Malvern Hills is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its council is based in Malvern, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of

Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a small market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Situated 6 miles southeast of Ludlow, its northern border ...

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 The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit af ...

, which are a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. The district formed in 1998 had different boundaries from the 1974–1998 district. In the 2021 census the population of the Malvern Hills district was 79,973. The neighbouring districts are

Wyre Forest __NOTOC__ Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. Knowles Mill, a former corn mill owned by the National Trust lies wi ...

Wychavon Wychavon () is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. The largest towns therein are Evesham and Droitwich Spa; the council is based in the town of Pershore. The district also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

and

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

History

On 1 April 1998 the county of Hereford and Worcester was abolished, being split into a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

of Herefordshire and a two-tier

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

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 West Malvern is a village and a civil parish on the west side of the north part of the Malvern Hills, on the western edge of Worcestershire, England. It has become effectively an outer suburb of Malvern and part of an urban area often called '' ...

in 1986 and so went to Malvern Hills 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 Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. Its headquarters are at County Hall in Worcester, the county town. The council consists of 57 councillors and there is no over ...

. The whole district is covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, 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 In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

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

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s 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 A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

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

and

. 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 Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, Herefordshire and

, as well as the Worcestershire districts of Wychavon,

and

. The

River Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; ) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of Bucknell and continu ...

is famous for its

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and runs across the northern half of the district, from

, to its confluence with the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

near

, close to the site of the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

. Historically, the Teme Valley was famous for its

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

and hop yards, though these declined during the second half of the 20th century, with some revival since . The River Severn forms the eastern boundary of the district (with

) between

Stourport Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, 4 miles to the south of Kidderminster and downstream on the River Severn from Bewdley. At the 2021 cens ...

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 A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

heritage and Malvern water is bottled and distributed commercially worldwide. The spa buildings ( The Pump Rooms) survive at

and many free

spring water A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important f ...

sources are available to the public in and around Malvern. In the east of the district is

Croome Court Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown ...

, a significant

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

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 Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe ...

Hanley Castle Hanley Castle is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, between the towns of Malvern and Upton upon Severn and a short distance from the River Severn. It lies in the administrative area of Malvern Hills District, and is part of ...

Hanley Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...

* Hill Croome * Hillhampton * Holdfast * Holt Fleet * Kempsey * Kenswick * Knighton on Teme * Knightwick * Kyre *

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

* Lindridge * Little Malvern * Little Witley * Longdon * Lower Sapey * Lulsley * Madresfield * Malvern Wells * Malvern *

Mamble Mamble is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills (district), Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located on the A456 road, A456 between Bewdley and Tenbury Wells. Notable buildings include the 13th ...

Martley Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming ...

* Newland * Pendock * Pensax *

Powick Powick is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England, located two miles south of the city of Worcester, England, Worcester and four miles north of Great Malvern. The parish includ ...

* Queenhill * Ripple *

Rochford Rochford is a town and civil parish in the Rochford (district), Rochford District in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish had a population ...

* Rushwick * Severn Stoke * Shelsley Beauchamp * Shelsley Kings * Shelsley Walsh * Shrawley * Stanford with Orleton * Stockton-on-Teme * Stoke Bliss * Suckley * Tenbury * Upton-upon-Severn *

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

Wichenford Wichenford is a village and civil parish (with Kenswick, Worcestershire, Kenswick) in the Malvern Hills (district), Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It lies 7 miles (11 km) to the north-west of the city of ...

Transport

Roads

Two

motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

pass through the Malvern Hills District, the M5 and M50, with the M50 passing through the village of Pendock. There are also multiple A roads that pass through the Malvern Hills District, including the A449 which passes through the biggest town in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern, the A4103 which passes through Leigh Sinton and Bransford before leaving the Malvern Hills District and entering the city of

, the A44 which enters through

and passes through Cotheridge and Broadwas, and the A456 which passes through

and Newnham Bridge.

Railways

The largest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in the Malvern Hills District is Malvern Link which is served by two

train operating companies In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Rai ...

(under the trading name of West Midlands Railway), and

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the civil parish of Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of O ...

is the other (and smaller)

in the town of Malvern. It is served by two