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Bromsgrove District

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52°20′06″N 2°03′29″W / 52.335°N 2.058°W / 52.335; -2.058

Bromsgrove District
Non-metropolitan district
Bromsgrove, the largest settlement and administrative centre of the district.
Bromsgrove, the largest settlement and administrative centre of the district.
Bromsgrove shown within Worcestershire
Bromsgrove shown within Worcestershire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionWest Midlands
Non-metropolitan countyWorcestershire
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQBromsgrove
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyBromsgrove District Council
 • LeadershipLeader & Cabinet (No overall control)
 • MPsBradley Thomas [1]
Area
 • Total
83.8 sq mi (217.0 km2)
 • Rank139th (of 296)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
100,076
 • Rank245th (of 296)
 • Density1,200/sq mi (460/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[2]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[2]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code47UB (ONS)
E07000234 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSO9604870812

Bromsgrove is a local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England. It is named after its only town, Bromsgrove, where its council is based, but also includes several villages and surrounding rural areas. It borders the built-up area of Birmingham to the north. Other places in the district include Alvechurch, Aston Fields, Belbroughton, Catshill, Clent, Hagley, Rubery, Stoke Prior and Wythall. The population at the 2021 census was 99,475.

The neighbouring districts are Redditch, Wychavon, Wyre Forest, South Staffordshire, Dudley, Birmingham, Solihull and Stratford-on-Avon.

History

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The town of Bromsgrove had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1846,[3] who were replaced by an elected local board in 1859,[4] which in turn was converted into an urban district council in 1894.[5]

The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of two former districts, which were both abolished at the same time:[6]

The new district was named Bromsgrove after its largest settlement.[7]

Governance

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Bromsgrove District Council
 
Type
Type
Leadership
Sam Ammar,
Independent[8]
since 24 May 2023[9][10]
Karen May,
Conservative
since 22 May 2019
Chief Executive (interim)
Sue Hanley
since 2023[11]
Structure
Seats31 councillors
Political groups
Administration (18)
  Conservative (11)
  Independent (7)
Other parties (13)
  Labour (7)
  Liberal Democrats (5)
  Independent (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
 
Parkside, Market Street, Bromsgrove, B61 8DA
Website
www.bromsgrove.gov.uk

Bromsgrove District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Worcestershire County Council.[12] Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.[13]

Bromsgrove forms part of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. Since 2008 the council has developed shared working arrangements with neighbouring Redditch Borough Council, with the two organisations sharing a chief executive, management team and other staff.[14]

 
Rubery, which straddles the border between Bromsgrove and Birmingham.
 
Alvechurch, one of the many rural villages in the district

Political control

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The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by an administration comprising the Conservatives and most of the independents, led by Conservative councillor Karen May.[15]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing councils before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:[16][17]

Party in control Years
Conservative 1974–1995
Labour 1995–1999
Conservative 1999–2023
No overall control 2023–present

Leadership

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The leaders of the council since 1995 have been:[18]

Councillor Party From To
Nick Psirides Conservative May 1995
Trevor Porter[19] Labour May 1995 9 May 1999
Nick Psirides[20] Conservative May 1999 May 2002
Dennis Norton[21][22] Conservative May 2002 26 Sep 2005
Roger Hollingworth[23] Conservative 19 Oct 2005 14 May 2014
Margaret Sherrey[24] Conservative 14 May 2014 29 Jun 2016
Geoff Denaro Conservative 20 Jul 2016 22 May 2019
Karen May Conservative 22 May 2019

Composition

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Following the 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in June 2024, the composition of the council was:[25]

Party Councillors
Conservative 11
Independent 8
Labour 7
Liberal Democrats 5
Total 31

Seven of the independent councillors sit together as the "2023 Independents" group, which forms the council's administration with the Conservatives.[26] The next election is due in 2027.[27]

Elections

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See also: Bromsgrove District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 31 councillors representing 30 wards, with each ward electing one councillor except Belbroughton and Romsley ward which elects two. Elections are held every four years.[28]

Premises

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The council is based at Parkside, at the corner of Market Street and Stourbridge Road.[29] The building was formerly the Parkside School, built in 1912.[30] The school moved to a new building in 2008. The old building was subsequently converted and extended to become the council's headquarters, as well as an area office for Worcestershire County Council and new library for the town, opening in 2015.[31]

When first created in 1974 the council had inherited offices at St John's Court (then known as the Council House) from Bromsgrove Urban District Council and at 94 Birmingham Road from Bromsgrove Rural District Council.[32][33][34] The council subsequently moved to a modern office building on Burcot Lane, also called the Council House, which was formally opened in 1986.[35] It remained there until the move to Parkside in 2015. The Burcot Lane building has since been demolished.[36]

 
Barnt Green, one of the many outlying villages in the district

Transport

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Bromsgrove railway station is the local station for the district's centre, but there are several others within the district. Road travel, especially to Birmingham, is also important in the district.

Barnt Green railway station and Alvechurch railway station are on the line to Redditch.

Hagley railway station and Wythall railway station are also on lines leading into Birmingham, which pass through the edges of the district.

 
Hagley, one of the many villages in the district and also forms a small part of the Black Country near both Stourbridge and Halesowen.

Bromsgrove is situated on Route 5 and 46 of the National Cycle Network.[37] This gives cyclists easy access to Droitwich, Redditch, Birmingham and beyond.

Parishes

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Further information: List of civil parishes in Worcestershire

Most of the district's area is covered by civil parishes, the exceptions being two separate parts of the pre-1974 Bromsgrove Urban District which have not since been added to parishes: one covering the main part of the Bromsgrove built-up area, and another around Rubery on the northern edge of the district adjoining Birmingham.[13] At the 2021 census, nearly half the district's population lived in the unparished areas. The most populous parishes are Wythall (which also contains the large village of Hollywood) and Hagley.[38] Each parish has a parish council.[39]

Population

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The following table illustrates the change in the population of the area that makes up the modern district between 1801 and 2011.

Year Population[40]
1801 14,486
1811 16,330
1821 18,312
1831 20,720
1841 21,124
1851 22,960
1861 27,321
1871 31,682
1881 36,043
1891 41,992
1901 44,224
1911 46,574
1921 44,176
1931 41,903
1941 50,338
1951 60,470
1961 68,919
1971 78,555
1981 86,982
1991 92,251
2001 87,486
2011 93,600[41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "GENERAL ELECTION RESULT - Conservatives hold Bromsgrove as Bradley Thomas wins seat". Bromsgrove Standard. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Bromsgrove Local Authority (E07000234)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  3. ^ A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 3. London: Victoria County History. 1913. pp. 19–33. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  4. ^ "No. 22324". The London Gazette. 11 November 1859. p. 4034.
  5. ^ "Bromsgrove Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  6. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  7. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  8. ^ "Bromsgrove Council Chairman quits Labour Party to go independent". Bromsgrove Standard. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Council minutes, 24 May 2023". Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Bromsgrove's chairman keeps her chains for another year". Bromsgrove Standard. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Council minutes, 19 July 2023". Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  13. ^ a b "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  14. ^ Corporate Peer Challenge: Bromsgrove DC and Redditch BC (PDF). Local Government Association. 2018. p. 1. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Bromsgrove District Council to consider committee system as it announces new leader and chairman". Bromsgrove Standard. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Bromsgrove council". BBC News Online. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  18. ^ "Council minutes". Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Leader rejoices at 'dream' win". Birmingham Mail. 5 May 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Tories set to ditch costly leisure centre plan". Birmingham Post. 12 May 1999. p. 4. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Calls for council leader to resign". Worcester News. 10 November 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Who will be new leader?". Worcester News. 5 October 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  23. ^ Harris, Tristan (2 February 2016). "Tributes paid to former Bromsgrove Council leader who died suddenly at 71". Bromsgrove Standard. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  24. ^ Collis, Emily (5 July 2016). "Margaret Sherrey to stand down as Bromsgrove District Council leader after health scare". Bromsgrove Advertiser. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  25. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  26. ^ "Your Councillors by Political Grouping". Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  27. ^ "Bromsgrove". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  28. ^ "The Bromsgrove (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/18, retrieved 10 February 2024
  29. ^ "Contact: Main council details". Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  30. ^ Historic England. "Parkside School (Grade II) (1392999)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  31. ^ Greenway, Sam (9 June 2015). "Multi-million pound project to create council hub to be completed in August". Bromsgrove Advertiser. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  32. ^ The Municipal Year Book. London: Municipal Journal. 1976. p. 670.
  33. ^ "No. 45840". The London Gazette. 1 December 1972. p. 14354.
  34. ^ Historic England. "St John's Court (Grade II) (1100362)". National Heritage List for England.
  35. ^ "Smiling princess charms the crowds". Sandwell Evening Mail. 5 April 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Demolition to begin on former Bromsgrove Council House next month to make way for 61 homes". Bromsgrove Standard. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Sustrans". Sustrans.org.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  38. ^ "Bromsgrove District with parishes". City Population. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  39. ^ "Parish council contact details". Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  40. ^ "Vision of Britain". GIS Project. Retrieved 14 January 2006.
  41. ^ Office for National Statistics, first release of data from 2011 census.
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