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Borough of Rugby

Coordinates: 52°22′31″N 1°15′49″W / 52.3752°N 1.2637°W / 52.3752; -1.2637
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(Redirected from Rugby district)

Borough of Rugby
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Rugby, the largest settlement and administrative centre of the borough
Rugby, the largest settlement and administrative centre of the borough
Shown within Warwickshire
Shown within Warwickshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionWest Midlands
Administrative countyWarwickshire
Admin. HQRugby
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan borough
 • MPs:John Slinger (Rugby)
Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam)
Area
 • Total
136 sq mi (351 km2)
 • Rank101st
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
116,436
 • RankRanked 208th
 • Density860/sq mi (330/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code44UD (ONS)
E07000220 (GSS)

The Borough of Rugby is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town. At the 2021 census the borough had a population of 114,400, of which 78,125 lived in the built-up area of Rugby itself and the remainder were in the surrounding areas.

Aside from Rugby itself, more notable settlements include Binley Woods, Brinklow. Dunchurch, Long Lawford, Monks Kirby, Wolston, Wolvey and the new large development of Houlton. It includes a large area of the West Midlands Green Belt in the mostly rural area between Rugby and Coventry.

Between 2011 and 2021, the population of Rugby borough saw a 14.3% increase in population from around 100,100 in to 114,400, meaning it has had the largest percentage increase of any local authority area in the West Midlands region since 2011.[2]

The borough extends from Coventry in the west to the borders with Leicestershire and Northamptonshire in the east, it borders the Warwickshire districts of Nuneaton and Bedworth to the north-west, Stratford-on-Avon to the south, and Warwick to the south-west. The Leicestershire districts of Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby and Harborough are bordered to the north and north-east, whilst West Northamptonshire is bordered to the south-east.

History

[edit]

The town of Rugby had been a local board district from 1849.[3] Such districts became urban districts in 1894.[4] At the same time the Rugby Rural District was created covering the surrounding rural parishes.[5] The urban and rural districts had separate councils, both based in Rugby. In 1932, Rugby Urban District was upgraded to become a municipal borough, and its boundaries were expanded to include most of Bilton (including New Bilton), Brownsover, Hillmorton and Newbold-on-Avon.[6]

The present borough was created on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. It was created by a merger of the municipal borough of Rugby (which covered the town of Rugby) and the Rugby Rural District.[7] The new district was named Rugby after its largest settlement.[8] The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Rugby's series of mayors dating back to 1932.[9]

Governance

[edit]
Rugby Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Barbara Brown,
Labour
since 15 May 2025[10]
Michael Moran,
Labour
since 5 June 2024
Dan Green
since 13 February 2025[11]
Structure
Seats42 councillors
Political groups
Administration (15)
  Labour (15)
Other parties (27)
  Conservative (17)
  Liberal Democrats (10)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Evreux Way, Rugby, CV21 2RR
Website
www.rugby.gov.uk

Rugby Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Warwickshire County Council.[12] Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.[13]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been under no overall control since 2023. Following the 2024 election, a minority Labour administration formed to run the council with informal support from the Liberal Democrats.[14][15]

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[16]

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1979
No overall control 1979–1987
Conservative 1987–1990
No overall control 1990–2007
Conservative 2007–2016
No overall control 2016–2018
Conservative 2018–2023
No overall control 2023–present

Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Rugby. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Ken Marriott[17][18] Conservative 1 Apr 1974 16 Aug 1977
Harold Cox[19][20] Conservative 1977 1978
Gordon Collett[21][22] Conservative 1978 May 1986
Lionel Franklyn[22][23] Conservative May 1986 May 1989
Gordon Collett[23][24] Conservative May 1989 May 1993
Lionel Franklyn[24][25] Conservative May 1993 May 1995
Bryan Levy[26][27][28] Labour May 1995 May 2000
Steve Stewart[29][28] Labour May 2000 20 Jun 2001
Alan Webb[30][31] Labour 20 Jun 2001 May 2002
Craig Humphrey[32][33] Conservative May 2002 31 Aug 2014
Michael Stokes[34] Conservative Sep 2014 16 May 2019
Seb Lowe[35][36] Conservative 16 May 2019 May 2023
Derek Poole[37][38] Conservative 18 May 2023 5 Jun 2024
Michael Moran[39] Labour 5 Jun 2024

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:[40]

Party Councillors
Conservative 17
Labour 15
Liberal Democrats 10
Total 42

The next election is due in 2026.[41]

Elections

[edit]
See also: Rugby Borough Council elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2012 the council has comprised 42 councillors representing sixteen wards, with each ward electing either one or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time for a four-year term of office. Warwickshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[42][43][44]

Premises

[edit]

The council is based at Rugby Town Hall on Evreux Way in the town centre, which was purpose-built for the old borough council and opened in 1961.[45]

Parishes

[edit]

The borough of Rugby has 41 civil parishes mainly covering the rural areas of the borough. Rugby town is an unparished area and so does not have a separate town council.[46]

Here is a list of parishes in the borough, some of which contain several settlements. Where a parish contains more than one settlement these are listed in brackets:

Places of interest

[edit]

Places of interest in Rugby town include:

Places of interest around Rugby include:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Rugby Local Authority (E07000220)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. ^ "How the population changed in Rugby: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. ^ "No. 21020". The London Gazette. 18 September 1849. p. 2853.
  4. ^ Local Government Act 1894
  5. ^ "Rugby RD Local Government District". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Rugby MB/UD Local Government District". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  7. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan District (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 17 November 2023
  8. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 3 January 2024
  9. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Council minutes, 15 May 2025". Rugby Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Council minutes, 13 February 2025". Rugby Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  13. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  14. ^ Morris, Andy (29 May 2024). "Labour set to lead Rugby Borough Council under new pact with Lib Dems". Rugby Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  15. ^ Khan, Shehnaz (7 June 2024). "New council leader 'honoured' to take on role". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Rugby" in search box to see specific results.)
  17. ^ "Leader picked for Rugby's new council". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 20 June 1973. p. 43. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Rugby council leader dies". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 17 August 1977. p. 6. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Silent tribute to man of devotion". Rugby Advertiser. 9 September 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Council may hold 'informal' enquiry". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 12 April 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Long wait likely on centre plan". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 19 July 1978. p. 11. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  22. ^ a b Court, Judy (15 May 1986). "Toppled from top town hall job". Rugby Advertiser. p. 13. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Gordon says that it is great to be back". Rugby Advertiser. 11 May 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  24. ^ a b "New council leader". Rugby Advertiser. 20 May 1993. p. 5. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  25. ^ "Labour set to raise a red flag over Rugby". Rugby Advertiser. 11 May 1995. p. 8. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  26. ^ Buggins, Arryn (15 June 1995). "Labour to 'open doors' and brighten borough". Rugby Advertiser. p. 14. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Former leader gets Freedom of the Borough". Rugby Advertiser. 5 October 2000. p. 7. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Shock as council leader resigns". Coventry Live. 12 June 2001. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  29. ^ "New leaders draw up party lines". Rugby Advertiser. 25 May 2000. p. 5. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  30. ^ Mears, Patrick (5 July 2001). "New leader has high hopes for Rugby". Rugby Advertiser. p. 9. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  31. ^ "Tories gain seats but power is still shared". Rugby Advertiser. 9 May 2002. p. 8. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  32. ^ "New leader ready to negotiate with others". Rugby Advertiser. 23 May 2002. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  33. ^ "Humphrey defends new role after 'jobs for the boys' claim". Rugby Observer. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  34. ^ Morris, Andy (8 May 2019). "Rugby council leader to step down due to work commitments". Rugby Observer. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  35. ^ "Council minutes, 16 May 2019". Rugby Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  36. ^ "Voters send 'clear message' after Tories lose leader and overall majority at Rugby Borough Council". Rugby Observer. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  37. ^ "Council minutes, 18 May 2023". Rugby Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  38. ^ Mitchell, Andy (6 June 2024). "Labour take charge of Rugby Borough Council having won vote to oust Conservatives". Warwickshire World. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  39. ^ "Council minutes, 5 June 2024". Rugby Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  40. ^ "ELECTION RESULTS: Labour close gap on Tories at Rugby Borough Council". Rugby Observer. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  41. ^ "Rugby". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  42. ^ "The Rugby (Electoral Changes) Order 2012", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2012/4, retrieved 21 January 2024
  43. ^ "RUGBY District Wards". City Population. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  44. ^ "The Council". Rugby Borough Council. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  45. ^ "Rugby history timeline". Rugby Local History Group. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  46. ^ "RUGBY District Parishes". City Population. Retrieved 20 October 2018.

52°22′31″N 1°15′49″W / 52.3752°N 1.2637°W / 52.3752; -1.2637

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