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Line 1: {{short description\|Direct action group in the UK}} {{Multiple issues\| {{Update\|date=September 2020\|reason=The most recent information in this article dates back to 2010. If this initiative has simply petered out and become inactive since then, this should be reflected in the article}} Line 6 ⟶ 7: '''CountyWatch''' is a [[direct action]] group in the [[United Kingdom]] that was set up in 2004 to remove what they consider to be wrongly placed county boundary signs – i.e. signs that do not mark the historic or ancient county boundaries of [[Historic counties of England\|England]] and [[Historic counties of Wales\|Wales]]. Since 2005, Count [[Nikolai Tolstoy]] has been a patron of CountyWatch. CountyWatch and its supporters claim to have removed, re-sited or erected 80 county boundary signs in [[Dorset]], [[County Durham]], [[Greater Manchester]], [[Hampshire]], [[Lancashire]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[North Yorkshire]], [[Somerset]] and [[Warwickshire]]. A prominent member of the group is [[Anthony Bennett (~~English~~Veritas politician)\|Anthony Bennett]], a British politician. In May 2002 Bennett was prosecuted for removing 29 metric road signs, claiming they were illegal and that he was preventing the law from being broken. He buried the signs in four locations under bushes. Initially found guilty of theft and criminal damage, his theft conviction was overturned in October 2002 on appeal. The judge stated that "there was no evidence of dishonesty or that he intended to permanently deprive the owners of their signs." His conviction for criminal damage was upheld, but the judge discharged the sentence, which had been 50 hours of community service.<ref name="BBC News2002118">{{cite news \|title='Imperial vigilante' guilty of theft \|work=[[BBC News]] \|date=2002-05-22 \|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2002118.stm\|accessdate=2007-08-05}}</ref><ref name="BBC News2384065">{{cite news \|title='Imperial vigilante' wins legal appeal \|work=[[BBC News]] \|date=2002-10-31 \|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2384065.stm \|accessdate=2007-08-05}}</ref> ==Beliefs== Line 37 ⟶ 38: \| url = http://www.lutononsunday.com/lutononsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?id=46700 \| accessdate = 2007-08-10 \| archive-url = https://archive.istoday/20130128023700/http://www.lutononsunday.com/lutononsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?id=46700 \| archive-date = 2013-01-28 \| url-status = dead Line 60 ⟶ 61: \| url = http://www.lutononsunday.com/lutononsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=131344 \| accessdate = 2007-08-12 \| archive-url = https://archive.istoday/20130128011937/http://www.lutononsunday.com/lutononsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=131344 \| archive-date = 2013-01-28 \| url-status = dead Line 69 ⟶ 70: ===Dorset and Hampshire border=== On 10 November 2005, Tony Bennett removed a [[Dorset]] sign from Chewton Bunny at [[Highcliffe]] and moved it to its historic location at the original County Gates border between [[Bournemouth]] and [[Poole]], claiming that while Bournemouth and neighbouring [[Christchurch, Dorset\|Christchurch]] had been administered by Dorset County Council for the past 30 years, they remained historically [[Hampshire]] towns.<ref name="DE112193">{{cite news \|title=A sign of disapproval \|work=[[Dorset Echo]] \|date=2006-04-06 \|url=http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2005/11/12/112193.html \|accessdate=2007-08-05 \|archive-url=https://archive.istoday/20070313065241/http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2005/11/12/112193.html \|archive-date=2007-03-13 \|url-status=dead }}</ref> ===Durham=== Line 89 ⟶ 90: ===Somerset=== In August 2004, CountyWatch's first action was the removal of five signs saying 'Welcome to the County of Somerset', on the northern border of the non-metropolitan county of [[Somerset]] with either [[Bath and North East Somerset]] or [[North Somerset]]. The signs were taken down by CountyWatch members and relocated on the historic borders of [[Somerset]] with neighbouring historic counties [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Wiltshire]].<ref name="DT01">{{cite news \|last=Booker \|first=Christopher \|title=A borderline case\|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] \|date=2004-08-22 \|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/22/nbook22.xml \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050312163701/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/22/nbook22.xml \|url-status=dead \|archive-date=2005-03-12 \|accessdate=2007-08-05}}</ref> ==Nine new local authorities== On 25 July 2007, the Local Government Minister, John Healey from the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that nine all-purpose local authorities would be created in 2009 in England.<ref name="CLG2470">{{cite press release \|title=Healey announces nine successful unitary proposals \|publisher=Dep't for Communities and Local Government \|date=2007-07-25 \|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/healey-announces-nine \|accessdate=2007-08-05 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209184536/http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/healey-announces-nine \|archive-date=2007-12-09 \|url-status=dead }}</ref> CountyWatch see this as the next phase of attempts to replace the administration of England and Wales by county and district councils with a series of so-called 'unitary' authorities, which combine the administrative functions of both district councils and county councils.<ref name="CC105274">{{cite news \|title=Nine new councils to be created by 2009\|publisher=Community Care \|date=2007-07-26\|url=http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2007/07/26/105274/nine-new-councils-to-be-created-by-2009.html \|accessdate=2007-08-05\|archive-date=28 September 2007\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928120124/http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2007/07/26/105274/nine-new-councils-to-be-created-by-2009.html\|url-status=dead}}</ref> Region-wide functions will be carried out by [[regional development agency\|regional development agencies]] and new government quangos, following the announcement earlier in the month of the abolition of unelected [[Regional assembly (England)\|regional assemblies]] from 2010.{{cn\|date=February 2017}} On 4 November 2020 County Watch was represented by Patron Count Nikolai Tolstoy and Secretary Tony Bennett at the formation of the new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Historic Counties. The meeting was chaired by Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford. The Parliamentary Group consisted of Conservative and Labour MPs and members of both houses. County Watch has made a written submission to the APPG making suggestions for achieving greater recognition of the nation's historic county boundaries. Line 106 ⟶ 107: {{reflist\|2}} [[Category:~~Activism~~Advocacy groups in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:2004 establishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Organizations established in 2004]]