Great Dawley Town Council was originally formed as a Parish Council in 1988 as part of the new town of Telford and is the local council for Dawley and Malinslee Wards with a population of approximately 12,000. In 2005 the Council gained Quality Parish Council status. The parish is divided into two wards, Dawley and Malinslee with 7 Councillors in each ward, 5 of which are also Telford & Wrekin Ward Councillors.

The Council fully supports the regeneration plans for Dawley including the Dawley Change Plan which is a project to make the area a better place in which to live, work and visit.

The Council is based in its new offices at the recently refurbished Town Hall in New Street where a programme for continuing improvements is underway.  Current support to the Clerk/RFO is provided by a team of Part-Time Officers (Assistant To The Clerk, Finance Officer, Parish Warden and Apprentice).  There are also two Part-Time Caretaker/Cleaners.

Notable people from Dawley include Captain Matthew Webb, who was the first man to swim the English Channel and whose monument stands in the High Street. Also Edith Pargeter, who under her pen name of Ellis Peters wrote the Brother Cadfael novels amongst many others, went to school in Dawley.

In terms of history, Dawley is mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of the older settlements in Shropshire. It was for over three centuries a mining town, both for coal and ironstone.  Clay extraction for local industrial-pipe factories, brickyards and the pottery industry has been a major influence on the landscape.

Today there is a thriving street market every Friday and whilst the Telford Town Centre and new Southwater development is nearby, the area around Dawley is rural and provides extensive opportunities for walking and cycling. The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site and the Wrekin hill are both pleasant walks from Dawley.