Warwick District | |
|---|---|
 Leamington Spa, the largest settlement in the district. | |
 Shown withinWarwickshire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Administrative county | Warwickshire |
| Admin. HQ | Leamington Spa |
| Government | |
| • MPs: | Matt Western (L) Jeremy Wright (C) |
| Area | |
• Total | 109 sq mi (283 km2) |
| • Rank | 124th |
| Population | |
• Total | 148,500 |
| • Rank | 143rd |
| • Density | 1,360/sq mi (524/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ONS code | 44UF (ONS) E07000222 (GSS) |
Warwick is alocal government district inWarwickshire,England. It is named after the historiccounty town ofWarwick, which is the district's second largest town; the largest town is RoyalLeamington Spa, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns ofKenilworth andWhitnash and surrounding villages and rural areas. Leamington Spa, Warwick and Whitnash form a conurbation which has about two thirds of the district's population.[2]
The neighbouring districts areRugby,Stratford-on-Avon,Solihull andCoventry.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. The new district was formed through the merger of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[3]
The new district was named Warwick after the county town.[4]
Proposals to merge the district with neighbouring Stratford-on-Avon District were put forward in 2021 and provisionally agreed, before eventually being abandoned in April 2022.[5][6]
Warwick Avon District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Chris Elliott since 2006[8] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 44 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Town Hall, The Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AT | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Warwick District Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byWarwickshire County Council.[9] The whole district is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[10]
The council has been underno overall control since 2019. Following the2023 election a coalition of the Greens and Labour formed to run the council, led by Green councillor Ian Davison.[11]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing councils before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:[12][13]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1995 | |
| No overall control | 1995–2007 | |
| Conservative | 2007–2019 | |
| No overall control | 2019–present | |
Theleaders of the council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Rawnsley[14] | Conservative | 1974 | May 1991 | |
| Tony Dalton[15][16] | Conservative | May 1991 | May 1995 | |
| Ian Dove[17][18][19] | Labour | 1995 | Apr 2000 | |
| Margaret Begg[20][21] | Liberal Democrats | 19 Apr 2000 | May 2001 | |
| Ian Dove[21][22] | Labour | May 2001 | Apr 2002 | |
| Bob Crowther[23][24] | Labour | 24 Apr 2002 | 2007 | |
| Michael Coker[25][26] | Conservative | 16 May 2007 | 2008 | |
| Michael Doody[27][28] | Conservative | 14 May 2008 | 4 Dec 2013 | |
| Andrew Mobbs[29][30] | Conservative | 4 Dec 2013 | May 2019 | |
| Andrew Day[31][32] | Conservative | 15 May 2019 | May 2023 | |
| Ian Davison[33] | Green | 17 May 2023 | ||
Following the2023 election,[34] and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to September 2025, the composition of the council is:[35]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 16 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 10 | |
| Labour | 7 | |
| Conservative | 5 | |
| Whitnash Residents Association | 3 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Total | 44 | |
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 44councillors representing 17wards with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[36]
Council meetings are usually held atLeamington Spa Town Hall on The Parade, which had been built in 1884 for the old Leamington Borough Council, and which is also the council's official registered address.[37][38] The council also has offices at 1 Saltisford Office Park in Warwick, and the customer services reception is at theRoyal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa.[39]
From 2000 until 2024, the council had its main offices at Riverside House on Milverton Hill in Leamington, close to theRiver Leam, which had been built in 1984 as the headquarters of theLeamington Spa Building Society, and was subsequently bought by the council in 2000.[40][41][42] Riverside House closed in 2024 and was subsequently sold and demolished.[43]
On 27 June 2019 the elected members at the Full Council meeting declared a "climate emergency" in response to ongoing globalclimate change. The council aims to becomecarbon neutral by 2025, whilst trying to make the whole district carbon neutral by 2030.[44] On 20 January 2020 it was announced thatelectric cars would be given free parking in council car parks.[45] On 4 February of that year it was proposed by the council group leaders to increasecouncil tax by around £1 a week on Band D properties to create £3 million per year. This would bering-fenced for environmental purposes. If this proposal was accepted by the other councillors then a district widereferendum would have been held on 7 May to decide if the public accept it.[46] On 26 February the full council unanimously agreed the proposal, triggering the 7 May referendum,[47] – which was put back to 6 May 2021, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. As of April 2022[update] the referendum has not yet occurred and no date has been set.
| Ethnic Group | 2001[48] | 2011[49] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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[50] | 2011[51] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
The district has sixrailway stations –Warwick,Warwick Parkway,Leamington Spa,Kenilworth,Hatton andLapworth. Regular bus services run between Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth and onwards toCoventry,Stratford upon Avon and theUniversity of Warwick. TheGrand Union Canal flows through the district and theM40 motorway also passes through. Right on the edge of the district isCoventry Airport.
National Health Service general healthcare is provided bySouth Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and mental health care byCoventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust. Local hospitals includeWarwick Hospital, theLeamington Spa Hospital,[52]St Michael's Hospital and theWarwickshire Nuffield Hospital (non-NHS, part of theNuffield Health group)[53] Historic hospitals includedSt Michael's Leper Hospital,Warneford Hospital andCentral Hospital. In 2021 aCOVID-19 "mega lab" was opened in the town, named after English chemistRosalind Franklin. The largest laboratory of its kind in the UK,[54] it failed to reach projected performance goals and closed without ceremony in January 2023.[55]Social services andfostering are dealt with on a countywide basis byWarwickshire County Council.
The district is divided into 32civil parishes, which cover the whole area. The parish councils for Kenilworth, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick and Whitnash have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". The small parish of Bushwood has aparish meeting rather than a parish council. The parishes are:[58]
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