Ashfield () is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England. The council is based in

Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. Kirkby-in-Ashfield lies on the ea ...

, but the largest town is neighbouring

Sutton-in-Ashfield Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 36,404 in 2021. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, from the Derbyshire border and ...

. The district also contains the town of

Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...

and a few villages. The district is mostly urban, with some of its settlements forming parts of both the

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and Mansfield Urban Areas. The neighbouring districts are

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

Newark and Sherwood Newark and Sherwood is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest district by area in the county. The council is based in Newark-on-Trent, the area's largest town. The district also incl ...

Gedling Gedling is a village and former civil parish which gives its name to the larger Borough of Gedling in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies north-east of Nottingham city centre. The parish was abolished in 1935 and absorbed into the urban distr ...

, Broxtowe,

Amber Valley Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of ...

and

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district. The civil parish for the town is c ...

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, covering the whole of two former districts, most of

Hucknall Urban District Hucknall was an urban district in Nottinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Hucknall Torkard urban sanitary district. It was centred on the town of Hucknall. In 1935 it gained ...

and of parts of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time: *

Basford Rural District Basford was a rural district close to Nottingham, England, from 1894 to 1974. The district consisted of two detached parts, to the north and south of Nottingham. It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the existing Basford ...

(parishes of

Annesley Annesley is a village and civil parish in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, between Hucknall and Kirkby-in-Ashfield. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 1,162 (including Annesley Woodhouse to the west), and this inc ...

Felley Felley is a civil parish in the Ashfield district, in Nottinghamshire, England, located between Hucknall and Sutton-in-Ashfield. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of four. At the 2011 census the population remained min ...

and

Selston Selston is a large village and civil parish in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated 12 miles (19.3 km) north-northwest of Nottingham and close to the border with Derbyshire. The village is located between the ...

only) *Hucknall Urban District * Kirkby in Ashfield Urban District *

Sutton in Ashfield Urban District Sutton in Ashfield was an Urban District in Nottinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974.F A Youngs Jr., ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II: Northern England'', London, 1991 It was created under the Local Government Act ...

The new district was named Ashfield, being the shared suffix of two of the towns' names.

Governance

Ashfield District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by

Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes the city of ...

. Parts of the district are also covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

A local party, the

Ashfield Independents The Ashfield Independents are a political party in the Ashfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. Electoral history In 2017, the Ashfield Independents stood candidates in the Nottinghamshire County Council elections. They won five seats. ...

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:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2007 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election and subsequent defections and by-elections, the composition of the council is: The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 35

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 23

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

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. The new building was officially opened in October 1986 by

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester (born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen; 20 June 1946) is a Danish-born member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson of George V, King George V. Early life ...

Settlements and parishes

There are just three

es in the district, being

and

. Annesley and Felley share a grouped parish council. The rest of the district, corresponding to the pre-1974 urban districts of Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

. The largest settlement is

. Towns and villages in the district include the following: *

Annesley Woodhouse Annesley Woodhouse is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, located approximately 10 mi (16 km) north of the City of Nottingham and 6 mi (9.6 km) south of Mansfield, close to Junction 27 of the M1 motorway. It has a current population of around ...

Huthwaite Huthwaite is a village in the Ashfield district, in Nottinghamshire, England, located to the west of Mansfield, close to the Derbyshire boundary. It is in the Huthwaite and Brierley ward of Ashfield District Council. Before 1907 the village w ...

Jacksdale Jacksdale is a village in the Ashfield local-government district of Nottinghamshire, England, once a mining community. The population of Jacksdale ward in Ashfield district was recorded as 3,158 in the 2011 census, and was estimated at 3,097 in ...

Skegby Skegby is a village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the B6014 road, two miles west of Mansfield and one mile north of Sutton-in-Ashfield, close to Stanton Hill. Skegby sits on both sides of a deep valley ne ...

Stanton Hill Stanton Hill is a village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. Stanton Hill lies north of Sutton-in-Ashfield, close to the boundary with Derbyshire. History Stanton Hill was built for the colliers after sinking of the collier ...

Teversal Teversal is a village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies north of Sutton-in-Ashfield and west of Mansfield. It is close to the boundary with Derbyshire. Former names include ''Tevershalt'', ''Teversholt'', ''Tyversh ...

Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places Australia *Underwood, Queensland, a suburb of Logan City, Australia *Underwood, Tasmania, a locality United Kingdom *Underwood, Devon, a List of United Kingdom ...

Media

Television

The Ashfield District is served by

BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, South Kest ...

and

ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...

with television signals receives from the Waltham TV transmitter. Northern parts of the district around

and

receives better signals from the

Emley Moor The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...

TV transmitter that broadcast

BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshir ...

and

ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

(West) programmes and the Belmont transmitter broadcasting

BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Kingston upon Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds (now known ...

and ITV Yorkshire (East) programmes.

Radio

Radio stations that broadcast the area are: *

BBC Radio Nottingham BBC Radio Nottingham is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on London Road in Nottingham city centre. According to RAJAR, the station has ...

on 95.5 FM *

Capital East Midlands Capital East Midlands was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network, broadcasting to the East Midlands from studios in Nottingham. It launched on 3 January 2011 following the merger of Tr ...

on 96.5 FM *

Takeover Radio Takeover Radio is a community radio station broadcasting on FM to the Ashfield district in Nottinghamshire. Takeover Radio specialises in helping children gain experience and direct participative involvement in radio broadcasting. Created in ...

on 106.9 FM *

Mansfield 103.2 FM Mansfield 103.2 FM is an Independent Local Radio station in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, serving the areas of Mansfield and Ashfield in Nottinghamshire and nearby Bolsover in Derbyshire. It was launched in 1999 after winning a licence to bro ...

, a community based station which broadcast to the district from its studios in nearby

Newspapers

The Ashfield District is served by the local newspaper, ''Mansfield and Ashfield Chad''.

References

External links

Ashfield District Council
{{Authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Nottinghamshire