North Warwickshire

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Borough of North Warwickshire
Atherstone church.jpg
Atherstone, the administrative centre of the borough and one of the two towns
North Warwickshire UK locator map.svg
Shown within Warwickshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region West Midlands
Administrative county Warwickshire
Founded1 April 1974
Admin. HQ Atherstone
Government
  Type Non-metropolitan district
   MPs: Craig Tracey
Marcus Jones
Area
  Total109.8 sq mi (284.3 km2)
  Rank 123rd
Population
 (2021)
  Total65,340
  Rank Ranked 288th
  Density600/sq mi (230/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
   Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
   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.

Contents

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.

History

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]

Governance

North Warwickshire Borough Council
North Warwickshire Borough Council logo.png
Type
Type
Leadership
David Humphreys,
Conservative
since 17 May 2023
David Wright,
Conservative
since 20 May 2020
Steve Maxey
since March 2019 [6]
Structure
Seats35 councillors
North Warwickshire Borough Council 2023.svg
Political groups
Administration (17)
  Conservative (17)
Other parties (18)
  Labour (15)
  Independent (3)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
North Warwickshire Borough Council Offices - geograph.org.uk - 609517.jpg
Council House, South Street, Atherstone, CV9 1DE
Website
www.northwarks.gov.uk
Coleshill, the other town of the borough Coleshill, Warwickshire skyline.jpg
Coleshill, the other town of the borough

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]

Political control

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 controlYears
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

Leadership

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]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Colin Hayfield Conservative pre-200918 May 2011
Mick Stanley Labour 18 May 201120 May 2015
David Humphreys Conservative 20 May 201520 May 2020
David Wright Conservative 20 May 2020

Composition

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: [12]

PartyCouncillors
Conservative 17
Labour 15
Independent 3
Total35

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.

Elections

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.

Premises

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]

Towns and parishes

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]

Coat of arms

The council was granted a coat of arms in 1976. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warwickshire</span> County of England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polesworth</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

North Warwickshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Craig Tracey, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemlingford Hundred</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baxterley</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shustoke</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nether Whitacre</span> Human settlement in England

Nether Whitacre is a small village and larger rural civil parish in North Warwickshire, Warwickshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warton, Warwickshire</span> Village in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood End, Kingsbury, Warwickshire</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Furnace End</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dordon</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merevale</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurley, Warwickshire</span> Human settlement in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 North Warwickshire Borough Council election</span>

Elections to North Warwickshire District Council were held on Thursday 5 May 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Warwickshire County Council election</span>

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.

References

  1. Shares grouped parish council with Merevale
  2. Shares grouped parish council with Little Packington
  3. Shares grouped parish council with Great Packington
  4. Shares grouped parish council with Bentley
  5. Shares grouped parish council with Seckington
  6. Shares grouped parish council with Newton Regis
  1. 1 2 UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – North Warwickshire Local Authority (E07000218)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. "Daw Mill: Hundreds of jobs go at fire-hit mine". BBC News. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  3. "The English Non-metropolitan District (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 17 November 2023
  4. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 3 January 2024
  5. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  6. "Borough council names solicitor as chief executive". Local Government Lawyer. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  7. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  8. 1 2 "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Full Council 17th May - Conservatives ensure a majority". North Warwickshire Borough Council. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  11. "Council minutes". North Warwickshire Borough Council. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  12. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  13. "The Borough of North Warwickshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2000", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2000/1675, retrieved 20 January 2024
  14. "Contact us". North Warwickshire Borough Council. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  15. "Council on the move". Atherstone Herald. 7 September 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  16. "Parish and Town Councils and Clerks". North Warwickshire Borough Council. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  17. "Warwickshire Civic Heraldry". Civic heraldry. Retrieved 19 August 2021.

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