Wikipedia:Notability (councils)

The notability of councils for countries, states, districts and municipalities are sometimes questioned. These rules can generally be applied to anywhere in the world but keep in mind that a type of division in 1 country may be a different level in another for example in the United States the term "county" generally is what would be described in England as a "district" and the term "county" (in terms of ceremonial counties) in England generally means what would be described in the United States as a "state". Similarly in Denmark the term "municipality" is the equivalent of a "district" in Austria and England with "municipality" being the lowest unit.

Countries edit

Councils of countries like Germany and Scotland are generally kept such as Bundestag and Scottish Parliament.

States edit

Councils of country subdivisions such as US states (Indiana) and English ceremonial counties (Suffolk) are generally kept such as Indiana General Assembly and Suffolk County Council. Generally there is enough coverage for separate articles and readers will know what both are and will expect separate articles.

Districts edit

Most districts have separate articles from the settlements or geographical features they are named after such as Great Yarmouth/Borough of Great Yarmouth and Braunau am Inn District/Braunau am Inn District sometimes like Sankt Pölten and Plymouth the district is combined with the settlement because the boundaries are similar. Generally if the district has a separate article from the settlement its named after or the name exists only as a district generally the council should be redirected to the district. Great Yarmouth Borough Council redirects to the district Borough of Great Yarmouth and Wychavon District Council redirects to Wychavon. If like Plymouth the district is combined with the settlement then an article at Plymouth City Council makes sense as does Council of the Isles of Scilly since the district doesn't have a separate article from the archipelago. Most of the time readers won't be aware of the difference between a district and its council and if such articles exist they tend to end up as content forks. This generally means unless the district doesn't have a separate article from the place its named after its best not to have separate articles unless there is enough content specific for the council to make the district article otherwise too long.

Municipalities edit

Large and important councils such as Cleveland City Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council may have articles but most should generally be covered in the municipality's article even if it is a settlement with no separate article for the municipality. Generally such articles must pass Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) and if they don't or an article has not yet been created it may be desirable to cover it in a "City Council" or "Governance" section and redirect the title to the section. Calstock Parish Council and Ringwood Town Council (AFD) were merged for example. If the municipality is not named after another type of place such as Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council or has a separate article from the place it is named after generally like district councils the council shouldn't have a separate article from the municipality even if notable unless the municipality article is too large.

See also edit