North West Leicestershire

North West Leicestershire District
District

Shown within Leicestershire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region East Midlands
Administrative county Leicestershire
Admin. HQ Coalville
Government
  Type North West Leicestershire District Council
  Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
  Executive: Conservative
  MP: Andrew Bridgen (Con)
Area
  Total 107.8 sq mi (279.3 km2)
Area rank 146th
Population (2011 est.)
  Total 93,700
  Rank Ranked 250th
  Density 870/sq mi (340/km2)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
  Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
ONS code 31UH (ONS)
E07000134 (GSS)
Ethnicity 98.8% White
Website nwleics.gov.uk

North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville.

The district contains East Midlands Airport, which operates flights to the rest of Britain and to various places in Europe. It is also notable as the location of Castle Donington and Donington Park, a grand-prix circuit and a major venue for music festivals.

The district is represented in the UK Parliament by the constituency of the same name.

The area has a long history of mineral extraction, with coal, brick clay, gravel and granite amongst the products. All the deep coal mines in the area have closed, but opencast mining still continues.

The district was formed in 1974 by a merger of Ashby de la Zouch Urban District, Ashby Woulds Urban District, Coalville Urban District, Ashby de la Zouch Rural District, Castle Donington Rural District and Ibstock from the Market Bosworth Rural District.

Politics

Like many other shire districts, authority over North West Leicestershire is shared between the district council and the county council. Areas of responsibility of the district council include local planning, building control, council housing, refuse collection, recycling, and some leisure services and parks.

The district council is currently controlled by 38 councillors who are elected every four years; the last election took place in May 2011[1] and saw the Conservatives hold on to control after previously winning it for the first time since its creation in 1973. The current political make-up of the council is as follows:[2]

Political party Seats Current Council (2011–2015)
  Conservative 20                                        
  Labour 16                                  
  Liberal Democrat 1    
  Independent ^ 1    

^ Cllr Tony Saffell was elected as a Conservative but now sits as an independent.

The council has a five-member executive known as the Cabinet[3] which is made up of councillors who have special responsibilities and power. As the Conservatives won overall control of the council in 2007, they hold all of the seats on the cabinet.

Position Councillor Respective Ward
Leader of the Council   Cllr Richard Blunt Appleby
Deputy Leader   Cllr Alison Smith Kegworth & Whatton
Portfolio Holder for Community Services  
Portfolio Holder for Housing Cllr Roger Bayliss Ashby Holywell
Portfolio Holder for Business Cllr Tony Gillard Whitwick
Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Planning Cllr Trevor Pendleton Kegworth & Whatton
Corporate Portfolio Holder Cllr Nicholas Rushton Breedon

Parishes[4]

Economy

Donington Hall, headquarters of BMI

BMI (British Midland), an airline, is headquartered in Donington Hall, Castle Donington.[5] The airline moved its headquarters to Donington Hall in 1982.[6] The subsidiary bmibaby has its head office in Donington Hall.[7]

Prior to its disestablishment, Excalibur Airways had its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport in Castle Donington.[8] Prior to its disestablishment, Orion Airways had its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport.[9]

In 2011 Coalfield Resources plc were given permission to development an opencast coal mining pit on the site of the former Minorca colliery on the outskirts of Measham in the seat which will be 1 mi (1.6 km) across and extract 1,250,000 tonnes (1,380,000 tons) of coal over five years, and 250,000 tonnes (280,000 tons) of clay. This will be one of three large mines all operated by main UK coal-extracting company.[10]

References

  1. North West Leicestershire District Council election, 2011 results, North West Leicestershire District Council website
  2. Council makeup, North West Leicestershire District Council website
  3. Cabinet makeup, North West Leicestershire District Council website
  4. "Parish Map of North West Leicestershire". Leicestershire County Council. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  5. "Contact us." BMI. Accessed September 23, 2008.
  6. "the eighties." British Midland International. Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
  7. "Company Information." bmibaby. Retrieved on 31 December 2011. "Registered office - Donington Hall Castle Donington Derby East Midlands DE74 2SB UK"
  8. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 24–30 March 1993. "91.
  9. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 29 March 1986. 114.
  10. "Leicestershire opencast coal mine gains approval" BBC News

External links

Coordinates: 52°43′01″N 1°22′12″W / 52.71694°N 1.37000°W