Blaby District
Administrative district of Leicestershire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
|---|---|
Blaby, the village which the district is named after although Narborough is the administrative centre of the district. | |
 Shown within Leicestershire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Leicestershire |
| Admin. HQ | Narborough |
| Government | |
| • Type | Blaby District Council |
| • MPs: | Edward Argar, Alberto Costa |
| Area | |
• Total | 50 sq mi (130 km2) |
| • Rank | 175th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 108,165 |
| • Rank | Ranked 227th |
| • Density | 2,200/sq mi (830/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 | 31UB (ONS) E07000129 (GSS) |
| Ethnicity | 94.3% 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.[2] 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.[3] At the same time, Wigston was removed from the district to become its own urban district.[4] 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.[5]
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the area was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district called Blaby.[6][7]
Abolition
Under current local government reform plans, the district will be abolished in 2028 with its area being split between an enlarged Leicester unitary authority and a Leicestershire and Rutland unitary.[8]
Governance
Blaby District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Julia Smith since November 2021[10] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 36 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
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| 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 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.[11][12]
Political control
The council went under no overall control following a change of allegiance in May 2025, with the Conservatives having exactly half the council's seats. The Conservatives continue to form the council's administration, being able to rely on the chair's casting vote in the event of a tie.[13]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[14][15]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1995 | |
| No overall control | 1995–1999 | |
| Conservative | 1999–2025 | |
| No overall control[13] | 2025–present | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ernie White[16] | Conservative | 2004 | May 2015 | |
| Terry Richardson[17][13] | Conservative | 27 May 2015 | 20 May 2025 | |
| Ben Taylor[9] | Conservative | 20 May 2025 | ||
Composition
Following the 2023 election,[18][19] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[20][21]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 18 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 8 | |
| Labour | 5 | |
| Green | 2 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Reform | 1 | |
| Total | 36 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[21]
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.[22]
The district straddles the parliamentary constituencies of South Leicestershire and Chanrnwood.[12] 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.[23] 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.[24]
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.
Blaby District contains several well-known developments in the county, centred around junction 21 of the M1. The most prominent is Fosse Shopping Park.
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[25] | ONS[26] | ONS Projections[27] | ||||||||||
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.[28]
Coat of arms
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