Wyre | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | North West England |
Ceremonial county | Lancashire |
Founded | 1974 |
Admin. HQ | Poulton-le-Fylde |
Government | |
• Type | Wyre Borough Council |
• MPs: | Lorraine Beavers, Cat Smith |
Area | |
• Total | 109 sq mi (282 km2) |
• Rank | 125th |
Population (2022) [2] | |
• Total | 114,809 |
• Rank | 210th |
• Density | 1,100/sq mi (410/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
ONS code | 30UQ (ONS) E07000128 (GSS) |
Wyre is a local government district with borough status on the coast of Lancashire, England. The council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde and the borough also contains the towns of Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Garstang, Preesall and Thornton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the borough's built-up areas form part of the wider Blackpool urban area. Eastern parts of the borough lie within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The borough is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the area and meets the sea at Fleetwood. There are no road or rail connections between the parts of the borough either side of the Wyre estuary, and it is necessary to cross the neighbouring Fylde district in order to travel between the two parts of Wyre, or else use the Wyre Estuary Ferry between Fleetwood and Knott End.
The neighbouring districts are Blackpool, Fylde, Preston, Ribble Valley and Lancaster.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a non-metropolitan district covering the territory of five former districts, which were abolished at the same time: [4]
The new district was named Wyre after the River Wyre. [5] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. [6]
Wyre Borough Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Rebecca Huddleston since 1 April 2023 [8] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 50 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
Plurality block voting | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Civic Centre, Breck Road, Poulton-le-Fylde, FY6 7PU | |
Website | |
www |
Wyre Borough Council, which styles itself "Wyre Council", provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [9] [10]
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows: [11] [12]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1995 | |
Labour | 1995–1999 | |
Conservative | 1999–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Wyre. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been: [13]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Russ Forsyth | Conservative | 2010 | ||
Peter Gibson [14] | Conservative | 2010 | 28 Sep 2017 | |
David Henderson | Conservative | 7 Dec 2017 | 30 Nov 2022 | |
Michael Vincent [15] | Conservative | 1 Dec 2022 |
Following the 2023 election and a change of allegiance in June 2024, the composition of the council was: [16] [17]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 29 | |
Labour | 17 | |
Independent | 3 | |
Reform UK | 1 | |
Total | 50 |
The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [18]
Wyre straddles three parliamentary constituencies: Wyre and Preston North, Lancaster and Fleetwood and Blackpool North and Cleveleys. [10]
The council is based at the Civic Centre on Breck Road in Poulton-le-Fylde. The building was originally a large house called Woodlands, later serving as a convalescent hospital and teacher training college before becoming the council's headquarters in 1988. [19]
Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Fleetwood, Garstang and Preesall have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". [20] The former urban districts of Poulton-le-Fylde and Thornton-Cleveleys form an unparished area. [10]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Wyre.
Poulton-le-Fylde, commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,115.
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Blackpool and 2 miles (3 km) south of Fleetwood. It is part of the Borough of Wyre. With its neighbouring settlement of Thornton, Cleveleys was part of the former urban district of Thornton-Cleveleys and is part of the Blackpool Urban Area. In 2011 the Cleveleys Built-up area sub division had a population of 10,754.
Thornton is a village in the Borough of Wyre, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Blackpool and 2 miles (3 km) south of Fleetwood. The civil parish of Thornton became an urban district in 1900, and was renamed Thornton-Cleveleys in 1927. In 2011, the Thornton built-up area sub division had a population of 18,941.
Over Wyre is the collective name given to a group of villages in Lancashire, England, situated on the Fylde, to the north and east of the River Wyre. The group is usually considered to include Hambleton, Stalmine, Knott End-on-Sea, Preesall, Pilling and Out Rawcliffe. The name distinguishes these villages from the larger southern part of the Fylde, between the Wyre and the Ribble, which includes the urban areas of Blackpool, Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton, Cleveleys, Fleetwood and Lytham St Annes.
Blackpool North and Fleetwood is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, electing one member of parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Since its recreation following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for the 2024 general election the seat has been held by Lorraine Beavers of the Labour Party.
Fylde is a constituency in Lancashire which since 2024 has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Andrew Snowden, a Conservative. It is the only Conservative seat in Lancashire after the 2024 General Election, and one of three seats held by the party in North West England overall.
Lancaster and Wyre is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since its recreation in 2024 by Cat Smith of Labour Party. The seat was originally established in 1997 but was replaced by Lancaster and Fleetwood from 2010 to 2024.
Wyre and Preston North was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 2010, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
Hambleton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Lancashire. It is situated on a coastal plain called the Fylde and in an area east of the River Wyre known locally as Over Wyre. Hambleton lies approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of its post town, Poulton-le-Fylde, and about 7 miles (11 km) north-east of the seaside resort of Blackpool. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, the parish had a population of 2,678, increasing to 2,744 at the 2011 census.
Fylde North was a constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950, until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.
The Fylde is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile-long (21-kilometre) square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to the east which approximates to a section of the M6 motorway and West Coast Main Line.
The FY postcode area, also known as the Blackpool postcode area, is a group of eight postcode districts in Lancashire, North West England. The districts cover the entire borough of Blackpool and the western parts of the boroughs of Wyre and Fylde. The letters in the postcode area name refer to the Fylde coastal plain. Its five post towns are Blackpool, Fleetwood, Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton-Cleveleys.
Stalmine-with-Staynall is a civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England, in a part of the Fylde known as Over Wyre. The parish contains the village of Stalmine and the hamlets of Staynall and Wardleys. The civil parish had a population of 1,486 at the 2011 Census, of which 1,087 lived in Stalmine village.
Great Eccleston is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, situated on a coastal plain called the Fylde. The village lies to the south of the River Wyre and the A586 road, approximately 10 miles (16 km) upstream from Fleetwood. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,473, rising slightly to 1,486 at the 2011 census.
Burn Naze is a residential area of Thornton-Cleveleys, in the Borough of Wyre, Lancashire, England. It is located about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Blackpool and 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Fleetwood. Cleveleys is about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) to the west, while the River Wyre is about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the east.
Public transport in the Fylde is available for three modes of transport—bus, rail and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to the Fylde, a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England, to travel around much of the area's 64 square miles (170 km2).
ICI Hillhouse was a chlorine-production facility in Lancashire, England. A division of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it was active between 1941 and 1992. Its triangular footprint spread from the banks of the River Wyre at Stanah in the east, to Hillylaid Road in the southwest, to the southern edge of Fleetwood in the north. Its entrances were on Hillylaid Road and on Butts Road in Burn Naze. Burn Naze Halt railway station served those arriving by train.