Blaby is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The district is named after the village of Blaby, although the council is based in Narborough. The district covers an area lying south-west of the city of Leicester. Several of the district's settlements form part of the wider Leicester Urban Area, including Glenfield, where Leicestershire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall, and the town of Braunstone.
The neighbouring districts are Hinckley and Bosworth, Charnwood, Leicester, Oadby and Wigston, Harborough and Rugby. The district traces its origins to the Blaby Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1836. It became a rural district in 1894. The modern non-metropolitan district was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.
History The district traces its origins to the Blaby Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1836. Although named after Blaby, the union built its workhouse in Enderby. In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. In 1894 rural sanitary districts were redesignated as rural districts with their own councils, and so the Blaby Rural District came into being.Local Government Act 1894 At the same time, Wigston was removed from the district to become its own urban district. 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 abolished Hinckley Rural District.
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the area was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district called Blaby. Abolition Under current local government reform plans, the district will be abolished in 2028 with its area being split between an enlarged Leicester unitary authority and a Leicestershire and Rutland unitary.
Governance
Blaby District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.
Political control The council went under no overall control following a change of allegiance in May 2025, with the Conservatives 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.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: (Put "Blaby" in search box to see specific results.) Party in control Years 1974–1976 1976–1995 1995–1999 1999–2025 2025–present
Leadership The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:
Councillor Party From To Ernie White 2004 May 2015 Terry Richardson 27 May 2015 20 May 2025 Ben Taylor 20 May 2025
Composition Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:
Party Councillors 18 8 5 2 2 1Total36
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 17 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.
The district straddles the parliamentary constituencies of South Leicestershire and Chanrnwood. There was a Blaby constituency between 1974 and 2010, which was represented by Nigel Lawson between 1974 and 1992.
Premises Blaby District Council's main offices are on Desford Road in Narborough. The old part of the building was formerly a house called the Old Rectory, which had previously served as the rectory for the nearby All 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.
Geography In 1994 a new development called Thorpe 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.
Demography
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 97,700 100,500 107,000CensusVision of Britain through timeONSmid year estimateONS ProjectionsONS population projections 2014 base / projections uplifted by '21-200/'31-500 given underestimation at 2016 - 300/
Parishes The district contains 24 civil 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 a parish meeting rather than a parish council.
Aston Flamville Blaby Braunstone Cosby Countesthorpe Croft Elmesthorpe Enderby Glen Parva Glenfields Huncote Kilby Kirby Muxloe Leicester Forest East Leicester Forest West Lubbesthorpe Narborough Potters Marston Sapcote Sharnford Stoney Stanton Thurlaston Whetstone Wigston Parva
Coat of arms
References
External links
Blaby District Council