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South Ribble

South Ribble
Shown within the ceremonial county of Lancashire
Shown within the ceremonial county of Lancashire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionNorth West England
Ceremonial countyLancashire
Founded1 April 1974
Admin. HQLeyland
Government
  TypeSouth Ribble Borough Council
  MPs:Paul Foster, Maya Ellis
Area
  Total
44 sq mi (113 km2)
  Rank183rd
Population
 (2024)
  Total
116,113
  RankRanked 213th
  Density2,660/sq mi (1,030/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
  Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
  Religion
List
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
  Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code30UN (ONS)
E07000126 (GSS)

South Ribble is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The borough includes the towns and villages of Penwortham, Leyland, Farington, Farington Moss, Hutton, Longton, Walmer Bridge, Much Hoole, Coupe Green, Samlesbury, Lostock Hall, Walton-le-Dale and Bamber Bridge. Many of the built-up areas in the borough form part of the wider Preston built-up area.

The neighbouring districts are Preston, Ribble Valley, Blackburn with Darwen, Chorley, West Lancashire and Fylde.

History

[edit]

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and parts of a third, which were abolished at the same time:[2]

The new district was named South Ribble, reflecting the fact that the River Ribble forms its northern boundary.[3] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]

Under current local government reorganisation plans, all district councils in Lancashire, as well as the county council, will be abolished in 2028, with the district becoming part of a new South Lancashire unitary authority.[5][6]

Governance

[edit]
South Ribble Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Paul Wharton-Hardman,
Labour
since 14 May 2025[7]
Jacky Alty,
Labour
since 17 July 2024
Chris Sinnott
since January 2023[8]
Structure
Seats50 councillors
Political groups
Administration (28)
  Labour (28)
Other parties (22)
  Conservative (17)
  Liberal Democrats (5)
  Reform UK (1)[9]
Elections
Plurality block voting
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland, PR25 1DH
Website
www.southribble.gov.uk

South Ribble Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[10][11]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:[12][13]

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–1995
Labour1995–1999
No overall control1999–2007
Conservative2007–2019
No overall control2019–2023
Labour2023–present

Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in South Ribble. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Margaret Smith[14][15]Conservative200720 Jul 2016
Peter Mullineaux[16][17]Conservative15 Sep 201617 May 2018
Mary Green[17][18]Conservative17 May 201815 Oct 2018
Paul Foster[19][18][20]Labour15 Oct 20181 Nov 2018
Margaret Smith[20][21][14]Conservative1 Nov 2018May 2019
Paul Foster[22][23]Labour15 May 201917 Jul 2024
Jacky Alty[23][24]Labour17 Jul 2024

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2023 election,[25] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2025, the composition of the council was:[26]

Party Councillors
Labour 28
Conservative 17
Liberal Democrats 5
Total 50

The next election is due in 2027.[26]

Elections

[edit]

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[27]

The borough straddles the parliamentary constituencies of Ribble Valley and South Ribble.[11]

Premises

[edit]

The council is based at the Civic Centre on West Paddock in Leyland. The building was built in the early 1970s for the former Leyland Urban District Council.[28]

Parishes

[edit]

There are eight civil parishes in the borough. The parish council for Penwortham has declared its parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council". The parishes of Samlesbury and Cuerdale share a grouped parish council.[29] The former urban districts of Leyland and Walton-le-Dale are unparished areas.[11]

The parishes are:

  1. Cuerdale
  2. Farington
  3. Hutton
  4. Little Hoole
  5. Longton
  6. Much Hoole
  7. Penwortham (town)
  8. Samlesbury

South Ribble parishes

Twin town

[edit]

South Ribble is twinned with:[30]

Freedom of the Borough

[edit]

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of South Ribble.

Individuals

[edit]
  • Anthony Kelly: September 2010.[31]

Military Units

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. 1 2 UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – South Ribble Local Authority (E07000124)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 August 2022
  3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 22 August 2022
  4. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  5. "Lancashire council leaders react to local government shake-up". BBC News. 16 July 2026.
  6. "Local government reorganisation: decision letter to Leaders in Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  7. "Council minutes, 14 May 2025". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  8. Aldred, Tim (22 April 2022). "Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council appoint shared chief executive". Lancashire Business View. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  9. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  10. 1 2 3 "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  11. "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "South Ribble" in search box to see specific results.)
  12. "South Ribble". BBC News Online. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  13. 1 2 Faulkner, Paul (4 June 2021). "'I got into local politics because I'm nosey', confesses outgoing South Ribble Tory leader who ran the borough for a decade". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  14. "Council minutes, 20 July 2016". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  15. "Council minutes, 15 September 2016". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Council minutes, 17 May 2018". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Labour takes over scandal-hit South Ribble council". BBC News. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  18. "Council minutes, 15 October 2018" (PDF). South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  19. 1 2 "Council minutes, 1 November 2018". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  20. "South Ribble clocks up another leader - and it's a familiar face". Lancashire Post. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  21. "Council minutes, 15 May 2019". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  22. 1 2 "Council minutes, 17 July 2024". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  23. Faulkner, Paul (18 July 2024). "New leader for South Ribble Borough Council as last one departs for Parliament". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  24. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  25. 1 2 "South Ribble". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  26. "The South Ribble (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/3288, retrieved 19 October 2023
  27. "Contact us". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 25 August 2022. Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 1DH
  28. "Parish council contacts". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  29. South Ribble Borough Council, Town Twinning retrieved 21 January 2019
  30. "Tributes pour in for former South Ribble Mayor and council leader Tony Kelly".
  31. "King's Royal Hussars mark 25 years as honorary freemen with Leyland parade | South Ribble Borough Council". Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
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53°41′49″N 2°41′24″W / 53.697°N 2.690°W / 53.697; -2.690