Ashfield District | |
|---|---|
 Hucknall High Street  Market Place, Kirkby in Ashfield .jpg) Felley Priory  St Mary Magdalene, Sutton in Ashfield | |
 Interactive map of Ashfield District | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Nottinghamshire |
| Admin. HQ | Kirkby-in-Ashfield |
| Government | |
| • Type | Ashfield District Council |
| • MPs: | Lee Anderson (Reform UK) Michelle Welsh (Labour) |
| Area | |
• Total | 42 sq mi (110 km2) |
| • Rank | 190th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 129,572 |
| • Rank | Ranked 189th |
| • Density | 3,100/sq mi (1,200/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 | 37UB (ONS) E07000170 (GSS) |
Ashfield (/ˈæʃˌfiːld/) is alocal government district inNottinghamshire, England. The council is based inKirkby-in-Ashfield, but the largest town is neighbouringSutton-in-Ashfield. The district also contains the town ofHucknall and a few villages. The district is mostly urban, with some of its settlements forming parts of both theNottingham andMansfield Urban Areas.
The neighbouring districts areMansfield,Newark and Sherwood,Gedling,Nottingham,Broxtowe,Amber Valley andBolsover.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering the whole of two former districts, most ofHucknall Urban District and of parts of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]
The new district was named Ashfield, being the shared suffix of two of the towns' names.[3]
Ashfield District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Theresa Hodgkinson since 2021[5] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 35 councillors |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council Offices, Urban Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, NG17 8DA | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Ashfield District Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byNottinghamshire County Council. Parts of the district are also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6][7]
A local party, theAshfield Independents, has held a majority of the seats on the council since 2019.
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. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[8][9]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–2018 | |
| No overall control | 2018–2019 | |
| Ashfield Ind. | 2019–present | |
Theleaders of the council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarence Booler[10] | Labour | 1974 | Aug 1986 | |
| Jack Barker[11][12] | Labour | 1986 | 1987 | |
| Ken Creed[13][14][15] | Labour | 1987 | Aug 1995 | |
| David Ayres[14][16] | Labour | 1995 | 30 Mar 1999 | |
| Chris Bonam[17][18] | Labour | 1999 | 2001 | |
| Ken Creed[15][19] | Labour | 2001 | 2007 | |
| Jason Zadrozny[20][21] | Liberal Democrats | May 2007 | Mar 2009 | |
| John Knight[21][22] | Labour | Mar 2009 | 23 May 2013 | |
| Chris Baron[22][23] | Labour | 23 May 2013 | May 2015 | |
| Cheryl Butler[24][25] | Labour | May 2015 | 26 Apr 2018 | |
| Jason Zadrozny[26] | Ashfield Ind. | 26 Apr 2018 | ||
Following the2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to February 2025, the composition of the council was:[27][28]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Ashfield Ind. | 31 | |
| Reform | 3 | |
| Conservative | 1 | |
| Total | 35 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[29]
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 35councillors representing 23wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[30]
The council is based at the Council Offices on Urban Road in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, completed in 1986 on a site behind the old headquarters (built 1933) of one of the council's predecessors, the Kirkby-in-Ashfield Urban District Council, with the old building now being known as Ada Lovelace House.[31][32] The new building was officially opened in October 1986 byBirgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.[33]
There are just threecivil parishes in the district, beingAnnesley,Felley andSelston. Annesley and Felley share a grouped parish council.[34] The rest of the district, corresponding to the pre-1974 urban districts of Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, is anunparished area.[7]
The largest settlement isSutton-in-Ashfield. Towns and villages in the district include the following:
The Ashfield District is served byBBC East Midlands andITV Central with television signals receives from theWaltham TV transmitter.[35] Northern parts of the district aroundSutton-in-Ashfield andKirkby-in-Ashfield receives better signals from theEmley Moor TV transmitter that broadcastBBC Yorkshire andITV Yorkshire (West) programmes[36] and theBelmont transmitter broadcastingBBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire (East) programmes.[37]
Radio stations that broadcast the area are:
The Ashfield District is served by the local newspaper,Mansfield and Ashfield Chad.[39]
