Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Paul Johnson since July 2023[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 51 councillors[3] |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Motto | |
| Urbs in Rure | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council House, Manor Square, Solihull, B91 3QB | |
| Website | |
| solihull | |
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, also known asSolihull Council, is thelocal authority for theMetropolitan Borough of Solihull in theWest Midlands, England. It is ametropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of theWest Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.
The council has been underConservative majority control since 2011. It is based at the Council House on Manor Square inSolihull.
Until 1932, the town of Solihull was administered as arural parish with a parish council subordinate to the larger SolihullRural District Council. As Solihull rapidly developed in the twentieth century, it was promoted to higher statuses within the administrative hierarchy, becoming anurban district in 1932, then amunicipal borough in 1954, and then acounty borough in 1964, taking over county-level functions fromWarwickshire County Council.[4]
The modernmetropolitan borough and its council were established in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, as one of seven boroughs in the new metropolitan county of the West Midlands. The new borough covered the combined area of the old county borough of Solihull plus ten parishes from theMeriden Rural District and one parish (Hockley Heath) from the Stratford-on-Avon Rural District.[5] The enlarged district was named Solihull, and theborough status previously held by the county borough passed to the new district on its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Solihull's series of mayors dating back to its first incorporation as a borough in 1954.[6][7]
From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by theWest Midlands County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the county's seven borough councils, including Solihull, with some services provided through joint committees.[8]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of theWest Midlands Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly electedMayor of the West Midlands since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the county, but Solihull Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.[9][10]
Solihull Council providesmetropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the West Midlands Combined Authority; the leader and deputy leader of the council sit on the board of the combined authority as Solihull's representatives.[11] Parts of the borough are covered bycivil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas.[12]
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2011.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[13][14]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1991 | |
| No overall control | 1991–2000 | |
| Conservative | 2000–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007–2008 | |
| Conservative | 2008–2010 | |
| No overall control | 2010–2011 | |
| Conservative | 2011–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Solihull. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Wynne Rees[15][16] | Conservative | 1 Apr 1974 | May 1982 | |
| Bob Meacham[16][17] | Conservative | May 1982 | 17 Oct 1990 | |
| Fraser Mitchell[17][18] | Conservative | 17 Oct 1990 | 17 May 1993 | |
| Ken Meeson[18][19] | Conservative | 17 May 1993 | May 1996 | |
| Mick Corser[20][21] | Labour | 13 May 1996 | May 1999 | |
| Ted Richards[22][23] | Conservative | 17 May 1999 | May 2007 | |
| Ken Meeson[24][25] | Conservative | 15 May 2007 | May 2010 | |
| Ian Hedley[26][27][28] | Liberal Democrats | 25 May 2010 | 24 May 2011 | |
| Ken Meeson[28][29] | Conservative | 24 May 2011 | 10 Jun 2014 | |
| Bob Sleigh[29][30] | Conservative | 10 Jun 2014 | 2 May 2019 | |
| Ian Courts[31][32] | Conservative | 14 May 2019 | 13 May 2025 | |
| Karen Grinsell[1] | Conservative | 13 May 2025 | ||
Following the2024 election,[33] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to August 2025, the composition of the council was:[34][35]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 28 | |
| Green | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 8 | |
| Reform UK | 3 | |
| Labour | 1 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Total | 51 | |
Four of the independents formed the "Solihull Independents" group after defecting from the Conservatives in May 2025. Three of these later joined Reform UK in September 2025 and the "Solihull Independents" group was disbanded at the same time[36]. The next election is due in May 2026.[35]
TheGreen Party has been the largest opposition party since 2014.[37]
Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 51councillors representing 17wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.[38]
The council is based at the Council House on Manor Square in the centre of Solihull and adjoining buildings, notably including Church Hill House and the Civic Suite. The latter includes the council chamber and forms part of the same building as the town's register office. Church Hill House was completed in 1967 and the Civic Suite followed in 1968, both being purpose-built for the old borough council.[39][40] The Council House (originally called Orchard House) was subsequently built in front of Church Hill House, opening in 1989.[41][42]
