City of York

This article is about the local government district in England formed in 1996. For the individual settlement and former district, see York. For other uses, see City of York (disambiguation).

City of York
Unitary authority area with city status
York city centre and its minster from above
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  Chocolate City[1]
Motto:  Let the Banner of York Fly High
York shown within North Yorkshire
Coordinates: 53°57′30″N 1°4′49″W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire
Combined authority	York and North Yorkshire
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Unitary authority	1 April 1996[2]
Administrative HQ	West Offices
Government [3]
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	City of York Council
• Executive	Leader and cabinet
• Control	Labour
• MPs	Rachael Maskell (L) Luke Charters (L)
Area [4]
• Total	105 sq mi (272 km^2)
• Rank	129th
Population  (2022)[4]
• Total	204,551
• Rank	97th
• Density	1,950/sq mi (752/km^2)
Ethnicity (2021) [5]
• Ethnic groups	List 92.8% White 3.8% Asian 1.8% Mixed 0.7% Black 1.0% other
Religion (2021) [5]
• Religion	List 46.1% no religion 43.9% Christianity 1.2% Islam 0.5% Buddhism 0.5% Hinduism 0.1% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism 0.6% other 6.9% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	YO
Dialling codes	01904
ISO 3166 code	GB-YOR
GSS code	E06000014
Website	york.gov.uk

The City of York, officially simply "York",^[6] is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England.^[7]

The district's main settlement is York, and its coverage extends to the town of Haxby and the villages of Earswick, Upper Poppleton, Nether Poppleton, Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe, Dunnington, Stockton on the Forest, Rufforth, Askham Bryan and Askham Richard, among other villages and hamlets. The district had a population of 202,800 in the 2021 Census^[8][9] The City of York is administered by the City of York Council based in The Guildhall.^[10]

Governance

York's first citizen and civic head is the Lord Mayor, who is the chairperson of the City of York Council. The appointment is made by the city council each year in May, at the same time as appointing the Sheriff, the city's other civic head. The offices of lord mayor and sheriff are purely ceremonial. The Lord Mayor carries out civic and ceremonial duties in addition to chairing full council meetings.^[11] The incumbent lord mayor since 23 May 2024 is Councillor Margaret Wells, the sheriff is Fiona Fitzpatrick.^[12]

As a result of the 2023 City of York Council election, the Labour Party gained a majority of the seats on the council, receiving 24 seats. The Liberal Democrats have 19 councillors, while the Conservative Party had 3 councillors with one Independent councillor. The Green Party lost all 3 of the seats it held before this election.^[13] Claire Douglas was sworn in as the new leader of the Labour administration on 25 May 2023.^[14]

Party		Seats	City of York Council (2023 election)
	Labour	24
	Liberal Democrats	19
	Conservative	3
	Independent	1

Civil parishes

The district contains the unparished area of York and 31 civil parishes:^[15]

• Acaster Malbis
• Askham Bryan
• Askham Richard
• Bishopthorpe
• Clifton Without
• Copmanthorpe
• Deighton
• Dunnington
• Earswick
• Elvington
• Fulford
• Haxby
• Heslington
• Hessay
• Heworth Without
• Holtby
• Huntington
• Kexby
• Murton
• Naburn
• Nether Poppleton
• New Earswick
• Osbaldwick
• Rawcliffe
• Rufforth with Knapton
• Skelton
• Stockton-on-the-Forest
• Strensall with Towthorpe
• Upper Poppleton
• Wheldrake
• Wigginton

Wards

York is divided into 21 electoral wards: Acomb, Bishopthorpe, Clifton, Copmanthorpe, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington, Guildhall, Haxby and Wigginton, Heworth, Heworth Without, Holgate, Hull Road, Huntington and New Earswick, Micklegate, Osbaldwick and Derwent, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, Rural West York, Strensall, Westfield, and Wheldrake.^[16]

History

The unitary authority area was formed on 1 April 1996 by creating a new non-metropolitan district and coterminous non-metropolitan county, both called York, and the City of York Council by creating a new district council with the powers of a county council. The area was created from parts of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire: the entirety of the non-metropolitan district of York, four parishes from the district of Harrogate,^[a] fifteen parishes from the district of Ryedale,^[b] and thirteen parishes from the district of Selby.^[c] It ceased to be part of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, but remained part of the ceremonial county of the same name.^[17]

The 1974–1996 district of York had itself replaced a county borough with the same boundaries.^[18] As the abolition of the previous district also abolished its city status and the right of the mayor and reputy mayor to style themselves "The Right Honourable", on 1 April 1996 new letters patent were issued conferring this status and right on the new district.^[19]

Ceremonial

York is within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire and, until 1974, was within the jurisdiction of the Lord Lieutenant of the County of York, West Riding and the County of The City of York. The city retains the right to appoint its own Sheriff. The holder of the Royal dukedom of York has no responsibilities, either ceremonially or administratively, as regards to the city.

Notes

1. Hessay, Nether Poppleton, Rufforth, and Upper Poppleton
2. Clifton Without, Earswick, Haxby, Heworth Without, Holtby, Huntington, Murton, New Earswick, Osbaldwick, Rawcliffe, Skelton, Stockton-on-the-Forest, Strensall, Towthorpe, and Wigginton
3. Acaster Malbis, Askham Bryan, Askham Richard, Bishopthorpe, Copmanthorpe, Deighton, Dunnington, Elvington, Fulford, Heslington, Kexby, North Yorkshire, Naburn and Wheldrake

References

1. "York – The Chocolate City". York's Chocolate Story. n.d. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
2. "The North Yorkshire (District of York) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. UK Legislation. 7 March 1995. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
3. "About us". City of York Council. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
4. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
5. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – York Local Authority (E06000014)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
6. "Local Authority Districts (May 2023) Boundaries UK BFC". geoportal.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
7. "Lieutenancies Act 1997". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
8. "How the population changed in York, Census 2021 - ONS". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
9. "City of York District". NEU. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
10. "Guildhall". City of York Council. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
11. "The Constitution – Part 1 Summary and explanation" (PDF). City of York Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
12. Rogers, Rachel (21 May 2024). "Lord Mayor of York reveals her charities for the year". YorkMix. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
13. Services, Web. "Local election results May 2023". City of York Council. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
14. "'Hard work ahead' - City of York Council reveals its new leadership team". York Press. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
15. "Children of City of York Council". Mapit. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
16. "City of York Council – wards". City of York Council. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
17. "The North Yorkshire (District of York) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/610, retrieved 20 September 2024
18. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
19. "No. 54363". The London Gazette. 4 April 1996. p. 4925.

External links