Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of '' Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus '' Al ...

and is located between the city of

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

and the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, whe ...

National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as 94,489. Principal industries are agriculture, fashion and tourism. The area's three towns are Leek, Cheadle and

Biddulph Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, north of Stoke-on-Trent and south-east of Congleton, Cheshire. Origin of the name Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English ''bī dylfe'' = "beside the pit or quarry". It may also ...

. Visitor attractions include the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property

Biddulph Grange Biddulph Grange is a National Trust landscaped garden, in Biddulph near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is separate from Biddulph Grange Country Park. Description "Behind a gloomy Victorian shrubbery there's a gloomy Victorian mans ...

, the

Churnet Valley Railway The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line.which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway. ...

, the UK's largest

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Alton Towers Resort Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

, and the annual Leek Arts Festival. There are also a variety of outdoor pursuits such as

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically a ...

(

The Roaches The Roaches (from the French ''les roches'' - the rocks) is a prominent rocky ridge above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Staffordshire Peak District of England. The ridge with its rock formations rises steeply to . Along with Ramshaw ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

( Rudyard Lake) and

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

( Waterhouses).

Governance

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, as a merger of the

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

s of Biddulph and Leek, along with Cheadle and Leek

Rural District Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the a ...

s. Staffordshire Moorlands is the local UK Parliament constituency. Its boundaries do not match up with the District Council area. The MP since 2010 has been Karen Bradley, a Conservative. She served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 14 July 2016 until 8 January 2018, when she was appointed

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

. The Leader of the Council is Paul Roberts of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, appointed in May 2022. The next elections are due in 2023.

Energy policy

In May 2006, a report commissioned by

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Servi ...

showed that housing in Staffordshire Moorlands produced the 11th-highest average carbon emissions in the country at of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

per dwelling.

Geography

Most of the Staffordshire Moorlands district is in the southern end and foothills of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Common ...

, with some of the northern parts lying in the Peak District National Park. The upland terrain is mostly rolling hills, crags and valleys across forests and lakes, with high gritstone

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generall ...

s in the north west, some of which has been largely abandoned for farming, and limestone landscape in the north east. The district is named after the moors in the north west along with smaller patches of lowland heaths across the district, such as Wetley Moor near Werrington. The highest point in both the district and Staffordshire is Cheeks Hill, rising up to 520m (1,710 feet) on Axe Edge Moor. The district includes parts of the Dark Peak and White Peak in the Peak District. The area approximately between Axe Edge Moor and the

Churnet Valley The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove. Etymology The origins of the name "Churnet" are unknown, though it is thought to derive from the pre-English, British name for the river. Course ...

is in the Dark Peak and includes

the Roaches The Roaches (from the French ''les roches'' - the rocks) is a prominent rocky ridge above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Staffordshire Peak District of England. The ridge with its rock formations rises steeply to . Along with Ramshaw ...

, a series of gritstone outcrops which rises to 505m (1,657 feet) and where several

red-necked wallabies The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have bee ...

roamed free for many years. On the other hand, the western half of

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded ...

and the

Manifold Valley The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire). The Manifold rises at Flash Head just south ...

, including Thor's Cave,

Wetton Mill Wetton is a village in the Peak District National Park, North Staffordshire, at the top of the east side of the Manifold Valley. The population recorded in the 2001 Census was 157. At the time of the 2011 Census the population was recorded un ...

, Longnor and

Butterton Butterton is a small village in the Staffordshire Peak District of England (). It overlooks the Manifold Valley and Ecton Hill, which rises 1,212 feet above sea level. Butterton lies 5 miles east of Leek and roughly 8 miles from Alton Towers th ...

, are in the White Peak. The Churnet Valley is a steep-sided, wooded valley in the south of the district, running between

Cheddleton Cheddleton is an ancient parish and village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, near to the town of Leek, England. History The village is divided into two distinct communities – the traditional village and the modern Redrow development located ...

and

Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Uttoxe ...

, also known as "The Rhineland of Staffordshire" or Staffordshire's "Little Switzerland". The Staffordshire Moorlands is also home to the highest village in Britain, Flash. The village stands at 463m (1,518 feet) above sea level. This record was confirmed in 2007 by the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

after Wanlockhead in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

also claimed the record. The BBC's ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan ...

'' investigated the case in a bid to settle the argument and Flash turned out to be the higher of the two. The council maintains a number of local nature reserves including Biddulph Valley Way, Brough Park Fields, Cecilly Brook, Hales Hall Pool, Hoften's Cross Meadows, Ladderedge Country Park and Marshes Hill Common.

History

Historically the present day Staffordshire Moorlands District was contained in the Hundred of

Totmonslow Totmonslow is a hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England. The hundred is located in the north-east of Staffordshire, named after the hamlet of the same name, which is a half mile east of Draycott in the Moors. The hamlet was the seat of ...

, except for the parish of

, which was in Pirehill Hundred. The District makes up the majority of the area of the now obsolete Totmonslow Hundred, with the remaining area of the Hundred now falling in East Staffordshire District. The Hundred was named after a small hamlet of Totmonslow in the parish of

Draycott in the Moors Draycott in the Moors is a village between Stoke on Trent and Uttoxeter near the River Blythe. It is two and a half miles from Cheadle and is near Blythe Bridge railway station, on the North Staffordshire Railway.Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

and the wider West Midlands region, after achieving 'excellent' status in an independent report by the Audit Commission. This means the council is one of only 33 'excellent' district councils out of 238 nationwide.

Twinnings

Staffordshire Moorlands has twinning agreements with: * Olkusz,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

References

External links

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

Collection of Staffordshire Moorlands Scenes
{{Coord, 53, 6, 23.75, N, 2, 1, 36.06, W, display=title, region:GB_type:adm3rd Non-metropolitan districts of Staffordshire