Warwick District

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Warwick District
Non-metropolitan district
Shown within Warwickshire
Shown within Warwickshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionWest Midlands
Administrative countyWarwickshire
Admin. HQLeamington Spa
Government
 • Leadership:Leader and cabinet
 • MPs:Matt Western (L)
Jeremy Wright (C)
Area
 • Total109.2 sq mi (282.9 km2)
Area rank138th
Population
 (mid-2019 est.)
 • Total143,753
 • RankRanked 148th
 • Density1,300/sq mi (510/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code44UF (ONS)
E07000222 (GSS)
Ethnicity89.2% White (83.4% White British)
7.2% Asian
0.7% Black
2.1% Mixed Race
0.9% Other [1]
Websitewarwickdc.gov.uk

Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. It borders Rugby Borough and Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands County (of which Coventry and Solihull are within the historic boundaries of Warwickshire). The City of Coventry is to the north and northeast, the Stratford-on-Avon District to the southwest and south, the Borough of Rugby to the east, and the Borough of Solihull to the west and northwest.

The district is centred around a conurbation that includes the towns of Warwick, Leamington Spa and Whitnash which had a population of 95,000 ([2]). The district also includes the town of Kenilworth and the surrounding rural areas. In February 2021 is was announced that both Warwick District councillors and their Stratford counterparts had "agreed the next steps towards closer working between both District Councils, which could see a recommendation to Government for a merger of the two councils in July 2024."[3]

History[]

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the former Leamington Spa and Warwick municipal boroughs, the Kenilworth urban district and the Warwick Rural District.[4]

Politics[]

The current leader of the district council is Conservative Party member Andrew Day.[5] The council is currently in no overall control, but the Conservatives run the administration through an agreement with the Whitnash Residents Association. Conservatives have 19 councillors, the Liberal Democrats have 9 councillors, the Green Party 8 councillors, Labour 5 Councillors with the remaining 3 councillors are part of the Whitnash Residents Association.[6] The district council headquarters are in Leamington Spa. It employs more than 500 people in a four-storey building close to the River Leam. The district council deals with issues such as waste management, the collection of council tax, planning/building regulations, council housing and council house repairs. In April 2016 the council announced its plans to move their headquarters nearer the town centre,[7] however in February 2019 plans were put on hold,[8] and as of July 2021 no decision had been made and is unlikely due to the probably merger with Stratford District.

The political makeup of Warwick District Council following the 2019 local elections is as follows:[9]

Conservative Lib Dem Green Labour Whitnash Residents Association
Seats 19 9 8 5 3
Votes 29.4% 23.5% 22.5% 19.5% 3.9%

In August 2020 Warwickshire County Council put forward proposals for the five district and borough councils in the county to be abolished and replaced with a singe county-wide unitary authority.[10] This prompted a backlash from the district and borough councils who commissioned their own report, which argued in favour of Warwickshire being split into two unitary authorities, one for the north of the county, covering the current districts of North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Rugby, and one for the south of the county, covering Warwick and Stratford districts.[11] In September 2020, it was agreed that both proposals would be sent for consideration to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.[12] In February 2021 is was announced that both Warwick District councillors and their Stratford counterparts had "agreed the next steps towards closer working between both District Councils, which could see a recommendation to Government for a merger of the two councils in July 2024."[13] The joint council is expected to be called South Warwickshire District Council and as such early summer 2021 saw a South Warwickshire Local Plan to replace the two existing plans.[14]

The Environment[]

On 27 June 2019 the elected members at the Full Council meeting declared a "climate emergency" in response to ongoing global climate change. The council aims to become carbon neutral by 2025, whilst trying to make the whole district carbon neutral by 2030.[15] On 20 January 2020 it was announced that electric cars would be given free parking in council car parks.[16] On 4 February of that year it was proposed by the Council group leaders to increase council tax by around £1 a week on Band D properties to create £3 million per year. This would be ring-fenced for environmental purposes. If this proposal was accepted by the other councillors then a district wide referendum would have been held on 7 May to decide if the public accept it.[17] On 26 February the full council unanimously agreed the proposal, triggering the 7 May referendum,[18] - which was put back to 6 May 2021, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 2021 the referendum has not yet occurred and no date has been set.

Demography[]

Ethnic Group 2001[19] 2011[20]
Number % Number %
White: British 111,043 88.19% 114,739 83.36%
White: Irish 2,525 2.01% 2,146 1.56%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 41 0.03%
White: Other 3,448 2.74% 5,789 4.21%
White: Total 117,016 92.94% 122,715 89.15%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 5,218 4.14% 6,745 4.90%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 222 0.18% 480 0.35%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 22 0.02% 69 0.05%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 521 0.41% 1,155 0.84%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 435 0.35% 1,496 1.09%
Asian or Asian British: Total 6,418 5.10% 9,945 7.22%
Black or Black British: Caribbean 360 0.29% 389 0.28%
Black or Black British: African 168 0.13% 474 0.34%
Black or Black British: Other Black 59 0.05% 110 0.08%
Black or Black British: Total 587 0.47% 973 0.71%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 506 0.40% 861 0.63%
Mixed: White and Black African 93 0.07% 233 0.17%
Mixed: White and Asian 503 0.40% 1,070 0.78%
Mixed: Other Mixed 281 0.22% 639 0.46%
Mixed: Total 1,383 1.10% 2,803 2.04%
Other: Arab 231 0.17%
Other: Any other ethnic group 981 0.71%
Other: Total 504 0.40% 1,212 0.88%
BAME: Total 8,892 7.06% 14,933 10.85%
Total 125,908 100.00% 137,648 100.00%
Religion 2001[21] 2011[22]
Number % Number %
Christian 89,763 71.28% 80,185 58.25%
Buddhist 347 0.28% 521 0.38%
Hindu 848 0.67% 1,633 1.19%
Jewish 207 0.16% 268 0.19%
Muslim 630 0.50% 1,299 0.94%
Sikh 4,239 3.37% 5,373 3.90%
Other religion 355 0.28% 531 0.39%
No religion 20,494 16.27% 37,859 27.50%
Religion not stated 9,051 7.19% 9,979 7.25%
Total 125,934 100.00% 137,648 100.00%

Tourism and leisure[]

Warwick Castle (May 2016)

Two of the most well known tourist attractions in the district are Warwick Castle and Kenilworth Castle, the first being well-preserved and the second now a ruin as a result of the English Civil War. Also of interest are the National Trust properties Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House. The Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington is a cultural and tourist attraction with services including Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum and there are several museums in Warwick.

The motte-and-bailey castle at Warwick Castle

All three of the district's main towns, Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth, have many hotels, two of the better known ones being The Regent Hotel and a Hilton Hotel at Warwick. Warwick Racecourse hosts televised meetings several times a year and the English men and women's lawn bowls championships takes place in Victoria Park, Leamington each year.

There are three public swimming pools and three leisure centres in the district as well as many public open spaces, the most well known being Leamington's Jephson Gardens and Newbold Comyn, Warwick St Nicholas' Park and Kenilworth's Abbey Fields. There is a public pay-per-play golf course within Warwick Racecourse and private courses at Whitnash, Stoneleigh and Leek Wootton. The biggest football teams in the area are Leamington F.C. and Racing Club Warwick. A disc golf club is located between Leamington and Old Milverton, a petanque club in Whitnash and public tennis courts in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth. There have been four Green Flag Awards given to sites in the district: Crackley Woods in Kenilworth, Foundry Wood and Jephson Gardens in Leamington, and Oakley Wood near Bishop's Tachbrook.

All three towns have their own amateur theatres including the Talisman and Priory (Kenilworth), the Loft Theatre Company (Leamington), and The Bridge House Theatre (Warwick School). In addition, Playbox Theatre Company based in Warwick, works specifically with young people and Heartbreak Productions runs a programme of outdoor events, mainly in the summer months. The Royal Spa Centre is the district's large scale professional theatre and runs a programme of theatre, drama, comedy, film and community events in its 794-seat main house and 160-seat studio theatre which doubles as a single screen cinema. The district's other, larger cinema, a six screen Vue, is also in Leamington and has 898 seats.

Travel, Education & Healthcare[]

The district has six railway stations – Warwick, Warwick Parkway, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Hatton and Lapworth. Regular bus services run between Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth and onwards to Coventry, Stratford upon Avon and the University of Warwick. The Grand Union Canal flows through the district and the M40 motorway also passes through. Right on the edge of the district is found Coventry Airport at Baginton.

There are five mixed sex comprehensive schools for pupils aged 11–18 in the district: Aylesford School and Myton School (both Warwick), Campion School and North Leamington School (Leamington) and Kenilworth School. In addition there are four private senior schools: Warwick School (boys), The King's High School for Girls (in Warwick), The Kingsley School (girls, in Leamington) and Arnold Lodge School (mixed, in Leamington). Evergreen School, located on two sites in Warwick, is a special school providing education for children from reception to sixth form. Further education is provided by Warwickshire College's Leamington site and half of the campus of the University of Warwick is found on the edge of the district.

National Health Service general healthcare is provided by South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and mental health care by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust. Local hospitals include Warwick Hospital, the Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital,[23] St Michael's Hospital and the Warwickshire Nuffield Hospital (non-NHS, part of the Nuffield Health group)[24] Social services is pro On 13 July 2021 a coronavirus "mega lab" was opened in the town. Named after English chemist Rosalind Franklin. The site is expected to be capable of processing "hundreds of thousands of samples a day". The largest laboratory of its kind in the UK, and it is hoped it will create up to 1,500 jobs. It will also play a "key role in responding to new variants of the virus".[25] Historic hospitals included St Michael's Leper Hospital, Warneford Hospital and Central Hospital. Social services and fostering are dealt with on a countywide basis by Warwickshire County Council.

Freedom of district[]

Parishes and settlements[]

The Warwick district includes the settlements and Parishes of:

Electoral wards[]

This is a guide to the size of the wards in Warwick District based on the data from the 2001 UK Census. The entire population of the district was 125,929.

Rank Ward Population
1 Brunswick 9,299
2 Willes 8,601
3 Warwick South 8,569
4 Warwick North 8,488
5 Warwick West 8,377
6 Milverton 8,269
7 Manor 8,162
8 Park Hill 8,124
9 Whitnash 7,796
10 Abbey 7,552
11 St John's 7,543
12 Crown 5,829
13 Cubbington 5,777
14 Budbrooke 5,223
15 Clarendon 4,954
16 Stoneleigh 3,049
17 Lapworth 2,870
18 Bishop's Tachbrook 2,514
19 Radford Semele 2,494
20 Leek Wootton 2,439

N.B. Ward populations will differ from the village population which they are named after and which they are linked to as ward boundaries very rarely match village boundaries exactly. The Warwick (Electoral Changes) Order 2014 redrew the electoral boundaries in 2014, abolishing many of those outlined above.[28]

References[]

  1. ^ http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls
  2. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Royal Leamington Spa Built-up area (E34004841)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Councillors give the go ahead for working together with Warwick District Council". 25 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Warwickshire Civic Heraldry". Civic heraldry. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Warwick DC". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Political structure". Warwick District Council. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Warwick District Council set to agree HQ move". leamingtonobserver.co.uk. Leamington Observer. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Latest on plans to relocate council to Leamington town centre - and what could happen next". www.coventrytelegraph.net. Coventry Telegraph. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Local elections". www.warwickdc.gov.uk. Warwick District Council. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Local councils in Warwickshire could be scrapped". Coventry Telegraph. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Warwickshire could be split into north and south councils". Rugby Advertiser. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  12. ^ "After a seven-hour long meeting, councillors decide on the next step for the future of local councils in Warwickshire". Rugby Advertiser. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Councillors give the go ahead for working together with Warwick District Council". 25 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  14. ^ "The South Warwickshire Local Plan". Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Warwick District Council declares a climate emergency". Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Council to offer free parking for electric vehicles". Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Warwick District's Climate Emergency Action Programme". Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Residents in Warwickshire to vote on council tax rise for climate change fund". 26 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Ethnic Group by measures". NOMIS. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Ethnic Group by measures". NOMIS. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  21. ^ "Religion". Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  22. ^ "QS208EW - Religion". Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  23. ^ "How Leamington Rehab Hospital's friends make the road to recovery smoother for patients". Leamington Courier. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Nuffield Hospital Warwick". NHS Choices. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  25. ^ "Covid-19: Leamington Spa 'mega lab' opens to speed up testing". BBC News. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Warwick Freedom Scroll" (JPG). www.calligraphyanddesign.com. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Fusiliers granted freedom of Warwick District". BBC News. BBC. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  28. ^ "Wards of the district of Warwick and number of councillors". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2019.

External links[]

Coordinates: 52°17′22″N 1°32′37″W / 52.2894°N 1.5435°W / 52.2894; -1.5435

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