Cannock Chase District

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering two former districts plus a single parish from a third, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Brindley Heath parish from Lichfield Rural District
• Cannock Urban District
• Rugeley Urban District

The new district was named Cannock Chase after the landscape and former royal forest which covers much of the area.

Governance

Labour Labour ;Administration (19) : Labour (19) ;Other parties (17) : : Green (5) : Reform UK (1)

Cannock Chase District Council, which styles itself "Cannock Chase Council", provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Staffordshire County Council. Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

The council's logo is a deer, referencing the area's past as a royal hunting forest and the fact that deer are common in the area. A survey in 2022 found that the deer population was growing.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2024 election.

The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1991 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent by-elections up to August 2025, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes took effect in 2024, the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 12 wards, 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. Staffordshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections.

The district covers the same area as the Cannock Chase (UK Parliament constituency). Until the 2010 general election the constituency also included the adjacent village of Huntington in South Staffordshire. From 2010 onwards the constituency has exactly the same boundaries as the district.

Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre on Beecroft Road in Cannock. The building was purpose-built for the council between 1978 and 1981.

Demography

According to data from the 2011 United Kingdom census, Cannock Chase has a population of 100,600, with 49,500 males and 51,100 females. 62.5% of the population is between the ages of 16–64, of which 88.7% is economically active, 11.2% above the West Midlands regional average.{{cite web | access-date = 6 July 2023}}

Media

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central (West) broadcasting from Birmingham. Television signals are received the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter.

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio WM
• BBC Radio Stoke can also be received.
• Heart West Midlands
• Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands
• Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire
• Smooth West Midlands
• Capital Midlands
• Hits Radio Birmingham
• Cannock Chase Radio FM, the district's community based station which broadcast from its studios in Cannock.

The Express & Star is the local newspaper that cover the district.

Towns and parishes

Much of the district is covered by eight civil parishes. The exception is certain parts of Cannock, which are unparished.

When the district was created in 1974 it only contained one parish, being Brindley Heath; the former Rugeley Urban District and Cannock Urban District were both unparished. In 1988 two parishes called Rugeley and Brereton were created covering the former Rugeley Urban District, and four parishes called Bridgtown, Cannock Wood, Heath Hayes and Wimblebury, and Norton Canes were created covering parts of the former Cannock Urban District. The parish of Hednesford was subsequently created in 2000 from another part of the former Cannock Urban District.

The parishes are:

• Brereton and Ravenhill
• Bridgtown
• Brindley Heath
• Cannock Wood
• Heath Hayes and Wimblebury
• Hednesford (town)
• Norton Canes
• Rugeley (town)

Other areas and settlements include:

• Chadsmoor
• Church Hill
• Hawks Green
• Hazelslade
• Littleworth
• Little Wyrley
• North Lanes
• Prospect Village
• Pye Green
• Rawnsley
• Slitting Mill

References

References

1. "Cannock Chase Local Authority".
2. "Walsall Demographics {{!}} Age, Ethnicity, Religion, Wellbeing".
3. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
4. {{cite legislation UK. (1973)
5. "Council minutes, 22 May 2024".
6. "Council minutes, 21 May 2025".
7. (22 May 2021). "Councils to share chief executive despite concern over splitting time between two boroughs". Stoke-on-Trent Live.
8. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
9. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
10. (15 April 2013). "Cannock Chase deer count suggests growing population". BBC News.
11. (3 May 2024). "Cannock Chase Council results in full as Labour take control after border changes". Express and Star.
12. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
13. (2008-04-19). "Cannock Chase". [[BBC News Online]].
14. (22 May 1991). "All change at council". Rugeley Mercury.
15. (12 May 1994). "Labour elect new leader". Rugeley Mercury.
16. (20 May 1999). "Chain gang is all change". Rugeley Mercury.
17. (29 May 2003). "New council leader as holder resigns from post". Cannock Chase Chronicle.
18. "Joint waste management board minutes, 8 April 2005".
19. (6 May 2011). "Cannock Lib Dem leader loses to Labour's Gordon Brown". BBC News.
20. (8 May 2021). "Tories take control of Cannock Chase District Council after nine gains". Express and Star.
21. (11 April 2022). "Cannock Chase Labour stalwart retires after a quarter of a century in politics". Express and Star.
22. "Council minutes, 19 May 2021".
23. (7 April 2023). "Cannock Chase Council elections: Full list of candidates standing in this year's poll". Express and Star.
24. "Council minutes, 24 May 2023".
25. (3 May 2024). "Cannock Chase election result". [[BBC News]].
26. "Cannock Chase". Thorncliffe.
27. {{cite legislation UK. (2023)
28. "Cannock Chase Council".
29. (1 August 1981). "Royal brick graces new HQ". Rugeley Times.
30. (1 May 2004). "Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitter".
31. "Cannock Chase Radio".
32. (12 February 2014). "Express & Star".
33. "Parish and Town Councils".
34. "Cannock Chase (Parishes) Order 1987". The National Archives.
35. "Cannock Chase Registration District".