Telford and Wrekin is a borough and unitary authority in Shropshire, England. In 1974, a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire was created called the Wrekin, named after a prominent hill to the west of Telford. In 1998, the district became a unitary authority and was renamed "Telford and Wrekin", which remains part of the Shropshire ceremonial county and shares institutions such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Community Health with the rest the county.
The borough's major settlement is Telford, which was designated a new town in the 1960s and incorporated the towns of Dawley, Madeley, Oakengates, and Wellington. After the Telford conurbation, which includes the aforementioned towns, the next-largest settlement is Newport which is located in the northeast of the borough and is not part of the original new town of Telford. The borough borders Staffordshire, but is surrounded by the unitary district of Shropshire which covers the area previously administered by Shropshire County Council.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of five former districts, plus a small part of a sixth:
The district was initially called "Wrekin", but during 1974 the council changed the name to "The Wrekin". A significant part of the new district was within the designated area of the Telford New Town, which had been initially designated in 1963 as Dawley New Town before being enlarged and renamed to Telford in 1968. The Telford Development Corporation existed alongside the elected councils until it was wound up in 1991, running various functions such as town planning which would otherwise have been council responsibilities.
On 1 April 1998, as a result of the Local Government Commission for England's review, the district became a unitary authority, independent from Shropshire County Council. On the same day the district's name was changed from "The Wrekin" to "Telford and Wrekin".
All of the council houses previously owned by Wrekin District Council and the subsequent Telford and Wrekin Council were transferred to a newly created housing association, the Wrekin Housing Trust, in 1999 which now owns the majority of social housing in Telford.
Telford and Wrekin applied unsuccessfully for city status in 2000. The district was granted borough status in 2002.
As of 2025, the borough is divided into 32 wards for the election of 54 councillors.
Borough elections are held every 4 years.
Telford and Wrekin operates a cabinet-style council. It has 54 elected councillors who appoint the seven cabinet members, including the leader, each year. The cabinet members make decisions as a whole and meet every two weeks.
Telford and Wrekin is currently a Labour controlled council.
Telford and Wrekin is part of the West Mercia Police police area. The force is based in Worcester (outside Shropshire) and the borough's area is a Territorial Policing Unit in the force's organisation.
The main towns of the borough are: Coalbrookdale, Dawley, Madeley, Newport, Oakengates, Telford and Wellington. The table below shows the civil parishes of the borough and their respective settlements:
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Telford and Wrekin at current basic prices published (pp. 240âÂÂ253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.
The following people, military units and organisations have received the Freedom of the Borough of Telford and Wrekin.