| Borough of Blackburn with Darwen | |
| Settlement Type: | Borough and unitary authority |
| Motto: | Latin: Arte et Labore |translation=By Skill and Labour |
| Coordinates: | 53.75°N -2.4815°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Sovereign state |
| Subdivision Name: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | North West |
| Subdivision Type3: | Ceremonial county |
| Subdivision Name3: | Lancashire |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1 April 1974 |
| Established Title1: | Unitary authority |
| Established Date1: | 1 April 1998 |
| Named For: | Blackburn and Darwen |
| Seat Type: | Administrative HQ |
| Seat: | Blackburn Town Hall |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Government Type: | Unitary authority |
| Governing Body: | Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council |
| Leader Title4: | MPs |
| Area Rank: | |
| Population Rank: | |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics Type2: | Religion (2021) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Religion |
| Timezone1: | GMT |
| Utc Offset1: | +0 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | BST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +1 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode areas |
| Area Code Type: | Dialling codes |
| Area Code: | 01254 |
| Iso Code: | GB-BBD |
| Blank1 Name: | GSS code |
| Blank1 Info: | E06000008 |
Blackburn with Darwen is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, North West England. Its council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The borough includes the towns of Blackburn and Darwen plus a wider rural area which includes the villages of Lower Darwen, Feniscowles, Brownhill and Hoddlesden.[2]
It was founded in 1974 as the Lancashire borough of Blackburn, from the County Borough of Blackburn, the Municipal Borough of Darwen, the parish of North Turton from Turton Urban District (chiefly the villages of Belmont, Chapeltown and Edgworth) and parts of Blackburn Rural District. It was renamed in May 1997, in preparation for a split from Lancashire County Council. On 1 April 1998 it became a unitary authority.
| Ethnic group | School year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | |||
| Number | % | ||
| White Total | 12,911 | 46.1 | |
| White: British | 11,876 | 42.4 | |
| White: Irish | 28 | 0.1 | |
| White: Traveller of Irish heritage | 25 | 0.1 | |
| White: Gypsy/Roma | 21 | 0.1 | |
| White: Other | 961 | 3.4 | |
| Asian / Asian British Total | 12,835 | 45.8 | |
| Asian / Asian British: Indian | 4,592 | 16.4 | |
| Asian / Asian British: Pakistani | 7,282 | 26.0 | |
| Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi | 290 | 1.0 | |
| Asian / Asian British: Chinese | 71 | 0.3 | |
| Asian / Asian British: Other Asians | 600 | 2.1 | |
| Black / Black British Total | 344 | 1.2 | |
| Black: Caribbean | 13 | 0.0 | |
| Black: African | 274 | 1.0 | |
| Black: Other Blacks | 57 | 0.2 | |
| Mixed / British Mixed | 1,129 | 4 | |
| Other: Total | 474 | 1.7 | |
| Unclassified | 290 | 1.0 | |
| Total: | 27,983 | 100.0 | |
According to the 2021 census, 38.0% of the population was Christian, 35.0% Muslim, 0.3% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.4% followed another religions (including Judaism, Sikhism and others), 21.1% were not affiliated to a religion and 5.0% did not state their religious views.
See main article: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. The council is based at Blackburn Town Hall on King William Street in the centre of Blackburn. As a unitary authority, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council provides most local government services. Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which provide a lower tier of local government.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Blackburn with Darwen at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added | Agriculture | Industry | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,496 | 3 | 755 | 737 | |
| 2000 | 1,597 | 3 | 678 | 916 | |
| 2003 | 1,785 | 4 | 647 | 1,134 |
The town of Blackburn and the village of Hoddlesden lie in unparished areas.
See main article: List of schools in Blackburn with Darwen. As a unitary authority, Blackburn with Darwen authority has a statutory responsibility for educational standards and schooling within its boundaries.[4]
Blackburn with Darwen Council has a stated transport policy of "making roads traffic free".[5]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen.[6]