| Borough of Rugby | |
| Type: | Borough and non-metropolitan district |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Coat of Arms of the City Council |
| Mapsize: | frameless |
| Subdivision Type: | Sovereign state |
| Subdivision Name: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type1: | Constituent country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | West Midlands |
| Subdivision Type3: | Administrative county |
| Subdivision Name3: | Warwickshire |
| Seat Type: | Admin. HQ |
| Seat: | Rugby |
| Government Type: | Non-metropolitan borough |
| Leader Title1: | MPs |
| Leader Name1: | Mark Pawsey (Rugby) Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) |
| Area Rank: | |
| Population Rank: | Ranked |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| 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: | 44UD (ONS) E07000220 (GSS) |
| Blank2 Name: | OS grid reference |
| Blank3 Name: | NUTS 3 |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics Type2: | Religion (2021) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Religion |
The Borough of Rugby is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town. At the 2021 census the borough had a population of 114,400, of which 78,125 lived in the built-up area of Rugby itself and the remainder were in the surrounding areas.
Aside from Rugby itself, more notable settlements include Binley Woods, Brinklow. Dunchurch, Long Lawford, Monks Kirby, Wolston, Wolvey and the new large development of Houlton. It includes a large area of the West Midlands Green Belt in the mostly rural area between Rugby and Coventry.
Between 2011 and 2021, the population of Rugby borough saw a 14.3% increase in population from around 100,100 in to 114,400, meaning it has had the largest percentage increase of any local authority area in the West Midlands region since 2011.[1]
The borough extends from Coventry in the west to the borders with Leicestershire and Northamptonshire in the east, it borders the Warwickshire districts of Nuneaton and Bedworth to the north-west, Stratford-on-Avon to the south, and Warwick to the south-west. The Leicestershire districts of Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby and Harborough are bordered to the north and north-east, whilst West Northamptonshire is bordered to the south-east.
The town of Rugby had been a local board district from 1849. Such districts became urban districts in 1894.[2] At the same time the Rugby Rural District was created covering the surrounding rural parishes.[3] The urban and rural districts had separate councils, both based in Rugby. In 1932, Rugby Urban District was upgraded to become a municipal borough, and its boundaries were expanded to include most of Bilton (including New Bilton), Brownsover, Hillmorton and Newbold-on-Avon.[4]
The present borough was created on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. It was created by a merger of the municipal borough of Rugby (which covered the town of Rugby) and the Rugby Rural District.[5] The new district was named Rugby after its largest settlement.[6] The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Rugby's series of mayors dating back to 1932.[7]
| Rugby Borough Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Rugby Borough Council logo.svg |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Leader1 Type: | Mayor |
| Leader1: | Simon Ward |
| Party1: | Labour |
| Election1: | 16 May 2024 |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Michael Moran |
| Party2: | Labour |
| Election2: | 5 June 2024 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Mannie Ketley |
| Election3: | March 2020[8] |
| Seats: | 42 councillors |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Term Length: | 4 years |
| Voting System1: | First past the post |
| Last Election1: | 2 May 2024 |
| Next Election1: | 7 May 2026 |
| Session Room: | Rugby town hall.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | Town Hall, Evreux Way, Rugby, CV212RR |
Rugby Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Warwickshire County Council.[9] Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.[10]
The council has been under no overall control since 2023. Following the 2024 election, a minority Labour administration formed to run the council with informal support from the Liberal Democrats.[11] [12]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows [13]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1979 | ||
| 1979–1987 | ||
| 1987–1990 | ||
| 1990–2007 | ||
| 2007–2016 | ||
| 2016–2018 | ||
| 2018–2023 | ||
| 2023–present | ||
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Rugby. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:[14]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Humphrey[15] | 2002 | 31 Aug 2014 | ||
| Michael Stokes[16] | 23 Sep 2014 | 16 May 2019 | ||
| Seb Lowe | 16 May 2019 | 7 May 2023 | ||
| Derek Poole | 18 May 2023 | 5 Jun 2024 | ||
| Michael Moran | 5 Jun 2024 | |||
Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:[17]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | |||
| 15 | |||
| 10 | |||
| Total | 42 | ||
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2012 the council has comprised 42 councillors representing sixteen wards, with each ward electing either one or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time for a four-year term of office. Warwickshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[18] [19] [20]
The council is based at Rugby Town Hall on Evreux Way in the town centre, which was purpose-built for the old borough council and opened in 1961.[21]
The borough of Rugby has 41 civil parishes mainly covering the rural areas of the borough. Rugby town is an unparished area and so does not have a separate town council.[22]
Here is a list of parishes in the borough, some of which contain several settlements. Where a parish contains more than one settlement these are listed in brackets:
Places of interest in Rugby town include:
Places of interest around Rugby include: