| Blaby District | |
| Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Coat of Arms |
| Mapsize: | frameless |
| Subdivision Type: | Sovereign state |
| Subdivision Name: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type1: | Constituent country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | East Midlands |
| Subdivision Type3: | Administrative county |
| Subdivision Name3: | Leicestershire |
| Seat Type: | Admin. HQ |
| Seat: | Narborough |
| Government Type: | Blaby District Council |
| Leader Title2: | MPs |
| Leader Name2: | Edward Argar, Alberto Costa |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Area Rank: | |
| Population Rank: | Ranked |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics Type2: | Religion (2021) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Religion |
| Timezone: | Greenwich Mean Time |
| Utc Offset: | +0 |
| Timezone Dst: | British Summer Time |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +1 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Blank Name: | ISO 3166-2 |
| Blank1 Name: | ONS code |
| Blank1 Info: | 31UB (ONS) E07000129 (GSS) |
| Blank2 Name: | OS grid reference |
| Blank3 Name: | NUTS 3 |
| Blank4 Name: | Ethnicity |
| Blank4 Info: | 94.3% White |
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.
The neighbouring districts are Hinckley and Bosworth, Charnwood, Leicester, Oadby and Wigston, Harborough and Rugby.
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]
| Blaby District Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Blaby District Council logo.svg |
| Logo Res: | 250px |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Leader1: | Nick Chapman |
| Election1: | 21 May 2024[7] |
| Leader2: | Terry Richardson |
| Election2: | 27 May 2015 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Julia Smith |
| Election3: | November 2021[8] |
| Members: | 36 councillors |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Next Election1: | 6 May 2027 |
| Session Room: | Blaby Council Offices.jpg |
| Session Res: | 250px |
| Meeting Place: | Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, Leicester, LE192EP |
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]
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 control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1995 | ||
| 1995–1999 | ||
| 1999–present | ||
The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:[13]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ernie White[14] | 2004 | 10 May 2015 | ||
| Terry Richardson | 27 May 2015 | |||
Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:[15] [16]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | |||
| 9 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 2 | |||
| Total | 36 | ||
The next election is due in 2027.
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.
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]
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.
| 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] | |||||||||||
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]
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Motto: | In Terra Divitiae (In The Earth Riches) |
| Notes: | Originally granted to Blaby Rural District Council on 20 December 1954.[24] |