Cannock Chase District | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | West Midlands |
Non-metropolitan county | Staffordshire |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Cannock |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Cannock Chase Council |
• MP | Josh Newbury |
Area | |
• Total | 30.5 sq mi (78.9 km2) |
• Rank | 219th (of 296) |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 101,140 |
• Rank | 239th (of 296) |
• Density | 3,300/sq mi (1,300/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 41UB (ONS) E07000192 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | SK0200614806 |
Cannock Chase is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is named after and covers a large part of Cannock Chase, a designated National Landscape. The council is based in the town of Cannock. The district also contains the towns of Hednesford and Rugeley, as well as a number of villages and surrounding rural areas.
The district borders South Staffordshire to the west, the Borough of Stafford to the north, Lichfield District to the east, and the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall to the south.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering two former districts plus a single parish from a third, which were all abolished at the same time: [3]
The new district was named Cannock Chase after the landscape and former royal forest which covers much of the area. [4]
Cannock Chase Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Structure | |
Seats | 36 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
Meeting place | |
Civic Centre, Beecroft Road, Cannock, WS11 1BG | |
Website | |
www |
Cannock Chase District Council, which styles itself "Cannock Chase Council", provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Staffordshire County Council. Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [6] [7]
The council's logo is a deer, referencing the area's past as a royal hunting forest and the fact that deer are common in the area. A survey in 2022 found that the deer population was growing. [8]
The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2024 election. [9]
The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [10] [11]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1974–1982 | |
No overall control | 1982–1987 | |
Labour | 1987–2003 | |
No overall control | 2003–2012 | |
Labour | 2012–2019 | |
No overall control | 2019–2021 | |
Conservative | 2021–2023 | |
No overall control | 2023–2024 | |
Labour | 2024–present |
The leaders of the council since 2005 have been: [12]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Neil Stanley [13] | Liberal Democrats | pre-2005 | 8 May 2011 | |
George Adamson | Labour | 25 May 2011 | 19 May 2021 | |
Olivia Lyons | Conservative | 19 May 2021 | 24 May 2023 | |
Tony Johnson | Labour | 24 May 2023 |
Following the 2024 election the composition of the council is: [14]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 21 | |
Conservative | 10 | |
Green | 5 | |
Total | 36 |
The next election is due in May 2026. [15]
Since the last boundary changes took effect in 2024, the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 12 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Staffordshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. [16]
The district covers the same area as the Cannock Chase (UK Parliament constituency). Until the 2010 general election the constituency also included the adjacent village of Huntington in South Staffordshire. From 2010 onwards the constituency has exactly the same boundaries as the district. [7]
The council is based at the Civic Centre on Beecroft Road in Cannock. [17] The building was purpose-built for the council between 1978 and 1981. [18]
According to data from the 2011 United Kingdom census, Cannock Chase has a population of 100,600, with 49,500 males and 51,100 females. 62.5% of the population is between the ages of 16–64, of which 88.7% is economically active, 11.2% above the West Midlands regional average. [19]
In terms of television, the area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central (West) broadcasting from Birmingham. Television signals are received the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. [20]
Radio stations for the area are:
The Express & Star is the local newspaper that cover the district. [22]
Much of the district is covered by eight civil parishes. The exception is certain parts of Cannock, which are unparished. [7] The parish councils for Hednesford and Rugeley have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". [23]
When the district was created in 1974 it only contained one parish, being Brindley Heath; the former Rugeley Urban District and Cannock Urban District were both unparished. In 1988 two parishes called Rugeley and Brereton were created covering the former Rugeley Urban District, and four parishes called Bridgtown, Cannock Wood, Heath Hayes and Wimblebury, and Norton Canes were created covering parts of the former Cannock Urban District. [24] The parish of Hednesford was subsequently created in 2000 from another part of the former Cannock Urban District. [25]
The parishes are:
Other areas and settlements include:
Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the county town is Stafford.
Cannock Chase, often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and much of it is managed by Forestry England for its important ecology and for recreational use. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district. It is a former Royal forest.
Cannock is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton are also nearby.
Rugeley is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated 8 miles (13 km) north of Lichfield, 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Stafford, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Hednesford and 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Uttoxeter. At the 2021 Census, the population was 26,156.
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Codsall. Other notable settlements include Brewood, Cheslyn Hay, Coven, Essington, Featherstone, Four Ashes, Great Wyrley, Huntington, Kinver, Landywood, Penkridge, Perton, Wedges Mills, Weston-under-Lizard and Wombourne. The district covers a largely rural area lying immediately to the west and north-west of the West Midlands conurbation.
Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire, England. It is approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills, with a population of 26,049 and forming part of Lichfield district. The town forms one of the largest urbanised parishes in England. Samuel Johnson opened an academy in nearby Edial in 1736. The town is home to the smallest park in the UK, Prince's Park, which is located next to Christ Church on the junction of Farewell Lane and Church Road. The town expanded in the nineteenth century around the coal mining industry.
The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston, Pelsall and Willenhall.
Lichfield District is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district is named after its largest settlement, the city of Lichfield, which is where the district council is based. The district also contains the towns of Burntwood and Fazeley, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas, including part of Cannock Chase, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Hednesford is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase district of Staffordshire, England. The Cannock Chase area of natural beauty is to the north of the town. Hednesford is also 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of Cannock and 5 miles (8.0 km) to the south of Rugeley. The population at the 2011 census was 17,343.
The Birmingham Metropolitan Area is an urban agglomeration located in the West Midlands region of England with a population of around 4.3 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. It comprises the three cities and four metropolitan boroughs which make up the Metropolitan county of the West Midlands, along with its commuter zones, which extend into the neighbouring district authorities of Bromsgrove and Redditch in Worcestershire; Cannock Chase, Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Tamworth in Staffordshire; and all five district authorities of Warwickshire, including the towns of Bedworth, Coleshill, Nuneaton, Royal Leamington Spa, and Warwick itself.
The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham International, to Walsall, and then Rugeley Trent Valley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end.
Cannock Chase is a constituency in Staffordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Josh Newbury of the Labour Party.
Brindley Heath is an area of heath land on Cannock Chase situated between Hednesford and Rugeley in the Cannock Chase District of Staffordshire, England. The area also forms a civil parish, which at the 2001 census, had a population of 862, decreasing to 827 at the 2011 Census.
Cannock Chase District Council elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time. Cannock Chase District Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 41 councillors have been elected from 15 wards.
Hednesford railway station serves the town of Hednesford in Staffordshire, England. The station forms a part of the Chase Line and is operated by West Midlands Railway.
Heath Hayes and Wimblebury is a civil parish in the Cannock Chase District of Staffordshire, England. It comprises the once separate villages of Heath Hayes and Wimblebury, which following recent housing development have now become joined. It is one of the most affluent areas in the borough, being home to several good schools and being popular with commuters due to the excellent transport links - with both Cannock and Hednesford train stations nearby and also being close to the M6, M6 toll and A5. It has also seen the recent development of the McArthur Glen designer outlet West Midlands and is situated directly adjacent to Cannock Chase area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).
Cardinal Griffin Catholic College is a coeducational Catholic Secondary school and sixth form located in Cannock, Staffordshire, England.
The 2024 Cannock Chase District Council election took place on Thursday 2 May 2024 to elect councillors on Cannock Chase District Council in Staffordshire. All 36 seats on the council were elected following boundary changes. This election was held on the same day as other local elections in England and the election of Staffordshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.