43-647: The Wellglade Group (WG), is a transport group operating bus and tram services in the English Midlands . Wellglade was formed in 1986 when Brian King and Ian Morgan purchased Trent Buses from the National Bus Company in a management buyout . In 1989 the business of Barton Transport was purchased. In 1998 Wellglade purchased the Kinchbus business in Loughborough . In January 2010 TM Travel of Sheffield
86-727: A combined county authority was established covering Nottingham, Nottinghamshire , Derby and Derbyshire , called the East Midlands Combined County Authority . The combined authority is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the East Midlands and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area. As a unitary authority, Nottingham City Council has the functions of a county council and district council combined. There are no civil parishes in Nottingham, which has been an unparished area since
129-547: A combined population of 10,350,697 (2014 mid-year estimate), and an area of 11,053 sq mi (28,630 km ). The largest Midlands conurbation , which includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton , is roughly covered by the metropolitan county of the West Midlands (which also includes the city of Coventry ); with the related City Region extending into neighbouring areas of Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire and Worcestershire . Various parts of
172-500: A contract from Derbyshire County Council . A local route in Bolsover was launched a year later. In 2004 TM Travel took over a route between Sheffield and Chesterfield previously run by Thompson Travel. A number of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive contracts were won over the following few years and the fleet increased in size to over 100 vehicles, prompting a move from Chesterfield to Halfway . As of March 2008, TM Travel
215-515: A dialect closer to "northern" but now more influenced by "southern". In a binary choice, the Watford Gap is often considered the dividing point between the north and south of England, with most of the Midlands population sitting above this point. The "midland" name has been used for: Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham , in
258-628: A fleet of vehicles, most of which previously operated with Trentbarton and Nottingham City Transport . They now use a substantial amount of Ex Lothian buses in more recent years. TM Travel is a bus operator based in Halfway , Sheffield , operating bus services in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire . It was founded in 1995 as a family-owned operation with one bus. School bus services and National Express services were later introduced. The company moved into scheduled bus service operation in 1999, winning
301-624: A highest point of 330 m (1,082 ft) at Cleeve Hill . Areas of lower hills, in the range 200 m (600 ft) - 300 m (1000 ft), include Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire , Cannock Chase in Staffordshire , and the Lincolnshire Wolds (100 m (300 ft) - 200 m (600 ft)); the latter having some prominence despite their modest altitude given their location in typically low-lying Lincolnshire near to
344-564: A mayor. In 1836 Nottingham became a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 , Nottingham was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough , independent from Nottinghamshire County Council . Nottingham was awarded city status on 7 August 1897, allowing
387-521: A saltire Or , meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle , the ancient seat of the Mercian kings . The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth , the "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard
430-571: A separate entity to other Wellglade Group companies. Through the Trentbarton operations, Wellglade Group acquired a 6% shareholding of First Leicester in 1993, First Bus UK are the majority shareholder in the operations. During 2024, First Group purchased the Wellglade Group shareholding in Leicester CityBus ending the long standing shareholding. The Midland General Omnibus Company
473-590: Is a long, low ridge, which extends for over 15 miles (24 km). The Peak District reaches heights of between 300 m (1,000 ft) and 600 m (2,000 ft); Kinder Scout is the highest point at 636 m (2,086 ft). Further south, the Welsh border reaches over 700 m (2,000 ft) high, at Twyn Llech (Black Mountain), which at 703 m (2,306 ft) is thus the highest point in Herefordshire . The Precambrian Malverns are formed of some of
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#1732852483302516-536: Is also occasionally recognised as being in the Midlands, while a lot of what was historically part of southern Mercia ( Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Hertfordshire , Huntingdonshire , and Cambridgeshire ) is often labelled as "Central England", typically used interchangeably with "the Midlands". Additionally, there are two informal regions known as the South Midlands and North Midlands , which are not NUTS statistical regions of
559-744: Is furthest away from the coast than anywhere else in England, it typically receives mostly light winds, with warm days and cold nights. Sometimes the Midlands can have very cold nights such as a minimum of −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in Pershore on 20 December 2010. The previous day had a maximum of only −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), also in Pershore. Hot days are also possible, such as a maximum of 34 °C (93 °F) in Pershore on 19 July 2006. There can also be very mild winters nights, such as in Bidford-on-Avon when
602-522: Is the central part of England , bordered by Wales , Northern England , Southern England and the North Sea . The Midlands correspond broadly to the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia , and later became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are now split into two official regions, the West Midlands and East Midlands . The Midlands' biggest city, Birmingham ,
645-530: Is the second-largest in the United Kingdom . Other important cities include Coventry , Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham , Stoke-on-Trent , Wolverhampton , and Worcester . A saltire (diagonal cross) may have been used as a symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa . By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. The arms are blazoned Azure,
688-668: The 2023 election , a councillor resigning the Labour whip over the war in Gaza in October 2023, and another councillor having the Labour whip suspended for voting against the budget in March 2024, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Full Council meetings are held at Nottingham Council House in the Old Market Square in the city centre, which was completed in 1929 and
731-505: The English Civil War , which is commemorated in a number of place names (Parliament Terrace, Parliament Street, Standard Hill). Areas such as Derbyshire's Amber Valley and Erewash combine attractive countryside with industrial heritage and are home to historic canals and sites associated with the mining industry. The Black Country , broadly the boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Wolverhampton and Walsall , played an important part in
774-562: The European Parliament . Local government in the Midlands is as follows: The unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire (not shown), while classed as part of the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, actually come under the Yorkshire and the Humber region and are therefore not in the officially recognised East Midlands region. The two regions of the Midlands have
817-598: The Industrial Revolution . The historic counties ceased to be used for any administrative purpose in 1899 but remain important to some people, notably for county cricket . The area is predominantly low-lying and flat apart from isolated hills such as Turners Hill within the Black Country conurbation at 271 m (889 ft) and the Wrekin just south of Wellington in Telford at 407 m (1,335 ft). Upland areas lie in
860-551: The Notts + Derby fleet operated both services and the Midland General name has disappeared from the timetables. In January 2012 Wellglade purchased some assets from Felix Bus Services . Felix already shared two routes with Trentbarton , these being Black Cat and Ilkeston Flyer. Despite the appearance of the Midland General name in timetables, the former Felix journeys were operated by Notts + Derby . Midlands The Midlands
903-455: The Shire Hall . Nottingham kept its borough and city statuses and its lord mayoralty. In 1998, Nottingham City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Nottinghamshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Nottingham covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead
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#1732852483302946-640: The ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority , being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council . Since 2024 the council has been a member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority . The council has been under Labour majority control since 1991. The council meets at Nottingham Council House and has its main offices at Loxley House . Nottingham
989-614: The counties of Derbyshire , Herefordshire , Leicestershire , most of Lincolnshire (with the exception of North and North East Lincolnshire ), Northamptonshire , Nottinghamshire , Rutland , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , Worcestershire and the West Midlands metropolitan boroughs. Other definitions include a slightly larger area and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Gloucestershire as "West Midland", Bedfordshire as "South Midland", and Huntingdonshire as "East Midland" counties respectively. Cheshire
1032-461: The Midlands, particularly Warwickshire and Leicestershire, are on occasion referred to as the Heart of England, especially in tourist literature given that the geographic centre of England is generally considered to lie within this arc. Different areas of the Midlands have their own distinctive character, giving rise to many local history and industrial heritage groups. Nottingham played a notable part in
1075-483: The Trent Buses and Barton Transport operations were merged. Kinchbus is a bus operator based in Loughborough . It was originally an independent company established by Gilbert and Janet Kinch. Kinchbus operate some local services around Loughborough along with their Kinchbus2 route between Barrow-upon-Soar and Loughborough, Skylink from Leicester to Derby via Loughborough and East Midlands Airport . Kinchbus use
1118-523: The United Kingdom and their definition varies by using organisation. The former includes the southern parts of the East Midlands and northern parts of Southern England . The latter covers the northern parts of the West and East Midlands, along with some southern parts of Northern England . The West Midlands and East Midlands regions are NUTS 1 statistical regions and were formerly constituencies of
1161-457: The corporation to call itself Nottingham City Council. In 1928 the city council was given the right to appoint a lord mayor . In 1974 Nottingham became a non-metropolitan district under the Local Government Act 1972 , becoming a lower tier authority with Nottinghamshire County Council providing county-level services in the city for the first time. The city kept the same outer boundaries, but did gain an exclave from Nottinghamshire containing
1204-747: The east coast. Lincolnshire is the only coastal county in the Midlands as the region is bordered by Wales to the west. It is also where the Midlands' lowest points can be found as some places fall below sea level, with the lowest points being near Thorpe Tilney in North Kesteven and Stickford in East Lindsey . The Midlands has a temperate maritime climate , with cold, cloudy, wet winters and comfortable, mostly dry, mostly sunny summers. The temperature usually ranges from −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) during winter nights to 24.1 °C (75.4 °F) during summer days. Due to its geographical location, which
1247-438: The existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Nottingham was a county borough prior to 1974. Despite having been removed from the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire (the area administered by Nottinghamshire County Council), the city remains part of the wider ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire for
1290-529: The latter on 10 January 1982 around Newport in Shropshire where it dropped to a minimum of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F). Due to being neither Northern England or Southern England , the Midlands have had cultural elements from both sides in the North–South divide , such as dialect (see also West Midlands English and East Midlands English ). A study has shown that some Midlands areas have traditionally had
1333-728: The oldest rock in England (dating from the Cryogenian period, at around 680 million years old) and extend for 8 miles (13 km) through two West Midlands counties ( Worcestershire and Herefordshire ) as well as northern Gloucestershire in the southwest . The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 m (1,394 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). The Cotswolds – designated an AONB in 1966. – extend for over 90 miles (140 km) through Oxfordshire , Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , Somerset , Warwickshire , and Worcestershire . They reach
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1376-549: The purposes of lieutenancy . On 29 November 2023, the council declared itself effectively bankrupt, with a £23m overspend forecast for the 2023-24 financial year. This has been speculated to be mainly due to the Robin Hood Energy initiative, which was setup by the council in 2015 and was closed in 2020. Being unable to produce a balanced budget (as required by law), it issued a Section 114 notice which requires all expenditure to cease except for statutory duties. In 2024
1419-414: The reforms of 1974. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1991. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: Non-metropolitan district Unitary authority The role of Lord Mayor of Nottingham is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1983 have been: Following
1462-512: The running of the tram network. In April 2012, Centrebus and Trentbarton entered a 50/50 joint venture. This saw Centrebus owned Bowers Coaches and Trentbarton's Buxton area services combined to form High Peak Buses based at the latter's Dove Holes depot. Wellglade also owns cleaning service provider Kleanline. During November 2024, Wellglade Group acquired the business of Littles Travel based in Ilkeston , which will continue to operate as
1505-588: The slogan 'Loughborough's Finest' which is advertised across their fleet of buses. Following the collapse of Nottingham based Premiere Travel on 24 January 2013, Kinchbus reinstated their service 9 between Loughborough and Nottingham which was the first route to have the new refreshed version of the current livery and logo which have been in place since 2007. Notts + Derby operates a small number of local bus services, school buses and contract and private hire work in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire . They operate
1548-455: The temperature at 6 pm was as high as 15.2 °C (59.4 °F) on 9 January 2015. At 8 am the following morning the temperature was still at 13 °C (55 °F). Both the highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in England were in the Midlands, the former on 19 July 2022 around Coningsby in Lincolnshire where it reached a maximum temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), and
1591-744: The west and north of the region with the Shropshire Hills to the west, close to the England–Wales border and the Peak District area of the southern Pennines in the north of the region. The Shropshire Hills reach a height of 540 m (1,771 ft) at Brown Clee Hill and includes the Long Mynd , Clee Hills and Stiperstones ridge. Wenlock Edge , running through the middle of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB),
1634-419: Was an ancient borough . The earliest known borough charter was issued by Henry II sometime between 1155 and 1165; that charter did not purport to create the borough, but instead confirmed to it the rights that it had already held in the time of Henry I (reigned 1100–1135). The borough was governed by a corporation, also known as the town council. A later charter of 1284 granted the borough the right to appoint
1677-457: Was announced that current managing director Jeff Counsell will retire in February 2023 and will be succeeded by Tom Morgan who is the current commercial director for Wellglade Group. Trentbarton operates services from Bakewell in the north to Coalville in the south as well as Ashbourne , Burton upon Trent , Chesterfield , Derby , Ilkeston , Mansfield , and Nottingham . It was formed when
1720-815: Was incorporated in 1920 as a company in the Balfour Beatty group with a depot at Langley Mill . In 1972 the company's operations were merged with those of Trent and the Midland General fleetname ceased to be used. The name was resurrected when Bargain Bus routes BB2 to Cotgrave and BB4 to Long Eaton were started in Nottingham in competition with Premiere Travel 's services. These were withdrawn after Premiere Travel decided to withdraw their services. The Black Cat and Ilkeston Flyer services acquired from Felix in January 2012 were to be operated by Midland General. In practice buses of
1763-649: Was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Midlands towns, including Tamworth , Leek and Blaby . It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014. There is no single definition for the Midlands. If defined as being made up of the statistical regions of East Midlands and West Midlands , it includes
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1806-577: Was purchased. In January 2012 Wellglade took over the bus operations of Felix Bus Services . In December 2011 Tramlink Nottingham took over the running of the Nottingham Express Transit tram network, as a 12.5% shareholder in the operating consortium. In April 2012 Centrebus Bowers Coaches operation and services operated from the Dove Holes depot of Wellglade's Trentbarton were combined to form High Peak Buses . During September 2022, it
1849-733: Was the largest independent coach and bus operator in Derbyshire, employing 120 staff, with all operations (including maintaining the fleet of vehicles) handled in-house. As of January 2024, the TM fleet consists of 44 buses. The company was acquired by WG in January 2010. In March 2011 the Tramlink Nottingham consortium which Wellglade holds a 12.5% shareholding in, was awarded the Nottingham Express Transit 2 contract by Nottingham City Council . In December 2011 Tramlink Nottingham took over
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