Charnwood | |
|---|---|
 Loughborough Carillon | |
 Shown within Leicestershire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Leicestershire |
| Admin. HQ | Loughborough |
| Government | |
| • Type | Charnwood Borough Council |
| • MPs: | Edward Argar, Jane Hunt |
| Area | |
| • Total | 108 sq mi (279 km2) |
| • Rank | 127th |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 182,817 |
| • Rank | Ranked 111th |
| • Density | 1,700/sq mi (660/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 | 31UC (ONS) E07000130 (GSS) |
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.
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:[2]
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".[3] 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.[4][5] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]
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.[7]
Charnwood Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Rob Mitchell since 2019[9] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 52 councillors |
Political groups |
|
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 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.[10][11]
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a Labour minority administration with support from the Greens.[12]
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:[13][14]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1995 | |
| Labour | 1995–1999 | |
| No overall control | 1999–2007 | |
| Conservative | 2007–2023 | |
| No overall control | 2023–present | |
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:[15]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Slater[16] | Conservative | 2010 | 6 Nov 2017 | |
| Jonathan Morgan[17] | Conservative | 6 Nov 2017 | 7 May 2023 | |
| Jewel Miah | Labour | 22 May 2023 | ||
Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:[18][19]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 23 | |
| Labour | 20 | |
| Green | 8 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 52 | |
The next election is due in 2027.
|
See also: Charnwood Borough Council 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.[20]
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.
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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.[21] 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.[22] A large extension was added to Southfields in 1990 allowing it to become Charnwood's main offices.[23] Loughborough Town Hall is still used for full council meetings of Charnwood Borough Council.[24]
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.
Charnwood is the largest borough by population in Leicestershire,[25] 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 [26] | Nomis[27] | ONS Projections [28] | ||||||||
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.[29]
The following people, military units, and organisations and groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of Charnwood.
