Charnwood | |
|---|---|
 Loughborough Carillon | |
 Shown withinLeicestershire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Leicestershire |
| Admin. HQ | Loughborough |
| Government | |
| • Type | Charnwood Borough Council |
| • MPs: | Edward Argar (Con,Melton and Syston) Jeevun Sandher (Lab,Loughborough) |
| Area | |
• Total | 108 sq mi (279 km2) |
| • Rank | 127th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 188,385 |
| • Rank | Ranked 114th |
| • Density | 1,750/sq mi (675/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 alocal government district withborough status in the north ofLeicestershire,England. It is named afterCharnwood Forest, much of which lies within the borough. Towns in the borough includeLoughborough (where the council is based),Shepshed andSyston. Villages in the borough includeBarrow upon Soar,Birstall,Hathern,Mountsorrel,Quorn,Rothley,Sileby andWoodhouse Eaves.
The neighbouring districts areMelton,Harborough,Leicester,Blaby,Hinckley and Bosworth,North West Leicestershire andRushcliffe.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal 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 theCharnwood Forest which covers the western part of the district.[4][5] The new district was awardedborough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]
The symbol of Charnwood Borough Council is thefox, which is also the symbol used by Leicestershire County Council. Charnwood contains the village ofQuorn, which gives its name to one of the country's oldestfox hunting packs, theQuorn Hunt, which was established in 1696 and moved to Quorn in 1753.[7]
Charnwood Borough Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byLeicestershire County Council. Much of the borough is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8][9]
To the south it borders theCity of Leicester, about 20 km away from Loughborough. There is a moderately urbanisedA6 corridor between the two population centres and close to theRiver Soar, including Quorn,Barrow-on-Soar,Mountsorrel,Birstall,Sileby,Thurmaston,Syston,Queniborough andEast Goscote.
To the south of the borough, Birstall, Queniborough, Thurmaston and Syston form part of theLeicester Urban Area, while Quorn andShepshed (the second-largest town in the district), amongst others, might be considered to be part of a Loughboroughurban agglomeration.
The highest point isBeacon Hill (248m/814 ft) to the north of theCharnwood Forest 'area of natural beauty' extending WN-west into theNational Forest.
Charnwood is the largest borough by population in Leicestershire,[10] 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[11] | Nomis[12] | ONS Projections[13] | ||||||||
The area is served byBBC East Midlands andITV Central with television signals received from theWaltham transmitter.[14]
Radio stations for the area are:
Most of the borough is covered bycivil parishes. Most of the pre-1974 borough of Loughborough is anunparished 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 aparish meeting rather than a parish council.[17]
The following people, military units, and organisations and groups have received theFreedom of the Borough of Charnwood.[18]
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Towns and villages of theBorough of Charnwood | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns | | |
| Large villages | ||
| Small villages | ||
| Hamlets | ||
