Blaby District | |
|---|---|
 Blaby, the village which the district is named after althoughNarborough is the administrative centre of the district. | |
 Shown withinLeicestershire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Leicestershire |
| Admin. HQ | Narborough |
| Government | |
| • Type | Blaby District Council |
| • MPs: | Edward Argar, Alberto Costa |
| Area | |
• Total | 130 km2 (50 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 175th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 108,165 |
| • Rank | Ranked 227th |
| • Density | 830/km2 (2,200/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ONS code | 31UB (ONS) E07000129 (GSS) |
| Ethnicity | 94.3% White |
Blaby is alocal government district inLeicestershire, England. The district is named after the village ofBlaby, although the council is based inNarborough. The district covers an area lying south-west of the city ofLeicester. Several of the district's settlements form part of the widerLeicester Urban Area, includingGlenfield, whereLeicestershire County Council has its headquarters atCounty Hall, and the town ofBraunstone.
The neighbouring districts areHinckley and Bosworth,Charnwood,Leicester,Oadby and Wigston,Harborough andRugby.
The district traces its origins to the BlabyPoor Law Union, which had been created in 1836. Although named after Blaby, the union built itsworkhouse inEnderby.[2] In 1872sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existingboards of guardians of poor law unions. In 1894 rural sanitary districts were redesignated asrural districts with their own councils, and so theBlaby Rural District came into being.[3] At the same time,Wigston was removed from the district to become its ownurban district.[4]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 abolishedHinckley Rural District.[5]
In 1974, under theLocal Government Act 1972, the area was reconstituted as anon-metropolitan district called Blaby.[6][7]
Blaby District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Julia Smith since November 2021[9] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 36 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Plurality block voting | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, Leicester, LE19 2EP | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Blaby District Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byLeicestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[10][11]
The council went underno overall control following a change of allegiance in May 2025, with theConservatives having exactly half the council's seats. The Conservatives continue to form the council's administration, being able to rely on the chair's casting vote in the event of a tie.[12]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[13][14]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1995 | |
| No overall control | 1995–1999 | |
| Conservative | 1999–2025 | |
| No overall control[12] | 2025–present | |
Theleaders of the council since 2004 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ernie White[15] | Conservative | 2004 | May 2015 | |
| Terry Richardson[16][12] | Conservative | 27 May 2015 | 20 May 2025 | |
| Ben Taylor[8] | Conservative | 20 May 2025 | ||
Following the2023 election,[17][18] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[19][20]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 18 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 8 | |
| Labour | 5 | |
| Green | 2 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Reform UK | 1 | |
| Total | 36 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[20]
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 36councillors representing 17wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[21]
The district straddles the parliamentary constituencies ofSouth Leicestershire andChanrnwood.[11] There was aBlaby constituency between 1974 and 2010, which was represented byNigel Lawson between 1974 and 1992.
Blaby District Council's main offices are on Desford Road in Narborough.[22] The old part of the building was formerly a house called the Old Rectory, which had previously served as therectory for the nearbyAll 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.[23]
In 1994 a new development calledThorpe 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[24] | ONS[25] | ONS Projections[26] | ||||||||||
The district contains 24civil 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 aparish meeting rather than a parish council.[27]
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Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, Leicestershire, LE19 2EP
Towns and villages ofBlaby District | ||
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| Towns | | |
| Large villages | ||
| Small villages | ||
| Hamlets | ||
52°34′23″N1°12′00″W / 52.573°N 1.2°W /52.573; -1.2
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
