| Wyre | |
| Type: | Borough and non-metropolitan district |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Coat of Arms of the City Council |
| Subdivision Type: | Sovereign state |
| Subdivision Name: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type1: | Constituent country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | North West England |
| Subdivision Type3: | Ceremonial county |
| Subdivision Name3: | Lancashire |
| Seat Type: | Admin. HQ |
| Seat: | Poulton-le-Fylde |
| Government Type: | Wyre Borough Council |
| Leader Title2: | MPs |
| Leader Name2: | Lorraine Beavers, Cat Smith |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1974 |
| Area Rank: | |
| Population Rank: | |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Greenwich Mean Time |
| Utc Offset: | +0 |
| Timezone Dst: | British Summer Time |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +1 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Blank Name: | ISO 3166-2 |
| Blank1 Name: | ONS code |
| Blank1 Info: | 30UQ (ONS) E07000128 (GSS) |
| Blank2 Name: | OS grid reference |
| Blank3 Name: | NUTS 3 |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics Type2: | Religion (2021) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Religion |
Wyre is a local government district with borough status on the coast of Lancashire, England. The council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde and the borough also contains the towns of Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Garstang, Preesall and Thornton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the borough's built-up areas form part of the wider Blackpool urban area. Eastern parts of the borough lie within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The borough is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the area and meets the sea at Fleetwood. There are no road or rail connections between the parts of the borough either side of the Wyre estuary, and it is necessary to cross the neighbouring Fylde district in order to travel between the two parts of Wyre, or else use the Wyre Estuary Ferry between Fleetwood and Knott End.
The neighbouring districts are Blackpool, Fylde, Preston, Ribble Valley and Lancaster.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a non-metropolitan district covering the territory of five former districts, which were abolished at the same time:[1]
The new district was named Wyre after the river.[2] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[3]
| Wyre Borough Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Wyre Council logo.svg |
| Logo Res: | 250px |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Leader1: | Jane Preston |
| Election1: | 16 May 2024[4] |
| Leader2: | Michael Vincent |
| Election2: | 1 December 2022 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Rebecca Huddleston |
| Election3: | 1 April 2023[5] |
| Members: | 50 councillors |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Next Election1: | 6 May 2027 |
| Session Room: | Poulton Civic Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1269699 (crop).jpg |
| Session Res: | 250px |
| Meeting Place: | Civic Centre, Breck Road, Poulton-le-Fylde, FY67PU |
Wyre Borough Council, which styles itself "Wyre Council", provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6] [7]
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:[8] [9]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1995 | ||
| 1995–1999 | ||
| 1999–present | ||
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Wyre. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been:[10]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russ Forsyth | 2010 | |||
| Peter Gibson[11] | 2010 | 28 Sep 2017 | ||
| David Henderson | 7 Dec 2017 | 30 Nov 2022 | ||
| Michael Vincent[12] | 1 Dec 2022 | |||
Following the 2023 election and a change of allegiance in June 2024, the composition of the council was:[13] [14]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | |||
| 17 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 1 | |||
| Total | 50 | ||
The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[15]
Wyre straddles three parliamentary constituencies: Wyre and Preston North, Lancaster and Fleetwood and Blackpool North and Cleveleys.[7]
The council is based at the Civic Centre on Breck Road in Poulton-le-Fylde. The building was originally a large house called Woodlands, later serving as a convalescent hospital and teacher training college before becoming the council's headquarters in 1988.[16]
Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Fleetwood, Garstang and Preesall have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".[17] The former urban districts of Poulton-le-Fylde and Thornton-Cleveleys form an unparished area.[7]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Wyre.