsted and Tring, the rural districts of Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead and those parts of the rural districts of St Albans and Watford which were within the designated area of Hemel Hempstead new town.

The district was granted borough status in 1984. Hemel Hempstead had maintained Charter Trustees from 1974 to 1984. The amalgamation of the former local authorities was symbolised in the seven oak leaves which surround a tudor rose on the Dacorum coat of arms.[3]

Main settlements

The main towns and villages of the borough are:

Aldbury, Bovingdon, Berkhamsted, Bourne End, Bulbourne, Chipperfield, Cow Roast, Flamstead, Flaunden, Frithsden, Gaddesden Row, Great Gaddesden, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, Little Gaddesden, Little Tring, Long Marston, Markyate, Nettleden, New Mill, Northchurch, Potten End, Ringshall, Tring, Tringford, Water End and Wigginton.

The borough is entirely parished, apart from Hemel Hempstead.

Political representation

Dacorum Borough Council consists of 51 elected members, representing twenty-five electoral wards. 14 of the wards elect two councillors each. Six, indicated below, elect three councillors each. Five, also shown below, elect one each.

The council is currently controlled by the Conservatives, who hold 42 of the 51 seats. The Liberal Democrats hold 7, and Labour hold 1.

Composition

Party Councillors Change
(on 2010)
Conservative 42
Liberal Democrat 8
Labour 1
Total 51
Source: DBC

Wards

Dacorum consists of twenty-five wards. Wards electing three members are denoted with an asterisk (*). Those electing one member are denoted with an obelus (†).

Political control

Party in control Years
Labour 1973–1976
Conservative 1976–1995
Labour 1995–1999
No overall control 1999–2003
Conservative 2003–present

Town twinning

Two of the civil parishes in the borough also maintain their own separate twinning arrangements:

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=3559
  2. ↑ Tom Williamson, 2010. The Origins of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire Publications: Hertfordshire
  3. ↑ http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1525

External links

Coordinates: 51°46′N 00°32′W / 51.767°N 0.533°W / 51.767; -0.533

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