City of Wolverhampton

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Region: West Midlands
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

Wolverhampton was announced as a Millennium city in 2000, with Letters Patent dated 31 January 2001 formally conferring the status on the Town of Wolverhampton. A Victorian boomtown of iron, steel and engineering, it became a metropolitan district in 1974 and now operates within the West Midlands conurbation. Since 2016 the city has been a constituent member of the West Midlands Combined Authority under a directly elected mayor, which adds a regional layer for transport, regeneration and skills while Wolverhampton City Council delivers local services.

City Council Status

Wolverhampton City Council is a metropolitan district council in the West Midlands and a constituent of the West Midlands Combined Authority (mayoral), which handles regional strategy.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in West Midlands