Ashfield District
Non-metropolitan district in England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ashfield (/ˈæʃˌfiːld/) is a local government district in Nottinghamshire, England. The council is based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, but the largest town is neighbouring Sutton-in-Ashfield. The district also contains the town of Hucknall and a few villages. The district is mostly urban, with some of its settlements forming parts of both the Nottingham and Mansfield Urban Areas.
Ashfield District | |
|---|---|
Hucknall High Street Market Place, Kirkby in Ashfield Felley Priory St Mary Magdalene, Sutton in Ashfield | |
 Interactive map of Ashfield District | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Nottinghamshire |
| Admin. HQ | Kirkby-in-Ashfield |
| Government | |
| • Type | Ashfield District Council |
| • MPs: | Lee Anderson (Reform UK) Michelle Welsh (Labour) |
| Area | |
• Total | 42 sq mi (110 km2) |
| • Rank | 190th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 129,572 |
| • Rank | Ranked 189th |
| • Density | 3,100/sq mi (1,200/km2) |
| Ethnicity (2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion (2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ONS code | 37UB (ONS) E07000170 (GSS) |
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The neighbouring districts are Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, Gedling, Nottingham, Broxtowe, Amber Valley and Bolsover.
History
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole of two former districts, most of Hucknall Urban District and of parts of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]
- Basford Rural District (parishes of Annesley, Felley and Selston only)
- Hucknall Urban District
- Kirkby in Ashfield Urban District
- Sutton in Ashfield Urban District
The new district was named Ashfield, being the shared suffix of two of the towns' names.[3]
Governance
Ashfield District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Theresa Hodgkinson since 2021[5] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 35 councillors |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council Offices, Urban Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, NG17 8DA | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Ashfield District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Nottinghamshire County Council. Parts of the district are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6][7]
Political control
A local party, the Ashfield Independents, has held a majority of the seats on the council since 2019.
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. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[8][9]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–2018 | |
| No overall control | 2018–2019 | |
| Ashfield Ind. | 2019–present | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarence Booler[10] | Labour | 1974 | Aug 1986 | |
| Jack Barker[11][12] | Labour | 1986 | 1987 | |
| Ken Creed[13][14][15] | Labour | 1987 | Aug 1995 | |
| David Ayres[14][16] | Labour | 1995 | 30 Mar 1999 | |
| Chris Bonam[17][18] | Labour | 1999 | 2001 | |
| Ken Creed[15][19] | Labour | 2001 | 2007 | |
| Jason Zadrozny[20][21] | Liberal Democrats | May 2007 | Mar 2009 | |
| John Knight[21][22] | Labour | Mar 2009 | 23 May 2013 | |
| Chris Baron[22][23] | Labour | 23 May 2013 | May 2015 | |
| Cheryl Butler[24][25] | Labour | May 2015 | 26 Apr 2018 | |
| Jason Zadrozny[26] | Ashfield Ind. | 26 Apr 2018 | ||
Composition
Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to February 2025, the composition of the council was:[27][28]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Ashfield Ind. | 31 | |
| Reform | 3 | |
| Conservative | 1 | |
| Total | 35 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[29]
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 35 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[30]
Premises
The council is based at the Council Offices on Urban Road in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, completed in 1986 on a site behind the old headquarters (built 1933) of one of the council's predecessors, the Kirkby-in-Ashfield Urban District Council, with the old building now being known as Ada Lovelace House.[31][32] The new building was officially opened in October 1986 by Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.[33]
Settlements and parishes
There are just three civil parishes in the district, being Annesley, Felley and Selston. Annesley and Felley share a grouped parish council.[34] The rest of the district, corresponding to the pre-1974 urban districts of Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, is an unparished area.[7]
The largest settlement is Sutton-in-Ashfield. Towns and villages in the district include the following:
Media
Television
The Ashfield District is served by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central with television signals receives from the Waltham TV transmitter.[35] Northern parts of the district around Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kirkby-in-Ashfield receives better signals from the Emley Moor TV transmitter that broadcast BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire (West) programmes [36] and the Belmont transmitter broadcasting BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire (East) programmes.[37]
Radio
Radio stations that broadcast the area are:
- BBC Radio Nottingham on 95.5 FM
- Capital East Midlands on 96.5 FM
- Takeover Radio on 106.9 FM
- Mansfield 103.2 FM, a community based station which broadcast to the district from its studios in nearby Mansfield.[38]
Newspapers
The Ashfield District is served by the local newspaper, Mansfield and Ashfield Chad.[39]