Wyre Forest District

This article is about the district in Worcestershire. For the ancient woodland, see Wyre Forest. For the district in Lancashire, see Borough of Wyre.

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.

Wyre Forest
Non-metropolitan district
Kidderminster, the district's largest town and administrative centre
Wyre Forest shown within Worcestershire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	West Midlands
Non-metropolitan county	Worcestershire
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Kidderminster
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Wyre Forest District Council
• MP	Mark Garnier
Area
• Total	75.4 sq mi (195.4 km2)
• Rank	147th (of 296)
Population  (2021 Census)
• Total	101,600
• Rank	237th (of 296)
• Density	1,300/sq mi (520/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 95.9% White 1.9% Asian 1.4% Mixed 0.4% Black 0.4% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 53.3% Christianity 38.6% no religion 1% Islam 0.1% Hinduism 0.1% Judaism 0.3% Sikhism 0.2% Buddhism 0.5% other 5.9% not stated
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	47UG (ONS) E07000239 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SO8264776847

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:^[2]

• 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Governance

Wyre Forest District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Paul Harrison, Conservative since 14 May 2025[5]
Leader	Marcus Hart, Conservative since 17 May 2023
Chief Executive	Ian Miller since December 2009[6]
Structure
Seats	33 Councillors
Political groups	Administration (20)   Conservative (20) Other parties (13)   Labour (3)   Liberal (2)   Green (1)   Independent (7)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Wyre Forest House, Finepoint Way, Kidderminster, DY11 7WF
Website
www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk

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.^[7]

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:^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

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:^[13][14]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Graham Smith[15]		Labour	1974	1975
Malcolm Cooper[16]		Conservative	1975	1979
Anthony Batchelor[17]		Liberal	1979	May 1983
Graham Ballinger[18]		Conservative	1983	1984
Anthony Batchelor		Liberal	1984	1985
Mike Oborski		Liberal	1985	1986
Gilbert Edwards		Liberal	1986	1989
Jamie Shaw[19][20]		Labour	1989	1994
Jane Bonnick[20][21]		Liberal Democrats	1994	1996
Jamie Shaw[21]		Labour	1996	1999
(no leader)			1999	2000
Mike Oborski[22]		Liberal	2000	15 May 2002
Liz Davies[23][24]		Health Concern	15 May 2002	14 May 2003
Howard Martin[24]		Health Concern	14 May 2003	2004
Stephen Clee[25]		Conservative	2004	May 2007
John Campion[26][27]		Conservative	16 May 2007	Mar 2014
Marcus Hart[28][29]		Conservative	2 Apr 2014	22 May 2019
Graham Ballinger[30][31]		Health Concern	22 May 2019	12 May 2021
Helen Dyke[32][33]		Independent	12 May 2021	May 2023
Marcus Hart[34]		Conservative	17 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election,^[35] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to April 2025, the composition of the council was:^[36][37]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	20
	Independent	7
	Labour	3
	Liberal	2
	Green	1
Total		33

The Green councillor sits in a group with the independents.^[38] The next election is due in 2027.^[37]

Premises

Stourport Civic Centre, New Street, Stourport-on-Severn: Council's headquarters until 2012.

The council is based at Wyre Forest House, which was purpose-built for the council and completed in 2012.^[39] 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.^[40]

Elections

See also: Wyre Forest 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.^[41]

Wards

Stourport-on-Severn, the second-largest settlement in the district.

The wards are:^[41]

• 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.^[42]

Demography

In Wyre Forest, the population size has increased by 3.7%, from around 98,000 in 2011 to 101,600 in 2021.^[43]

Parishes

Bewdley, best known for the Severn Valley Railway and its historic Georgian buildings is the third-largest settlement in the district

The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Bewdley, Kidderminster and Stourport-on-Severn take the style "town council".^[44]

• 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.

See also

• Wyre Forest District Council elections