Ха́ртерные дове́ренные лица́ в Англии́ и Уэ́лсе: история и современность.

In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a civil parish council or in larger settlements, a town council is established. Duties are limited to ceremonial activities such as the election of a mayor, and various other functions depending upon local customs and laws. The charter trustees are made up of local councillors in the district representing wards within the boundaries of the town/city. If there are fewer than three district councillors for the former borough, then qualified local electors may be co opted to make the number up to three. Charter trustees must hold an annual meeting within twenty one days of the annual meeting of the district council. The first item of business is the election of a town or city mayor and deputy mayor for the next year. As of 2023, there are nineteen areas in England which continue to appoint charter trustees.

The original bodies of charter trustees were set up in 1974, under section 246 of the Local Government Act 1972. The concept was introduced into the Bill by a government amendment in September 1972. Section 245(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 allowed the 'shadow' district councils to make a petition to the Queen for borough status, before their coming into effect on 1 April 1974. In this case, if "it is signified on behalf of Her Majesty before that date that She proposes to accede" to the request then, the style of borough could be used immediately from 1 April 1974, despite the fact that the charter would be presented only later. For the new districts which made no such petition (or where it was refused), for each former municipal borough in the district which was to become an unparished area rather than a successor parish, a body corporate styled the charter trustees of the town or city, were established, under section 246(4) of the Act. In the original legislation, charter trustees could also be formed in Welsh districts, but the Charter Trustees Order 1974, which provided for the establishment of the trustees, stated that the section "shall not apply to the area consisting of the counties established by section 20 of the Act (new local government areas in Wales)", and "there will be no charter trustees in Wales."

Originally, under section 246(7), when the district in which a town for which charter trustees had been established gained the status of a borough, the trustees would be immediately dissolved. Some new district councils petitioned for borough status soon after 1 April 1974, quickly dissolving the charter trustees. This was changed by the Charter Trustees Act 1985, which provided that charter trustees would cease to exist only when a parish council was formed for the area of the former borough.

Legislation passed in 1992 led to the establishment of a Local Government Commission whose remit was to review the system created in 1974. As a result there was a partial reorganisation, with a number of districts with borough or city status being abolished. The mechanism of creating charter trustees to preserve civic traditions was again used. However, trustees were created only where an outgoing council requested their establishment. The failure of the extinguished City of Rochester upon Medway council to appoint charter trustees for Rochester or to apply for Rochester's city status to be transferred to the replacement unitary authority of Medway led to Rochester losing its city status. Some abolished boroughs such as Beverley included a large rural area. In such cases, the charter trustees were not established for the entire area of the former borough, but were limited to that part of the new authority which was unparished: the area identifiable as the town.

A further wave of reorganisations came into effect in some areas of England on 1 April 2009, under the terms of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The reforms saw the creation of new unitary authorities and the abolition of a number of districts with city or borough status. The Charter Trustees Regulations 2009 allow for the creation of trustees to preserve civic traditions in those areas where there is no obvious successor parish council. In the case of the cities of Chester and Durham the charter trustees area are identical to the entire abolished district, which includes not only the central unparished area but also the surrounding parishes.

+Name of Charter TrusteesArea when establishedLocal Government AreaCeremonial CountyCreatedWebsiteBarrow in FurnessThe wards of Barrow Island, Central, Hawcoat, Hindpool, Newbarns, Ormsgill, Parkside, Risedale, Roosecote, Walney North and Walney South. Westmorland and FurnessCumbria2023City of BathCity of Bath district (1974 1996)Bath and North East SomersetSomerset1996BournemouthThe wards of Boscombe East, Boscombe West, Central Bournemouth, East Cliff and Springbourne, East Southbourne and Tuckton, Kinson North, Kinson South, Littledown and Iford, Moordown, Queen’s Park, Redhill and Northbourne, Talbot and Branksome Woods, Throop and Muscliff, Wallisdown and Winton West, West Southbourne, Westbourne and West Cliff, Winton East and the unparished part of the ward of Strouden Park. Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleDorset2019City of CarlisleThe wards of Belah and Kingmoor, Botcherby and Harraby North, Cathedral and Castle, Currock and Upperby, Denton Holme and Morton South, Harraby South and Parklands, Newtown and Morton North, Sandsfield and Morton West and Stanwix and Houghton. CumberlandCumbria2023City of DurhamThe electoral divisions of Belmont, Brandon, Coxhoe, Deerness Valley, Durham South, Elvet, Framwellgate Moor, Gilesgate, Neville’s Cross, Newton Hall and SherburnCounty DurhamCounty Durham2009High WycombeThe Municipal Borough of High WycombeWycombeBuckinghamshire1974MansfieldThe Municipal Borough of MansfieldMansfield districtNottinghamshire1974MargateThe Municipal Borough of MargateThanetKent1974PooleThe wards of Alderney, Branksome East, Branksome West, Broadstone, Canford Cliffs, Canford Heath East, Canford Heath West, Creekmoor, Hamworthy East, Hamworthy West, Merley and Bearwood, Newtown, Oakdale, Parkstone, Penn Hill and Poole Town. Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleDorset2019AylesburyAylesbury ValeBuckinghamshire1974parished 2000BanburyCherwellOxfordshire1974parished 2000BasingstokeBasingstoke DistrictHampshire1974abolished 1978, successor the Borough of Basingstoke and DeaneBedfordBedford DistrictBedfordshire1974abolished 1975, successor the Borough of North BedfordshireBeverleyEast Riding of YorkshireHumberside1996Bexhill on SeaRotherEast Sussex1974parished 2021BootleSeftonMerseyside1974abolished c. 1975, successor the Borough of SeftonBridgwaterSedgemoorSomerset1974parished 2003Burton upon TrentEast StaffordshireStaffordshire1974abolished 1992 when East Staffordshire became a borough
unparished area became various parishes in 2003ChelmsfordChelmsford DistrictEssex1974abolished 1977, successor the Borough of ChelmsfordChippenhamNorth WiltshireWiltshire1974parished 1984CleethorpesCleethorpes DistrictHumberside1974abolished 1975, successor the Borough of CleethorpesColnePendle districtLancashire1974abolished 1976, successor the Borough of PendleCreweCheshire EastCheshire2009Hemel HempsteadDacorum DistrictHertfordshire1974Abolished 1984, successor the Borough of DacorumCity of HerefordHerefordshireHerefordshire1998parished 2000IlkestonErewashDerbyshire1974abolished 1975, successor the Borough of ErewashKidderminsterWyre ForestWorcestershire1974parished 2016King's LynnWest Norfolk districtNorfolk1974Abolished 1981, successor the Borough of King's Lynn and West NorfolkCity of LichfieldLichfield districtStaffordshire1974parished 1980LowestoftWaveneySuffolk1974parished 2017LymingtonNew Forest districtHampshire1974parished (as four parishes) 1979MacclesfieldCheshire EastCheshire2009Royal Leamington SpaWarwick districtWarwickshire1974parished 2002Royal Tunbridge WellsTunbridge Wells districtKent1974Abolished 1974, successor the Borough of Tunbridge WellsCity of Salisbury (New Sarum)Salisbury districtWiltshire1974parished 2009SouthportSeftonMerseyside1974abolished c. 1975, successor the Borough of SeftonTauntonTaunton Deane DistrictSomerset1974, re established 2019abolished 1975, successor the Borough of Taunton Deane. Parished 1 April 2023 (Taunton Town Council)Weston super MareWoodspring (now North Somerset)Avon1974parished 2000WorkingtonAllerdaleCumbria1974parished 1982YeovilYeovil district (now South Somerset)Somerset1974parished 1984

The structural changes to local government in 2009 led to the formation of Charter Trustees for Crewe, Macclesfield, Chester and Ellsemere Port. The Charter Trustees for Crewe and Macclesfield were subsequently abolished and replaced by parishes.

Charter trustees were established in April 2019 for Bournemouth, Poole and Taunton as a consequence of local government structural changes in Dorset and Somerset. ), Barrow,