Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, known as Solihull Council, is the local authority for the Solihull borough in the West Midlands, England. It runs most local services for the area and is based at the Council House on Manor Square in Solihull.

The council has 51 councillors representing 17 wards (three councillors per ward). Elections are held three years out of four, with each councillor serving a four-year term. The last election was on 2 May 2024, and the next is on 7 May 2026. The Green Party has been the largest opposition group since 2014; other groups include the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, Labour and Independents. In 2025 a group called Solihull Independents formed from some Independents, with some members later joining Reform UK; the group was disbanded in 2025. The council is led by a Mayor (ceremonial) and a Leader of the Council.

Leadership and administration: The Mayor is Annette Mackenzie (Conservative) since May 2025. The Leader of the Council is Karen Grinsell (Conservative) since May 2025. The Chief Executive is Paul Johnson (since July 2023).

West Midlands Combined Authority: Since 2016, Solihull Council has been part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which coordinates regional services. A Solihull representative sits on the WMCA board, led by a directly elected Mayor of the West Midlands. The council runs most local services, while some strategic functions are handled by the WMCA.

History: Solihull’s local government has evolved from a rural parish to an urban district (1932), then a municipal borough (1954), a county borough (1964), and finally the metropolitan borough created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. In 1986 the West Midlands County Council was abolished, so Solihull Council took on most local powers. Part of the borough is covered by civil parishes.

Meetings and buildings: Council meetings are held at the Council House in central Solihull, with nearby buildings like Church Hill House and the Civic Suite housing the council chamber and register office.