Charnwood
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Loughborough Carillon
Loughborough Carillon
Shown within Leicestershire
Shown within Leicestershire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast Midlands
Administrative countyLeicestershire
Admin. HQLoughborough
Government
 • TypeCharnwood Borough Council
 • MPs:Edward Argar,
Jane Hunt
Area
 • Total108 sq mi (279 km2)
 • Rank127th
Population
 (2021)
 • Total182,817
 • RankRanked 111th
 • Density1,700/sq mi (660/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code31UC (ONS)
E07000130 (GSS)
Ethnicity91.7% White

Charnwood is a local government district with borough status in the north of Leicestershire, England. It is named after Charnwood Forest, much of which lies within the borough. The council is based in Loughborough, the area's largest town. The borough also contains the towns of Shepshed and Syston, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. In the south of the borough it includes parts of the Leicester Urban Area, notably at Birstall and Thurmaston.

The neighbouring districts are Melton, Harborough, Leicester, Blaby, Hinckley and Bosworth, North West Leicestershire and Rushcliffe.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[1]

Prior to the new district coming into being there was some debate as to what name it should take, with alternatives considered including "Loughborough and Soar Valley", "Greater Loughborough" and "Soar Valley".[2] A committee of the three outgoing councils chose Soar Valley as its preferred option but was overruled by the government, which went instead for the committee's second choice of Charnwood, after the Charnwood Forest which covers the western part of the district.[3][4] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[5]

The symbol of Charnwood Borough Council is the fox, which is also the symbol used by Leicestershire County Council. Charnwood contains the village of Quorn, which gives its name to one of the country's oldest fox hunting packs, the Quorn Hunt, which was established in 1696 and moved to Quorn in 1753.[6]

Governance

Charnwood Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Margaret Smidowicz,
Conservative
since 22 May 2023[7]
Jewel Miah,
Labour
since 22 May 2023
Rob Mitchell
since 2019[8]
Structure
Seats52 councillors
Political groups
Administration (20)
  Labour (20)
Supported by (8)
  Green (8)
Other parties (24)
  Conservative (23)
  Independent (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, Southfield Road, Loughborough, LE11 2TX
Website
www.charnwood.gov.uk

Charnwood Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council. Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[9][10]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a Labour minority administration with support from the Greens.[11]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:[12][13]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1974–1976
Conservative1976–1995
Labour1995–1999
No overall control1999–2007
Conservative2007–2023
No overall control2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Charnwood. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been:[14]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
David Slater[15] Conservative20106 Nov 2017
Jonathan Morgan[16] Conservative6 Nov 20177 May 2023
Jewel Miah Labour22 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:[17][18]

Party Councillors
Conservative 23
Labour 20
Green 8
Independent 1
Total 52

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 52 councillors, representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[19]

There are two Parliamentary constituencies covering the district. Charnwood is represented by the Conservative Edward Argar MP. Loughborough is represented by the Conservative Party's Jane Hunt.

Premises

Loughborough Town Hall, used for full council meetings.

The council is based at the Council Offices on Southfield Road in Loughborough. The older part of the building was an early 19th century house called Southfields.[20] The house was acquired by the old Loughborough Town Council during the Second World War and after the war was converted to be additional offices supplementing those at Loughborough Town Hall.[21] A large extension was added to Southfields in 1990 allowing it to become Charnwood's main offices.[22] Loughborough Town Hall is still used for full council meetings of Charnwood Borough Council.[23]

Geography

To the south it borders the City of Leicester, about 20 km away from Loughborough. There is a moderately urbanised A6 corridor between the two population centres and close to the River Soar, including Quorn, Barrow-on-Soar, Mountsorrel, Birstall, Sileby, Thurmaston, Syston, Queniborough and East Goscote.

To the south of the borough, Birstall, Queniborough, Thurmaston and Syston form part of the Leicester Urban Area, while Quorn and Shepshed (the second-largest town in the district), amongst others, might be considered to be part of a Loughborough urban agglomeration.

The highest point is Beacon Hill (248m/814 ft) to the north of the Charnwood Forest 'area of natural beauty' extending WN-west into the National Forest.

Demography

Charnwood is the largest borough by population in Leicestershire,[24] and has the largest school population as well.

Population growth in Charnwood
Year 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2021 2031
Population 89,980 103,282 127,046 132,170 141,759 153,428 166,100 183,971 207,000
Census [25] Nomis[26] ONS Projections [27]

Parishes

Most of the borough is covered by civil parishes. Most of the pre-1974 borough of Loughborough is an unparished area. The parish councils for Shepshed and Syston have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". The parishes of Barkby and Barkby Thorpe share a grouped parish council, as do Burton on the Wolds, Cotes and Prestwold. The small parishes of Beeby, Hamilton Lea, Stonebow Village, Swithland, Ulverscroft and Wanlip have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.[28]

Freedom of the Borough

The following people, military units, and organisations and groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of Charnwood.

Individuals

  • Paula Radcliffe: 28 June 2004.
  • Michael Jones: 29 September 2008.
  • Lez Cope-Newman: 24 June 2019.

[29]

Military Units

Organisations and Groups

References

  1. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 August 2022
  2. ↑ "Tussle over new name". Nottingham Evening Post. 2 February 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Shocks for new councils over names". Leicester Mercury. 27 March 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 22 August 2022
  5. ↑ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "History". Quorn Hunt. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "Council minutes, 22 May 2023". Charnwood Borough Council. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  8. ↑ Metcalf, Sam (22 July 2019). "Council set to name new chief executive". The Business Desk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  10. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "New Leader of Charnwood Borough Council is elected". Charnwood Borough Council. 22 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Charnwood". BBC News Online. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  14. ↑ "Council minutes". Charnwood Borough Council. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  15. ↑ Rush, Andy (30 April 2018). "Tributes paid after former council leader David Slater passes away". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  16. ↑ Coleman, Liam (2 November 2017). "New leader of Charnwood Borough Council chosen". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  18. ↑ "Charnwood result - Local Elections 2023". BBC News.
  19. ↑ "The Charnwood (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/809, retrieved 29 October 2023
  20. ↑ "Southfields: Locally listed building". Charnwood Borough Council. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "No. 38848". The London Gazette. 24 February 1950. p. 976.
  22. ↑ "New Year opening for prestigious new offices". Loughborough Echo. 4 January 1991. p. 55. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  23. ↑ "Council agenda, 4 September 2023". Charnwood Borough Council. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  24. ↑ excluding the City of Leicester part of Ceremonial Leicestershire
  25. ↑ Vision of Britain through time
  26. ↑ "2021 Census Profile - Nomis". Nomis. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  27. ↑ ONS population projections 2014 base / projections uplifted by '21-1050/'31-1,400 given underestimation at 2016 - 1,100/
  28. ↑ "Charnwood Borough". UK Local Councils. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  29. ↑ "Freedom of the Borough". Charnwood Borough Council. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  30. ↑ "FREEDOM OF ENTRY – ROYAL ANGLIAN REGIMENT" (PDF). www.charnwood.gov.uk. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  31. ↑ Watkins, Amy (15 April 2010). "TA is given freedom of the borough". The Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  32. ↑ "Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Charnwood" (PDF). www.charnwood.gov.uk. 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  33. ↑ "LCFC Granted Freedom Of The Borough Of Charnwood". Leicester City Football Club. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  34. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Charnwood Borough Council (14 September 2021). "Extraordinary Council – Conferment of Freedom of the Borough to Leicester City Football Club)" – via YouTube.
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