25-628: Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire , England . Its council is based in Malvern , the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Tenbury Wells and Upton-upon-Severn and a large rural area covering much of the western side of the county, including numerous villages. The district is named after the Malvern Hills , which are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The district
50-460: A level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government . As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four principal types of district-level subdivision. There are a total of 296 districts made up of 36 metropolitan boroughs , 32 London boroughs , 164 two-tier non-metropolitan districts and 62 unitary authorities , as well as
75-414: A shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. A shadow authority was again elected in 1997 ahead of the significant district boundary changes which came into effect on 1 April 1998. Political control of the district council since 1974 has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 2000 have been: Following the 2023 election the composition of
100-457: A single district, but have non-metropolitan county councils with no district council. In practice, these function in the same way as other unitary authorities. Berkshire is unusual, being the only non-metropolitan county, with no county council, that has more than one unitary authority district within it, each of which is not a county. The 32 London boroughs are sub-divisions of Greater London . They were established in 1965. Between 1965 and 1986
125-453: A two-tier non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire. The parishes from Malvern Hills district which had been the rural districts of Bromyard and Ledbury prior to 1974 were transferred to the new Herefordshire authority, whilst the parishes which had been the old Tenbury Rural District were added to Malvern Hills District from the abolished Leominster District. As such the boundary between Worcestershire and Herefordshire as re-established in 1998
150-668: A two-tier structure of government existed in Greater London and the boroughs shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). When the GLC was abolished in 1986 they gained similar status to the unitary authorities. In 2000 the Greater London Authority was established and a two-tier structure was restored, albeit with a change to the balance of powers and responsibilities. Each London borough
175-539: Is almost identical to the pre-1974 boundary, the only exception being a small area containing Park Wood which had been transferred from Mathon to West Malvern in 1986 and so went to Malvern District and Worcestershire rather than Herefordshire. Following the boundary changes in 1998, the hills after which the district is named now lie principally along its western edges. Malvern Hills District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Worcestershire County Council . The whole district
200-415: Is covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. Since 2014 the council has shared a chief executive and other staff with neighbouring Wychavon District Council . The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Since 2020 the administration has been a coalition of the independents and Greens. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as
225-591: Is famous for its fishing and runs across the northern half of the district, from Tenbury Wells , to its confluence with the River Severn near Worcester , close to the site of the Battle of Worcester . Historically, the Teme Valley was famous for its orchards and hop yards, though these declined during the second half of the 20th century, with some revival since c. 2000 . The River Severn forms
250-529: The City of London and the Isles of Scilly which are also districts but do not correspond to any of these other categories. Some districts are styled as cities , boroughs or royal boroughs ; these are purely honorific titles and do not alter the status of the district or the powers of their councils. All boroughs and cities (and a few districts) are led by a mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected by
275-521: The Council House on Avenue Road in Malvern. It was built between 1874 and 1880 as a house. It later served as a school from 1909 until 1925, when it was bought by the former Malvern Urban District Council and converted to become their headquarters, passing to Malvern Hills District Council on its creation in 1974. The Malvern Hills themselves form the border between, and offer scenic views over,
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#1732779706579300-503: The County of London . The setting-down of the current structure of districts in England began in 1965, when Greater London and its 32 London boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use. In 1974, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties (also known as " shire counties ") were created across the rest of England and were split into metropolitan districts and non-metropolitan districts . The status of
325-459: The London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in 1986, when they absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council , which were abolished. Since 2000, powers are again shared (on a different basis) with the Greater London Authority . During the 1990s a further kind of district was created, the unitary authority , which combined
350-489: The basis for sanitary provision . In 1894, based on these earlier subdivisions, the Local Government Act 1894 created urban districts and rural districts as sub-divisions of administrative counties , which had been created in 1889. At the same time, parish-level local government administration was transferred to civil parishes . Another reform in 1900 created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of
375-454: The council was: The independents all sit together as the "Democratic Independent" group, which forms the council's administration with the Greens. The next election is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 31 councillors representing 18 wards , each electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council is based at
400-606: The counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire . The district includes approximately half of the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (prior to the 1998 alterations to its boundary, it covered most of the AONB). The district bounds onto the counties of Gloucestershire , Herefordshire and Shropshire , as well as the Worcestershire districts of Wychavon, Worcester and Wyre Forest . The River Teme
425-435: The creation of single-tier unitary authorities in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, their numbers were reduced to 164 by 2023. These single-tier non-metropolitan districts are responsible for running all local services in their areas, combining county and district functions. They were created in the mid-1990s, and often cover large towns and cities as this is deemed more efficient than a two-tier structure. In addition, some of
450-438: The district council, but—after local government reform—is occasionally a directly elected mayor who makes most of the policy decisions instead of the council. Before the establishment of districts in the 1890s, the basic unit of local government in England was the parish, overseen by the parish church vestry committee . Vestries dealt with the administration of both parochial and secular governmental matters. Parishes were
475-539: The eastern boundary of the district (with Wychavon ) between Stourport and Worcester, whilst to the south of Worcester the district includes parishes to the east of the Severn; the river is also popular with anglers and has public navigation rights. The area has a significant spa heritage and Malvern water is bottled and distributed commercially worldwide. The spa buildings (The Pump Rooms) survive at Tenbury Wells and many free spring water sources are available to
500-573: The functions and status of county and district. Metropolitan boroughs are a subdivision of a metropolitan county . These are similar to unitary authorities, as the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the districts but some services are run by joint boards and organisations. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million. Non-metropolitan districts are second-tier authorities, which share power with county councils . They are subdivisions of shire counties and
525-479: The most common type of district. These districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000. In this two-tier system, county councils are responsible for some local services, such as education, social services, and roads, while district councils run other services, such as waste collection, local planning, and council housing . The number of two-tier non-metropolitan districts (also known as shire districts ) has varied over time. Initially, there were 296; after
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#1732779706579550-568: The public in and around Malvern . In the east of the district is Croome Court , a significant National Trust property. The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Malvern, Tenbury and Upton-upon-Severn have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". The parishes are: 52°11′N 2°20′W / 52.18°N 2.34°W / 52.18; -2.34 Districts of England The districts of England (officially, local authority districts , abbreviated LADs ) are
575-547: The smaller counties such as Rutland , Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight are unitary authorities. There are a total of 62 unitary authorities, the latest ones introduced in 2023. Unitary authority areas are a type of non-metropolitan district; most are established as individual counties containing a single district, with a district council but no county council. Cornwall , Durham , the Isle of Wight , Northumberland , Shropshire and Wiltshire were established as counties with
600-492: The successors of the manorial system and historically had been grouped into hundreds , which had exercised some supervising administrative function. However, these powers ebbed away as more and more civic and judicial powers were centred on county towns . From 1834 these parishes were grouped into Poor Law Unions , creating areas for administration of the Poor Law . These areas were later used for census registration and as
625-480: Was formed in 1998 had different boundaries to the 1974–1998 district. In the 2021 census the population of the Malvern Hills district was 79,973. The neighbouring districts are Wyre Forest , Wychavon , Worcester , Tewkesbury , Forest of Dean , Herefordshire and Shropshire . On 1 April 1998 the county of Hereford and Worcester was abolished, being split into a unitary authority of Herefordshire and
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