# Borough of Wyre

Wyre is a local government district with borough status on the coast of Lancashire, England. The council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde and the borough also contains the towns of Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Garstang, Preesall and Thornton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the borough's built-up areas form part of the wider Blackpool urban area. Eastern parts of the borough lie within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The borough is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the area and meets the sea at Fleetwood. There are no road or rail connections between the parts of the borough either side of the Wyre estuary, and it is necessary to cross the neighbouring Fylde district in order to travel between the two parts of Wyre, or else use the Wyre Estuary Ferry between Fleetwood and Knott End.
The neighbouring districts are Blackpool, Fylde, Preston, Ribble Valley and Lancaster.

## History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a non-metropolitan district covering the territory of five former districts, which were abolished at the same time:
* Fleetwood Municipal Borough
* Garstang Rural District
* Poulton-le-Fylde Urban District
* Preesall Urban District
* Thornton-Cleveleys Urban District
The new district was named Wyre after the River Wyre. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

## Governance

Wyre Borough Council, which styles itself "Wyre Council", provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

### Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| Conservative | 1974–1995 |
| Labour | 1995–1999 |
| Conservative | 1999–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Wyre. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Russ Forsyth | Conservative | | 2010 |
| Peter Gibson | Conservative | 2010 | 28 Sep 2017 |
| David Henderson | Conservative | 7 Dec 2017 | 30 Nov 2022 |
| Michael Vincent | Conservative | 1 Dec 2022 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election and a change of allegiance in June 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 29 |
| | Labour | 17 |
| | Independent | 3 |
| | Reform UK | 1 |
| Total | Total | 50 |
The next election is due in 2027.

### Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.
Wyre straddles three parliamentary constituencies: Wyre and Preston North, Lancaster and Fleetwood and Blackpool North and Cleveleys.

### Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre on Breck Road in Poulton-le-Fylde. The building was originally a large house called Woodlands, later serving as a convalescent hospital and teacher training college before becoming the council's headquarters in 1988.

## Towns and parishes

Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Fleetwood, Garstang and Preesall have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". The former urban districts of Poulton-le-Fylde and Thornton-Cleveleys form an unparished area.
* Barnacre-with-Bonds
* Bleasdale
* Cabus
* Catterall
* Claughton
* Fleetwood (town)
* Forton
* Garstang (town)
* Great Eccleston
* Hambleton
* Inskip-with-Sowerby
* Kirkland
* Myerscough and Bilsborrow
* Nateby
* Nether Wyresdale
* Out Rawcliffe
* Pilling
* Preesall (town)
* Stalmine-with-Staynall
* Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre
* Winmarleigh

## Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Wyre.
* Doreen Lofthouse: 13 June 2003.
* The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 12 April 2018.