Malvern Hills District

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 was formed in 1974 and originally had significantly different boundaries; it initially also included Bromyard, Ledbury and surrounding areas, but excluded the Tenbury area. The current boundaries were adopted in 1998. 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.

History
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which also merged the former administrative counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire into a new county of Hereford and Worcester. The new district covered the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: The Bromyard and Ledbury rural districts had been part of Herefordshire prior to the 1974 reforms; the other three had been in Worcestershire. The new district was named Malvern Hills after the range of hills which ran through the centre of the district. Malvern Hills was one of two districts created in Hereford and Worcester which straddled the old county boundary, the other being Leominster District, created from five Herefordshire districts plus the Tenbury Rural District from Worcestershire.
 * Bromyard Rural District
 * Ledbury Rural District
 * Malvern Urban District
 * Martley Rural District
 * Upton upon Severn Rural District

In 1998 the county of Hereford and Worcester was abolished, being split into a unitary authority of Herefordshire and 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 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.

Governance
Malvern Hills District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Worcestershire County Council. The whole district 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.

Political control
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 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:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2000 have been:

Composition
Following the 2023 election the composition of 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.

Elections
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.

Premises
The council is based at 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.

Geography
The Malvern Hills themselves form the border between, and offer scenic views over, 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 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 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 the public in and around Malvern. In the east of the district is Croome Court, a significant National Trust property.

Towns and parishes


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:


 * Abberley
 * Alfrick
 * Astley and Dunley
 * Bayton
 * Berrow
 * Birtsmorton
 * Bockleton
 * Bransford
 * Broadheath
 * Broadwas
 * Bushley
 * Castlemorton
 * Clifton upon Teme
 * Cotheridge
 * Croome D'Abitot
 * Doddenham
 * Earl's Croome
 * Eastham
 * Eldersfield
 * Great Witley
 * Grimley
 * Guarlford
 * Hallow
 * Hanley Castle
 * Hanley
 * Hill Croome
 * Hillhampton
 * Holdfast
 * Holt Fleet
 * Kempsey
 * Kenswick
 * Knighton on Teme
 * Knightwick
 * Kyre
 * Leigh
 * Lindridge
 * Little Malvern
 * Little Witley
 * Longdon
 * Lower Sapey
 * Lulsley
 * Madresfield
 * Malvern Wells
 * Malvern
 * Mamble
 * Martley
 * Newland
 * Pendock
 * Pensax
 * Powick
 * Queenhill
 * Ripple
 * Rochford
 * Rushwick
 * Severn Stoke
 * Shelsley Beauchamp
 * Shelsley Kings
 * Shelsley Walsh
 * Shrawley
 * Stanford with Orleton
 * Stockton-on-Teme
 * Stoke Bliss
 * Suckley
 * Tenbury
 * Upton-upon-Severn
 * Welland
 * West Malvern
 * Wichenford