# Wyre Forest District

Wyre Forest is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. It is named after the ancient woodland of Wyre Forest. The largest town is Kidderminster, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley, along with several villages and surrounding rural areas.
The district borders Bromsgrove District to the east, Wychavon to the south-east, Malvern Hills District to the south-west, Shropshire to the north-west, and South Staffordshire to the north.

## History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:
* Bewdley Municipal Borough
* Kidderminster Municipal Borough
* Kidderminster Rural District
* Stourport-on-Severn Urban District
The new district was named after the ancient woodland of Wyre Forest, much of which lies within the area.
Since 2011, Wyre Forest has formed part of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. Wyre Forest District Council made headlines in June 2024 when it announced that it had banned bouncy castles on council-owned land because of insurance problems.

## Governance

Wyre Forest District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Worcestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

### Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since the 2023 election.
The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| No overall control | 1974–1976 |
| Conservative | 1976–1979 |
| No overall control | 1979–1996 |
| Labour | 1996–1999 |
| No overall control | 1999–2002 |
| Health Concern | 2002–2002 |
| No overall control | 2002–2008 |
| Conservative | 2008–2009 |
| No overall control | 2009–2010 |
| Conservative | 2010–2012 |
| No overall control | 2012–2015 |
| Conservative | 2015–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–2023 |
| Conservative | 2023–present |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Graham Smith | Labour | 1974 | 1975 |
| Malcolm Cooper | Conservative | 1975 | 1979 |
| Anthony Batchelor | Liberal | 1979 | May 1983 |
| Graham Ballinger | Conservative | 1983 | 1984 |
| Anthony Batchelor | Liberal | 1984 | 1985 |
| Mike Oborski | Liberal | 1985 | 1986 |
| Gilbert Edwards | Liberal | 1986 | 1989 |
| Jamie Shaw | Labour | 1989 | 1994 |
| Jane Bonnick | Liberal Democrats | 1994 | Oct 1995 |
| Jamie Shaw | Labour | 1996 | 1999 |
| (no leader) | | 1999 | 2000 |
| Mike Oborski | Liberal | 2000 | 15 May 2002 |
| Liz Davies | Health Concern | 15 May 2002 | 14 May 2003 |
| Howard Martin | Health Concern | 14 May 2003 | 13 Jun 2004 |
| Stephen Clee | Conservative | 30 Jun 2004 | 16 May 2007 |
| John Campion | Conservative | 16 May 2007 | 2 Apr 2014 |
| Marcus Hart | Conservative | 2 Apr 2014 | 22 May 2019 |
| Graham Ballinger | Health Concern | 22 May 2019 | 12 May 2021 |
| Helen Dyke | Independent | 12 May 2021 | 17 May 2023 |
| Marcus Hart | Conservative | 17 May 2023 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election and a change of allegiance in February 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 20 |
| | Independent | 7 |
| | Labour | 3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 2 |
| | Green | 1 |
| Total | Total | 33 |
The Green councillor sits in a group with the independents. The next election is due in 2027.

### Premises

The council is based at Wyre Forest House, which was purpose-built for the council and completed in 2012. The building is in the parish of Stourport-on-Severn, but lies on the outskirts of Kidderminster and has a Kidderminster postal address. Prior to 2012 the council was based at the Stourport Civic Centre on New Street, which had been completed in 1966 for the old Stourport-on-Severn Urban District Council.

## Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 33 councillors representing 12 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

### Wards

The wards are:
* Aggborough & Spennells
* Areley Kings & Riverside
* Bewdley & Rock
* Blakebrook & Habberley South
* Broadwaters
* Foley Park & Hoobrook
* Franche & Habberley North
* Lickhill
* Mitton
* Offmore & Comberton
* Wribbenhall & Arley
* Wyre Forest Rural

### Wider politics

The Wyre Forest parliamentary constituency, which covers most of the district, is represented by the Conservative MP Mark Garnier. He has held the seat since the 2010 general election, when he gained it from Richard Taylor of Health Concern, who had held the seat from 2001 to 2010.

## Demography

In Wyre Forest, the population size has increased by 3.7%, from around 98,000 in 2011 to 101,600 in 2021.

## Parishes

The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Bewdley, Kidderminster and Stourport-on-Severn take the style "town council".
* Areley Kings
* Bewdley (town)
* Broome
* Chaddesley Corbett
* Churchill and Blakedown
* Kidderminster (town)
* Kidderminster Foreign
* Ribbesford
* Rock
* Rushock
* Stone
* Stourport-on-Severn (town)
* Upper Arley
* Wilden
* Wolverley and Cookley

## Schools

There are five secondary schools within the district.
* Baxter College
* The Bewdley School
* Wolverley C E Secondary School
* The Stourport High School & VIth Form Centre
* King Charles I School

## Media
### Television

The area is served by the regional television programmes:
* BBC Midlands Today
* ITV News Central

### Radio

Radio stations for the area are:
* BBC Hereford and Worcester
* Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire
* Greatest Hits Radio Herefordshire and Worcestershire
* Sunshine Radio
* Radio Wyvern

### Newspapers

Local newspaper that served the area is The Shuttle.