Walsall Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Emma Bennett since October 2023 [3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 60 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 2024 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council House, Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1TW | |
| Website | |
| walsall | |
Walsall Council, formally Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.
From 1889 to 1974 Walsall was a county borough, independent of any county council. [4] Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with West Midlands County Council providing county-level services. West Midlands County Council was abolished in 1986 and Walsall became a unitary authority.
The council has been a constituent member of the West Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.
The Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council since 2019.
The first election to the reconstituted borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [5] [6]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| No overall control | 1976–1980 | |
| Labour | 1980–1982 | |
| No overall control | 1982–1988 | |
| Labour | 1988–1992 | |
| No overall control | 1992–1995 | |
| Labour | 1995–1996 | |
| No overall control | 1996–1999 | |
| Labour | 1999–2000 | |
| No overall control | 2000–2004 | |
| Conservative | 2004–2011 | |
| No overall control | 2011–2019 | |
| Conservative | 2019–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Walsall. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2004 have been: [7]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Ansell | Conservative | pre-2004 | May 2007 | |
| John O'Hare | Conservative | 23 May 2007 | May 2009 | |
| Mike Bird | Conservative | 20 May 2009 | 11 Aug 2014 | |
| Sean Coughlan | Labour | 11 Aug 2014 | 1 Jun 2015 | |
| Mike Bird | Conservative | 1 Jun 2015 | 25 May 2016 | |
| Sean Coughlan [8] | Labour | 25 May 2016 | 23 May 2018 | |
| Mike Bird | Conservative | 23 May 2018 | ||
Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to February 2024 the composition of the council was: [9]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 37 | |
| Labour | 12 | |
| Independent | 11 | |
| Total | 60 | |
Nine of the independent councillors sit together as a group. [10] The next election is due in 2024.
The council meets at the Council House on Lichfield Street, which had been completed in 1905 for the old borough council. The council's main offices are in the adjoining Civic Centre on Darwall Street, which is linked to the Council House by a bridge over Darwall Street. [11] [12]
Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards. Elections to the council take place in three out of every four years, with one-third of the seats being contested at each election. [13]
The wards are: [13]
| Ward name | Area (ha)/mi2 | Population (2001 census) | Population density (people per hectare) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldridge Central and South | 1,143 hectares (4.41 sq mi) | 12,267 | 10.73 | [14] |
| Aldridge North and Walsall Wood | 784 hectares (3.03 sq mi) | 12,874 | 16.43 | [15] |
| Bentley and Darlaston North | 439 hectares (1.69 sq mi) | 13,689 | 31.19 | [16] |
| Birchills Leamore | 413 hectares (1.59 sq mi) | 13,659 | 33.05 | [17] |
| Blakenall | 353 hectares (1.36 sq mi) | 11,950 | 33.86 | [18] |
| Bloxwich East | 369 hectares (1.42 sq mi) | 11,072 | 29.99 | [19] |
| Bloxwich West | 388 hectares (1.50 sq mi) | 14,816 | 38.15 | [20] |
| Brownhills | 724 hectares (2.80 sq mi) | 12,637 | 17.45 | [21] |
| Darlaston South | 334 hectares (1.29 sq mi) | 12,252 | 36.64 | [22] |
| Paddock | 546 hectares (2.11 sq mi) | 13,073 | 23.92 | [23] |
| Palfrey | 368 hectares (1.42 sq mi) | 14,596 | 39.71 | [24] |
| Pelsall | 499 hectares (1.93 sq mi) | 10,344 | 28.74 | [25] |
| Pheasey Park Farm | 758 hectares (2.93 sq mi) | 10,435 | 13.76 | [26] |
| Pleck | 338 hectares (1.31 sq mi) | 10,653 | 31.53 | [27] |
| Rushall-Shelfield | 577 hectares (2.23 sq mi) | 11,754 | 20.37 | [28] |
| Short Heath | 380 hectares (1.5 sq mi) | 11,435 | 30.05 | [29] |
| St. Matthew's | 353 hectares (1.36 sq mi) | 12,214 | 34.64 | [30] |
| Streetly | 750 hectares (2.9 sq mi) | 13,251 | 17.66 | [31] |
| Willenhall North | 235 hectares (0.91 sq mi) | 12,536 | 53.41 | [32] |
| Willenhall South | 481 hectares (1.86 sq mi) | 13,795 | 28.70 | [33] |
| Total | 10,396 hectares (40.14 sq mi) | 253,499 | 24.39 | [34] |
Walsall is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Birmingham, 7 miles (11 km) east of Wolverhampton and 9 miles (14 km) from Lichfield.
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council defines the borough as the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Rowley Regis includes the towns of Blackheath and Cradley Heath.
Willenhall is a historic market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, and partly in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire. It lies upon the River Tame, and is part of the Black Country.
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.
Bradford, also known as the City of Bradford, is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a larger area which includes the towns and villages of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden, Queensbury, Thornton and Denholme. Bradford has a population of 528,155, making it the fourth-most populous metropolitan district and the sixth-most populous local authority district in England. It forms part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area conurbation which in 2011 had a population of 1,777,934, and the city is part of the Leeds-Bradford Larger Urban Zone (LUZ), which, with a population of 2,393,300, is the fourth largest in the United Kingdom after London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Bloxwich is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is located between the towns of Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall and Brownhills.
Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about 10 miles (16 km) from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically within the county of Staffordshire.
Darlaston is an industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Wednesbury and Willenhall.
Aldridge-Brownhills is a constituency in the West Midlands, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Wendy Morton, a Conservative.
A civil parish is a subnational entity, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 21 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of West Midlands, most of the county being unparished; Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton are completely unparished. At the 2001 census, there were 89,621 people living in the parishes, accounting for 3.5 per cent of the county's population.
Walsall North is a constituency created in 1955 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Eddie Hughes, a member of the Conservative Party.
Bentley is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall located around Junction 10 of the M6 Motorway. It is also a rural village of houses towards its eastern sides. It shares borders with the areas of Willenhall, Beechdale, Ashmore Park, Pleck, Darlaston and Alumwell.
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time. Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, which styles itself "Walsall Council", is the local authority for the metropolitan district of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards.
City of Wolverhampton Council is the governing body of the city of Wolverhampton, England. It was previously known as Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council (WMBC) prior to the award of city status in 2000, and also as Wolverhampton City Council before adopting the "City of Wolverhampton" branding in 2015.
Darlaston James Bridge railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837, serving the James Bridge area east of the town centre of Darlaston, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.
Short Heath is a residential area situated north of the market town of Willenhall, in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Short Heath is a ward in the Walsall North constituency, and is bordered by the neighbouring wards of Bentley and Darlaston North, Birchills Leamore, Willenhall North, and Willenhall South.
The Lodge Farm estate is located in the area of Short Heath in the town of Willenhall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.
The 2022 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Walsall Council. This was on the same day as other local elections. 21 of the 60 seats were up for election, with 1 ward electing 2 councillors.
