Bromsgrove District
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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
The town of Bromsgrove had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1846,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> who were replaced by an elected local board in 1859,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> which in turn was converted into an urban district council in 1894.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>
The new district was named Bromsgrove after its largest settlement.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>
Governance
Bromsgrove District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Worcestershire County Council.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.<ref name=electionmaps>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Political control
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "Bromsgrove" in search box to see specific results.)</ref><ref name=hold>Template:Cite news</ref>
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Party name with colour | 1974–1995 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1995–1999 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1999–2023 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2023Template:Ndashpresent | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1987 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Chattin<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1987 | ||
| Rita Taylor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=BP14May1992/> | Template:Party name with colour | 1987 | May 1992 | |
| Nick Psirides<ref name=BP14May1992>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1992 | May 1995 | |
| Trevor Porter<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1995 | May 1999 | |
| Nick Psirides<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=WN1May2002/> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1999 | May 2002 | |
| Dennis Norton<ref name=WN1May2002>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 2002 | 26 Sep 2005 | |
| Roger Hollingworth<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=14May2014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 19 Oct 2005 | 14 May 2014 | |
| Margaret Sherrey<ref name=14May2014>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 14 May 2014 | 29 Jun 2016 | |
| Geoff Denaro<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 20 Jul 2016 | 22 May 2019 | |
| Karen May<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 22 May 2019 | ||
Composition
Following the 2023 election,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2025, the composition of the council was:<ref name=Thorncliffe>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Party name with colour | 11 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 7 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 6 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 7 | |
| Total | 31 | |
Five of the independent councillors sit together as the "2025 Independents" group, and the other two form the "Bromsgrove Independents" group. All cabinet positions are held by Conservatives or members of the Bromsgrove Independents group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next election is due in 2027.<ref name=Thorncliffe/>
Elections
Template:Also 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.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>
Premises
The council is based at Parkside, at the corner of Market Street and Stourbridge Road.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The building was formerly the Parkside School, built in 1912.<ref>Template:NHLE</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:NHLE</ref> The council subsequently moved to a modern office building on Burcot Lane, also called the Council House, which was formally opened in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It remained there until the move to Parkside in 2015. The Burcot Lane building has since been demolished.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Transport
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.
Bromsgrove is situated on Route 5 and 46 of the National Cycle Network.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This gives cyclists easy access to Droitwich, Redditch, Birmingham and beyond.
Parishes
Template:Further 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.<ref name=electionmaps/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Each parish has a parish council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Population
The following table illustrates the change in the population of the area that makes up the modern district between 1801 and 2011.
| Year | Population<ref name="vision of Britain">Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|
| 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<ref>Office for National Statistics, first release of data from 2011 census.</ref> |
See also
References
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