Blaby District

Blaby is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The district is named after the village of Blaby, although the council is based in Narborough. The district covers an area lying south-west of the city of Leicester. Several of the district's settlements form part of the wider Leicester Urban Area, including Glenfield, where Leicestershire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall, and the town of Braunstone.

Blaby District
Non-metropolitan district
Blaby, the village which the district is named after although Narborough is the administrative centre of the district.
Blaby, the village which the district is named after although Narborough is the administrative centre of the district.
Shown within Leicestershire
Shown within Leicestershire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast Midlands
Administrative countyLeicestershire
Admin. HQNarborough
Government
 • TypeBlaby District Council
 • MPs:Edward Argar,
Alberto Costa
Area
 • Total50.4 sq mi (130.5 km2)
 • Rank175th
Population
 (2021)
 • Total103,271
 • RankRanked 230th
 • Density2,000/sq mi (790/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code31UB (ONS)
E07000129 (GSS)
Ethnicity94.3% White

The neighbouring districts are Hinckley and Bosworth, Charnwood, Leicester, Oadby and Wigston, Harborough and Rugby.

History

The district traces its origins to the Blaby Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1836. Although named after Blaby, the union built its workhouse in Enderby.[1] In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. In 1894 rural sanitary districts were redesignated as rural districts with their own councils, and so the Blaby Rural District came into being.[2] At the same time, Wigston was removed from the district to become its own urban district.[3] Oadby was subsequently also removed from the district in 1913 to become an urban district. In 1935 the district ceded some territory to Leicester and gained six parishes from the abolished Hinckley Rural District.[4]

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the area was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district called Blaby.[5][6]

Governance
Blaby District Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Cheryl Cashmore,
Conservative
since 23 May 2023[7]
Terry Richardson,
Conservative
since 27 May 2015
Julia Smith
since November 2021[8]
Structure
Seats36 councillors
Political groups
Administration (19)
  Conservative (19)
Other parties (17)
  Liberal Democrats (9)
  Labour (6)
  Green (2)
Elections
Plurality block voting
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, Leicester, LE19 2EP
Website
www.blaby.gov.uk

Blaby District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[9][10]

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[11][12]

Party in controlYears
Independent1974–1976
Conservative1976–1995
No overall control1995–1999
Conservative1999–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:[13]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Ernie White[14] Conservative200410 May 2015
Terry Richardson Conservative27 May 2015

Composition

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:[15][16]

Party Councillors
Conservative 19
Liberal Democrats 9
Labour 6
Green 2
Total 36

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections
For historic political control and leadership, see Blaby District Council elections.

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 17 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[17]

The district straddles the parliamentary constituencies of South Leicestershire and Chanrnwood.[10] There was a Blaby constituency between 1974 and 2010, which was represented by Nigel Lawson between 1974 and 1992.

Premises

Blaby District Council's main offices are on Desford Road in Narborough.[18] The old part of the building was formerly a house called the Old Rectory, which had previously served as the rectory for the nearby All Saints Church. The house was bought in 1936 for £4,250 by Blaby Rural District Council to serve as its headquarters and has been significantly extended since then.[19]

Geography

In 1994 a new development called Thorpe Astley in the parish of Braunstone was started, being built over the course of 15 years. This totalled over 2,000 homes during the phased construction. The development in Lubbesthorpe, approved in January 2014, is located to land west of Thorpe Astley, divided by the M1.

Fosse Shopping Park entrance

Blaby District contains several well-known developments in the county, centred around junction 21 of the M1. The most prominent is Fosse Shopping Park, one of the busiest out-of-town shopping centers in the country. The Meridian Leisure Centre, constructed adjacent to and at the same time as the first phase of Thorpe Astley, is located in the district, including a Vue (formerly Warner Village) Cinema, Hollywood Bowl, Nandos, Frankie and Bennys, Chiquitos, Harvester, Pizza Hut and children's play centre.

Large Sainsbury's and Asda Superstores are also placed next to Fosse Park and the Junction 21 area. Business parks also adorn the gateway into Leicester; Grove Business Park's entrance is less than one mile from the motorway junction and is home to Mattioli Woods, British Gas, Topps Tiles and the Leicester Marriott Hotel. Meridian Business Park is next to both Thorpe Astley and the Meridian Leisure Centre, also houses several well-known businesses including Makro, Sytner, Samworth Brothers and Southern Fire and Rescue Station, the only such station located within the district.

Demography
Population growth in Blaby District
Year 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2016 2021 2031
Population 38,269 53,467 75,629 76,539 82,723 90,232 93,915 97,700 100,500 107,000
Census [20] ONS[21] ONS Projections [22]

Parishes

The district contains 24 civil parishes. The parish council for Braunstone has declared its parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council"; the area is often called "Braunstone Town" to distinguish it from the adjoining Braunstone estate which used to be in the parish but was transferred to Leicester in 1935. Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.[23]

Coat of arms
Coat of arms of Blaby District
Notes
Originally granted to Blaby Rural District Council on 20 December 1954.[24]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours set upon a representation of the entrance to the railway tunnel at Glenfield in the District of Blaby Proper a saltire perched thereon an eagle displayed wings extended fessewise Or.
Escutcheon
Per fesse indented Vert and Sable a saltire Or charged with a saltire Purpure on a chief Ermine a maunche of the second between two legs embowed each hosed and shod with a soft leather shoe of the fifteenth century couped also Purpure.
Motto
In Terra Divitiae (In The Earth Riches)

References
  1. Higginbotham, Peter. "Blaby Workhouse". The Workhouse. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  2. Local Government Act 1894
  3. Annual Report of the Local Government Board. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1895. p. 226. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. "Blaby Rural District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 August 2022
  6. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 22 August 2022
  7. "Council minutes, 23 May 2023". Blaby District Council. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  8. "Chief Executive". Blaby District Council. Retrieved 27 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. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  12. "Blaby". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  13. "Council minutes". Blaby District Council. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  14. Martin, Dan (3 January 2018). "Longest-serving Leicestershire councillor Ernie White dies after 'brave fight' against illness". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  15. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  16. "Blaby District Council". BBC News.
  17. "The Blaby (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/1366, retrieved 27 October 2023
  18. "Location details". Blaby District Council. Retrieved 18 August 2022. Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, Leicestershire, LE19 2EP
  19. "Old Rectory to house Blaby Council". Leicester Evening Mail. 17 June 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  20. Vision of Britain through time
  21. mid year estimate
  22. ONS population projections 2014 base / projections uplifted by '21-200/'31-500 given underestimation at 2016 - 300/
  23. "Parish and Town Councils". Blaby District Council. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  24. "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
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