Warwick (district)

Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. It borders the Borough of Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands County (of which Coventry and Solihull are within the historic boundaries of Warwickshire). The City of Coventry is to the north and northeast, the Stratford-on-Avon District to the southwest and south, the Borough of Rugby to the east, and the Borough of Solihull to the west and northwest. The district is centred around a conurbation that includes the towns of Warwick, Leamington Spa and Whitnash which had a population of 95,000. The district also includes the town of Kenilworth and the surrounding rural areas. In February 2021 it was announced that both Warwick District councillors and their Stratford counterparts had "agreed the next steps towards closer working between both District Councils, which could see a recommendation to Government for a merger of the two councils in July 2024." However in April 2022 the merger was scrapped, with Councillor Day (Warwick Leader) accusing Councillor Jefferson (Stratford Leader) of writing to Central Government behind his back, asking for more time for the merger to take place. The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the former Leamington Spa and Warwick municipal boroughs, the Kenilworth urban district and the Warwick Rural District. The district council headquarters are in Leamington Spa. It employs more than 500 people in a four-storey building close to the River Leam. The district council deals with issues such as waste management, the collection of council tax, planning/building regulations, council housing and council house repairs. In April 2016 the council announced its plans to move their headquarters nearer the town centre, however in February 2019 plans were put on hold, and as of July 2021 no decision had been made and is unlikely due to the probable merger with Stratford District.