Non-metropolitan district in England
Cannock Chase
is a
local government district
in
Staffordshire
, England. It is named after and covers a large part of
Cannock Chase
, a designated
Natural Landscape
. 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.
History
[
edit
]
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]
Governance
[
edit
]
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.
[6]
[7]
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.
[8]
Political control
[
edit
]
Following the May 2024 local elections, the Council is being run by a Labour Majority Adminstration, led by Labour councillor Tony Johnson.
[9]
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:
[10]
[11]
Leadership
[
edit
]
The
leaders of the council
since 2005 have been:
[12]
Composition
[
edit
]
Following the
2024 election
and a subsequent change of allegiance in September 2023, the composition of the council was:
[14]
The next election is due in 2026.
Elections
[
edit
]
From 2002 (when the district's ward boundaries were last changed) up to May 2024, the council was composed of 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.
[15]
The new ward boundaries drawn up by the Local Boundary Commission for England came into effect from the May 2024 election, reducing the number of councillors to 36 and the number of wards to 12.
[16]
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.
[7]
Premises
[
edit
]
The council is based at the Civic Centre on Beecroft Road in Cannock.
[17]
The building was purpose-built for the council between 1978 and 1981.
[18]
Demography
[
edit
]
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.
[19]
Media
[
edit
]
In terms of television, the area is served by
BBC West Midlands
and
ITV Central
(West) broadcasting from
Birmingham
. Television signals are received the
Sutton Coldfield
TV transmitter.
[20]
Radio stations for the area are:
The
Express & Star
is the local newspaper that cover the district.
[22]
Towns and parishes
[
edit
]
Much of the district is covered by eight
civil parishes
. The exception is certain parts of Cannock, which are
unparished
.
[7]
The parish councils for Hednesford and Rugeley have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".
[23]
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.
[24]
The parish of Hednesford was subsequently created in 2000 from another part of the former Cannock Urban District.
[25]
The parishes are:
Other areas and settlements include:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
UK Census
(2021).
"2021 Census Area Profile ? Cannock Chase Local Authority (E07000192)"
.
Nomis
.
Office for National Statistics
. Retrieved
5 January
2024
.
- ^
"Walsall Demographics | Age, Ethnicity, Religion, Wellbeing"
.
Varbes
. Retrieved
10 February
2023
.
- ^
"The English Non-metropolitan District (Definition) Order 1972"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1972/2039
, retrieved
17 November
2023
- ^
"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1973/551
, retrieved
31 May
2023
- ^
Ashdown, Kerry (22 May 2021).
"Councils to share chief executive despite concern over splitting time between two boroughs"
.
Stoke-on-Trent Live
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
"Local Government Act 1972"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, 1972 c. 70
, retrieved
31 May
2023
- ^
a
b
c
"Election Maps"
. Ordnance Survey
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
"Cannock Chase deer count suggests growing population"
.
BBC News
. 15 April 2013
. Retrieved
28 May
2022
.
- ^
Lawson, Eleanor (25 May 2023).
"Labour forms coalition with Greens and Lib Dems in Cannock Chase to run council"
.
Express and Star
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
"Compositions calculator"
.
The Elections Centre
. Retrieved
9 September
2022
.
- ^
"Cannock Chase"
.
BBC News Online
. 19 April 2008
. Retrieved
17 October
2009
.
- ^
"Council minutes"
.
Cannock Chase District Council
. Retrieved
17 September
2022
.
- ^
"Cannock Lib Dem leader loses to Labour's Gordon Brown"
.
BBC News
. 6 May 2011
. Retrieved
17 September
2022
.
- ^
"Local elections 2023: live council results for England"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
"The District of Cannock Chase (Electoral Changes) Order 2001"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 2001/1442
, retrieved
27 December
2023
- ^
"The Cannock Chase (Electoral Changes) Order 2023"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 2023/1023
, retrieved
27 December
2023
- ^
"Cannock Chase Council"
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
"Royal brick graces new HQ"
.
Rugeley Times
. 1 August 1981. p. 3
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
"Labour market profile - Cannock Chase"
.
Nomis
. Retrieved
6 July
2023
.
- ^
"Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitter"
.
UK Free TV
. 1 May 2004
. Retrieved
16 April
2024
.
- ^
"Cannock Chase Radio"
. Retrieved
16 April
2024
.
- ^
"Express & Star"
.
British Papers
. 12 February 2014
. Retrieved
16 April
2024
.
- ^
"Parish and Town Councils"
.
Cannock Chase Council
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
"Cannock Chase (Parishes) Order 1987"
(PDF)
.
Local Government Boundary Commission for England
. The National Archives
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
- ^
Langston, Brett.
"Cannock Chase Registration District"
.
UKBMD
. Retrieved
27 December
2023
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Wise, M. J. (November 1951). "Some notes on the growth of population in the Cannock Chase coalfield".
Geography
.
36
(4). Geographical Association: 235?248.
JSTOR
40563131
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