Bexley London Borough Council

History

There has been a Bexley local authority since 1880 when the parish of Bexley, which included both the village of Bexley and Bexley Heath, was made a local government district, governed by an elected local board. Such districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894, which saw the board replaced by an urban district council. Bexley Urban District was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1935, governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Bexley", but generally known as the corporation, borough council or town council.

The much larger London Borough of Bexley 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 area's four outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Bexley and Erith, and the urban district councils of Crayford and Chislehurst and Sidcup (the latter in respect of the Sidcup area only; the Chislehurst area went to the London Borough of Bromley). The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.

The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Bexley". Prior to 2007 the council branded itself "Bexley Council", which name is still commonly used for it.

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 Bexley) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Bexley 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.