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 | Amanda Milling |
Area | |
• Total | 30.5 sq mi (78.9 km2) |
• Rank | 219th (of 296) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 100,590 |
• 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 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 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 | 41 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 2 May 2024 |
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. [7] [8]
Since 2011, Cannock Chase Council has been a member of two local enterprise partnerships, being the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
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. [9]
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a coalition of Labour and the Greens, led by Labour councillor Tony Johnson. [10]
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: [11] [12]
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–present |
The leaders of the council since 2005 have been: [13]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Neil Stanley [14] | 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 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in September 2023, the composition of the council was: [15]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 18 | |
Conservative | 18 | |
Green | 5 | |
Total | 41 |
The next election is due in 2024.
Since the last boundary changes in 2002 the council has comprised 41 councillors representing 15 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council 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] New ward boundaries have been drawn up to take effect from the 2024 election, reducing the number of councillors to 36. [17]
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. [8]
The council is based at the Civic Centre on Beecroft Road in Cannock. [18] The building was purpose-built for the council between 1978 and 1981. [19]
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. [20]
Much of the district is covered by eight civil parishes. The exception is certain parts of Cannock, which are unparished. [8] The parish councils for Hednesford and Rugeley have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". [21]
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. [22] The parish of Hednesford was subsequently created in 2000 from another part of the former Cannock Urban District. [23]
The parishes are:
Other areas and settlements include:
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 24,386.
The Borough of Stafford is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England. It is named after Stafford, its largest town, which is where the council is based. The borough also includes the towns of Stone and Eccleshall, as well as numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Codsall. Other notable settlements include Great Wyrley and Wombourne. The district covers a largely rural area lying immediately to the west and north-west of the West Midlands conurbation.
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Leek, the district's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Biddulph and Cheadle, along with a large rural area containing many villages. North-eastern parts of the district lie within the Peak District National Park.
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.
Cannock Chase is a constituency in Staffordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Amanda Milling of the Conservative Party. She served as the Minister for Asia and the Middle East in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from 16 September 2021 to 7 September 2022.
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.
Cannock was a parliamentary constituency in Staffordshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was effectively recreated in 1997 as the seat of Cannock Chase.
Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. The non-metropolitan county differs from the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Stoke-on-Trent.
Bridgtown is a village and civil parish, in the Cannock Chase District of Staffordshire, England. It is situated on the A5 between Cannock and Great Wyrley. There are multiple industrial and retail estates in and around the village, as well as residential areas.
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).
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 3 May 2012 on the same day as other local elections in England. A total of 14 councillors were elected from 13 wards as a third of the council was up for election. This also included a by-election in the Hagley ward which filled a vacancy that had arisen since the previous election. There were no elections held in the Hednesford Green Heath or Rawnsley wards as those wards elect only two councillors in the other two years of the election cycle.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 5 May 2016. This election was held on the same day as other local elections as well as Police and Crime Commissioner elections. A total of 13 councillors were elected from all but two of the council's wards as a third of the council was up for election.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 3 May 2018 on the same day as other local elections in England. A third of the council was up for election, meaning a total of 13 councillors were elected from all but two of the council's wards.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 2 May 2019 on the same day as other local elections in England, including to several parish councils in the district. All of the council's wards were up for election, meaning a total of 15 councillors were elected.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 6 May 2021 on the same day as the Staffordshire County council election and other local elections in England. These elections were due to take place on 7 May 2020 but were delayed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. All but two of the council's wards were up for election, meaning a total of 13 councillors were elected.
The 2023 Cannock Chase District election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect 17 of the 41 councillors on Cannock Chase District Council in Staffordshire, England. on the same day as other local elections in England, including to eight parish councils in the district. The usual nominal third of the council was up for election, plus there were two vacancies to be filled, meaning a total of 17 councillors were elected.