Borough of North Warwickshire | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | West Midlands |
Administrative county | Warwickshire |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Admin. HQ | Atherstone |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district |
• MPs: | Craig Tracey Marcus Jones |
Area | |
• Total | 109.8 sq mi (284.3 km2) |
• Rank | 123rd |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 65,340 |
• Rank | Ranked 288th |
• Density | 600/sq mi (230/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
Postcode | |
ONS code | 44UB (ONS) E07000218 (GSS) |
North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Coleshill, and the large villages of Polesworth, Kingsbury, Hartshill and Water Orton along with smaller villages and surrounding rural areas.
The area historically had a large coal mining industry, but the last coal mine in the area, Daw Mill at Arley, closed in 2013. [2] The borough's landscape is primarily of the mildly undulating agricultural variety, with the North Warwickshire plateau rising to 177 m (581 ft) above sea-level at Bentley Common, 2.5 miles southwest of Atherstone. The most significant bodies of water within North Warwickshire are Kingsbury Water Park, Shustoke Reservoir, the River Blythe and the mid-section of the Coventry Canal.
The neighbouring districts are Nuneaton and Bedworth, Coventry, Solihull, Birmingham, Lichfield, Tamworth, North West Leicestershire and Hinckley and Bosworth.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of one previous district with part of another, these were: [3]
The new district was named North Warwickshire, reflecting its position in the wider county. [4] The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. [5]
North Warwickshire Borough Council | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Steve Maxey since March 2019 [6] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 35 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Council House, South Street, Atherstone, CV9 1DE | |
Website | |
www |
North Warwickshire Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Warwickshire County Council. [7] The whole borough is also covered by civil parish, which form a third tier of local government. [8]
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by a Conservative minority administration with informal support from two of the three independent councillors. [9]
The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [10]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1974–1976 | |
No overall control | 1976–1979 | |
Labour | 1979–2003 | |
No overall control | 2003–2007 | |
Conservative | 2007–2011 | |
Labour | 2011–2015 | |
Conservative | 2015–2023 | |
No overall control | 2023–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in North Warwickshire. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2009 have been: [11]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Colin Hayfield | Conservative | pre-2009 | 18 May 2011 | |
Mick Stanley | Labour | 18 May 2011 | 20 May 2015 | |
David Humphreys | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | 20 May 2020 | |
David Wright | Conservative | 20 May 2020 |
Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: [12]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 17 | |
Labour | 15 | |
Independent | 3 | |
Total | 35 |
Two of the three independent councillors sit together as the "Dordon Independents" group, which supported the Conservatives in forming a minority administration in May 2023. [9] The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 35 councillors representing 17 wards with each ward electing two councillors except the Arley and Whitacre ward, which elects three. Elections are held every four years. [13]
The boundaries of North Warwickshire are similar to those of the North Warwickshire parliamentary constituency. The constituency also includes the town of Bedworth, but does not include the villages of Hartshill and Arley. [8] The local MP is Craig Tracey.
The council is based at the Council House on South Street in Atherstone. [14] The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1979. [15]
The whole district is covered by 33 civil parishes. The parish councils for Atherstone and Coleshill have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Some of the parishes share a grouped parish council. The parishes are: [16]
The council was granted a coat of arms in 1976. [17]
Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. The largest settlement is Nuneaton and the county town is Warwick.
Polesworth is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. It is situated close to the northern tip of Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It is 3 miles (5 km) east of Tamworth, and is 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Atherstone.
North Warwickshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Craig Tracey, a Conservative.
Hemlingford Hundred was one of the four hundreds that the English county of Warwickshire was divided into, along with Kington, Knightlow and Barlichway. It was recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Coleshill.
The Meriden Rural District was a rural district of Warwickshire, England, which existed between 1894 and 1974. It was named after the village of Meriden.
Baxterley is a small village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire in England. According to the 2001 Census, it had a population of 335, reducing to 328 at the 2011 Census. The village is about two miles west of Atherstone and is home to Jaguar Land Rover's national distribution centre.
Atherstone Rural District was located in the administrative county of Warwickshire, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after its main town and administrative headquarters of Atherstone.
Shustoke is a village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 549. It is situated 2.5 miles northeast of Coleshill, 7.5 miles southwest of Atherstone, 9.5 miles west of Nuneaton and 12.5 miles east-northeast of Birmingham. It includes the sub-village of Church End half-a-mile to the east, where the parish church of Saint Cuthbert's is situated.
Nether Whitacre is a small village and larger rural civil parish in North Warwickshire, Warwickshire, England.
Warton is a village in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. It is five miles east of Tamworth and four miles north-west of Atherstone, and is in the civil parish of Polesworth. Warton is a small village, which, being surrounded by rivers, may derive its name from Waverton. There is still a Waverton Avenue in the village, even though the street was actually constructed in the 1960s. The village has grown considerably since the 1960s, when its character was changed after an inflow of overspill families from Birmingham. Although small, the village has a pub, as well as a Working Men's Club. There is one shop – Maypole Stores, named after the Maypole that stood at the highest point of the village. In the 1980s, there were several shops, but all but one have now closed. Up until the late 1990s, there were two functional shops in the village, but the most northern one was converted into a residential property by its owner.
Wood End is a former Pit village in North Warwickshire, England. It lies to the south east of Tamworth and close to the border with Staffordshire. It grew around the former Kingsbury Colliery but now it serves as a commuter village to Tamworth. It has a church, a primary school, a co-operative store, a working men's club and a village hall. The population of Wood End is 2,205, but from the 2011 Census has been included in Kingsbury.
Furnace End is a large hamlet in the civil parish of Over Whitacre, and in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. It is on the B4114 where the road intersects with the B4098 approximately midway between the market towns of Coleshill and Atherstone. The hamlet is believed to have acquired its name because of the iron smelting furnaces located there, which were owned by the Jennens family of nearby Nether Whitacre. Population statistics are part of Over Whitacre parish. Nearby settlements include Whitacre Heath, Shustoke, Kingsbury and Fillongley.
Dordon is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England and close to the border with Staffordshire. The village is located on the A5 national route and is contiguous with the larger village of Polesworth. Other nearby places include Tamworth, Atherstone, Grendon, Wood End Village, Baddesley Ensor and Nuneaton. In 2001 the population for the parish of Dordon was 3,225, reducing slightly to 3,215 at the 2011 census.
Merevale is a small village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey and Merevale Hall.
Hurley is a village in the Kingsbury civil parish of North Warwickshire, England. Other nearby places include Wood End, Hurley Common, Coleshill, Water Orton, Curdworth, Atherstone and Tamworth. According to the 2001 Census the population of the Hurley and Wood End ward was 3,642. Over 99.5% of people (3,550) described themselves as White British with only 92 people from other ethnic groups. The most common distance travelled to work is 5–10 kilometres (3.1–6.2 mi), which is essentially to Tamworth, with the most common form of employment being manufacturing. The village has an almost exact 50:50 split of males and females, with a ratio of 1,822 to 1,820 respectively.
Elections to North Warwickshire District Council were held on Thursday 5 May 2011.
An election to Warwickshire County Council took place on 2 May 2013 as part of the 2013 United Kingdom local elections. 62 councillors were elected from 56 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were the same as those used at the previous election in 2009. The election saw the Conservative Party lose overall control of the council.