Blackburn with Darwen is aunitary authority area withborough status in theceremonial county ofLancashire,North West England. The borough includes the towns ofBlackburn andDarwen plus a wider rural area which includes the villages ofLower Darwen,Feniscowles,Brownhill andHoddlesden.[5]
It was founded in 1974 as the Lancashire borough of Blackburn, from theCounty Borough of Blackburn, theMunicipal Borough of Darwen, the parish ofNorth Turton fromTurton Urban District (chiefly the villages ofBelmont,Chapeltown andEdgworth) and parts ofBlackburn Rural District. It was renamed in May 1997, in preparation for a split fromLancashire 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.
The council is based atBlackburn 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 bycivil 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 pricespublishedArchived 22 August 2006 at theWayback Machine (pp. 240–253) byOffice for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[a] | Agriculture[b] | Industry[c] | Services[d] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 inunparished areas.
As a unitary authority, Blackburn with Darwen authority has a statutory responsibility for educational standards and schooling within its boundaries.[8]
Blackburn with Darwen Council has a stated transport policy of "making roads traffic free".[9]
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen.[10]
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