Wolverhampton City Council

City of Wolverhampton Council

The coat of arms of the City of Wolverhampton
Type Local Government
Headquarters Civic Centre
Location
  • St. Peter's Square, Wolverhampton, England
Region served
City of Wolverhampton
Leader
 Councillor Roger Lawerence
Mayor
 Councillor Barry Findlay
Key people
 Keith Ireland – Chief Executive
Website wolverhampton.gov.uk
Formerly called
 Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council & Wolverhampton City Council

City of Wolverhampton Council is the governing body of the City of Wolverhampton, England.

The council offices are located in the Civic Centre, which is located in St. Peter's Square in the city centre.[1]

The Labour Party currently control the council and have been in majority on the council since 1974, with the exceptions of 1978–1979, 1987, 1992–1994 and 2008–2010.[2]

Councillor Deputy Barry Findlay of the Conservatives is the city's Mayor 2016–17 municipal year, with his Deputy who will take on the role for 2017–18 being Councillor Elias Mattu of Labour Party.

City of Wolverhampton Council was assessed in 2007 by the Audit Commission and judged to be "improving well" in providing services for local people; this rating was given to 59% of local authorities. Overall, the council was awarded "three star" status meaning it was "performing well" and "consistently above minimum requirements", similar to 46% of all local authorities. It was noted that it was rated as "good" for children's and young people's services; whilst the Supporting People programme was judged to be "poor".[3]

The Council's housing stock is managed by Wolverhampton Homes.[4]

Council affiliation

Affiliation Members[5]
Current
Labour 49
Conservative 10
UKIP 1
Total number of seats 60
Actual majority 11

Wards

There are 20 wards of City of Wolverhampton Council:

Ward name Area (ha)/mi2 Population
(2011 census)[6]		 Population
(2001 census)		 Population change
Bilston East 384 hectares (1.48 sq mi) 13,363 10,741[7] +24.41%
Bilston North 290 hectares (1.1 sq mi) 12,213 13,527[8] −9.71%
Blakenhall 342 hectares (1.32 sq mi) 12,022 11,301[9] +6.38%
Bushbury North 481 hectares (1.86 sq mi) 11,936 12,021[10] −0.71%
Bushbury South and Low Hill 342 hectares (1.32 sq mi) 14,983 14,103[11] +6.24%
East Park 342 hectares (1.32 sq mi) 12,497 10,452[12] +19.57%
Ettingshall 417 hectares (1.61 sq mi) 13,482 10,839[13] +24.38%
Fallings Park 244 hectares (0.94 sq mi) 12,410 10,996[14] +12.86%
Graiseley 225 hectares (0.87 sq mi) 12,284 11,691[15] +5.07%
Heath Town 270 hectares (1.0 sq mi) 13,965 10,876[16] +28.40%
Merry Hill 246 hectares (0.95 sq mi) 12,189 11,893[17] +2.49%
Oxley 421 hectares (1.63 sq mi) 12,797 12,848[18] −0.39%
Park 385 hectares (1.49 sq mi) 12,294 12,844[19] −4.28%
Penn 308 hectares (1.19 sq mi) 12,718 12,392[20] +2.63%
St Peter's 496 hectares (1.92 sq mi) 12,645 14,472[21] −12.62%
Spring Vale 327 hectares (1.26 sq mi) 12,243 12,588[22] −2.74%
Tettenhall Regis 457 hectares (1.76 sq mi) 11,911 12,000[23] −0.74%
Tettenhall Wightwick 436 hectares (1.68 sq mi) 10,872 10,832[24] +0.37%
Wednesfield North 210 hectares (0.81 sq mi) 11,235 10,978[25] +2.34%
Wednesfield South 437 hectares (1.69 sq mi) 11,411 11,195[26] +1.93%
Wolverhampton City Council area 6,944 hectares (26.81 sq mi) 249,470 236,582 +5.45%

A map showing the ward boundaries is available.[27]

History

Wolverhampton in 1921
The old Town Hall (magistrates court)

Wolverhampton gained the beginnings of modern local government in 1777, when the Wolverhampton Improvement Act was passed by Parliament. This allowed for the establishment of 125 Town Commissioners who undertook a variety of local improvement work such as punishing bear baiting, improving drainage, widening streets and by the end of the century street lighting had been provided at every street corner and over the doorway of every inn, and water supply had been improved by the sinking of ten new wells and the provision of a great water tank in the market place. Policing had been improved with the appointment of ten watchmen and attempts were also made to regulate the markets and inspect hazardous food.[28][29]

Wolverhampton was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1849 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.[30] The town was then made a County Borough in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888.[30]

In 1933, the boundaries of the borough expanded, taking in areas from Cannock Rural District and Seisdon Rural District, with very little of the surrounding urban area being affected,[31] with only Heath Town Urban District being abolished.

The bulk of the urban districts of Bilston (a borough itself after 1933), Tettenhall and Wednesfield were added to the borough in 1966, along with the northern section of the urban district of Coseley and parts from the north of Sedgley and the west of Willenhall. The vast majority of these areas were traditionally part of the Parish of Wolverhampton, and were part of the original Parliamentary Borough.[31]

Wolverhampton was one of only two County Boroughs (the other being Liverpool) to have no changes made to the boundary during the 1974 reorganisation of local government, the borough already having a population larger than the 250,000 required for education authorities. This contrasted with both the Redcliffe-Maud Report, and the initial White Paper for the 1974 reforms[32] where large areas of the present South Staffordshire district were to be added to the borough. During the 1974 reforms it was placed within the West Midlands Metropolitan County.

Coat of arms

Commemorative plaque showing the coat of arms of Wolverhampton Council pre 1898

The coat of arms of City of Wolverhampton Council was granted on 31 December 1898, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the council.[33]

The various symbols within the arms are representative of the history of the city. The book represents the education within the city, specifically the 16th century Wolverhampton Grammar School;[33] the woolpack represents the mediaeval woollen trade within the city;[33] the column is a representation of the Saxon pillar that can be found within the churchyard of St. Peter's Collegiate Church in the city centre;[33] whilst the keys are representative of the church itself and its dedication to St. Peter.[33] The padlock represents one of the major industries of the area at the time of the granting of the arms – that of lock-making;[33] whilst the brazier at the top is indicative of the general metal-working industries in the area.[33] The cross is ascribed to King Edgar.[33]

The motto on the coat of arms is 'Out of Darkness Cometh Light'.[33]

Prior to 1898 there was a former coat of arms that had been in use since 1848, though these arms were never officially granted.[34]

Lender option borrower option loans

City of Wolverhampton Council has 21 long term lender option borrower option loans (LOBOs) worth £93.8 million with interest rates of between 3.6% and 4.95%. Projected repayments are £273.8 million at £4 million repayment per year.[35]

References

  1. ↑ "City of Wolverhampton Council: Contact Us". Wolverhampton City Council. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Wolverhampton City Council local elections 2008". BBC Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  3. ↑ "Wolverhampton City Council comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) scorecard 2007". Audit Commission. 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  4. ↑ "Looking for a council house". Wolverhampton City Council. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "Current State of the Parties". http:/wolverhampton.gov.uk/home. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Thematic Map showing Usual Resident Population (KS101EW)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  7. ↑ "Bilston East ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  8. ↑ "Bilston North ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  9. ↑ "Blakenhall ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  10. ↑ "Bushbury North ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  11. ↑ "Bushbury South and Low Hill ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "East Park ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "Ettingshall ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  14. ↑ "Fallings Park ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  15. ↑ "Graiseley ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  16. ↑ "Heath Town ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  17. ↑ "Merry Hill ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  18. ↑ "Oxley ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  19. ↑ "Park ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  20. ↑ "Penn ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  21. ↑ "St. Peter's ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  22. ↑ "Spring Vale ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  23. ↑ "Tettenhall Regis ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  24. ↑ "Tettenhall Wightwick ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  25. ↑ "Wednesfield North ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  26. ↑ "Wednesfield South ward dataset – Population Density (UV02)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  27. ↑ http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2D475038-2A79-4A18-B20A-0CD2EC72C816/0/wards.pdf
  28. ↑ Keith Farley (1985). "Wolverhampton 985 – 1985". Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  29. ↑ "Local Government in Wolverhampton". The History of Wolverhampton – The City and its People. 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  30. 1 2 "Archive Gazetter – Wolverhampton". Staffordshire County Archives. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  31. 1 2 "Relationships / unit history of WOLVERHAMPTON". A Vision of Britain. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  32. ↑ HMSO. Local Government in England: Government Proposals for Reorganisation. Cmnd. 4584
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Wolverhampton Coat of Arms – Wolverhampton History". Wolverhampton City Council. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  34. ↑ Wolverhampton Borough Council Coat of Arms
  35. ↑ 27 August 2015 Express & Star Revealed: Wolverhampton council loans to cost £270 million
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