East Lindsey

This article is about the district. For the constituency, see East Lindsey (UK Parliament constituency).

East Lindsey District
Non-metropolitan district
From left to right Top: Aerial view of Skegness Middle: Louth and Horncastle town centre Bottom: Mablethorpe and the Lincolnshire Wolds
Shown within the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Administrative county	Lincolnshire
Admin. HQ	Horncastle
Government
• Type	East Lindsey District Council
•  MPs:	Edward Leigh, Matt Warman, Victoria Atkins
Area
• Total	682 sq mi (1,767 km2)
• Rank	13th
Population  (2021)
• Total	142,951
• Rank	Ranked 156th
• Density	210/sq mi (81/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
•  Ethnic groups	List 97.8% White 0.8% Asian 1% Mixed 0.2% Black 0.2% other
Religion (2021) [1]
•  Religion	List 57.3% Christianity 41.3% no religion 0.3% Islam 1.1% other
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code	32UC (ONS) E07000137 (GSS)
Ethnicity	99.0% White

East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Horncastle and the largest town is Skegness. Other towns include Alford, Louth, Mablethorpe, Spilsby and Woodhall Spa. The district also covers a large rural area, including many smaller settlements.

The district lies on the east coast, bordering the North Sea. The north-west of the district includes part of the Lincolnshire Wolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The neighbouring districts are Boston, North Kesteven, West Lindsey and North East Lincolnshire.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering nine former districts which were all abolished at the same time: ^[2]

• Alford Urban District
• Horncastle Rural District
• Horncastle Urban District
• Louth Municipal Borough
• Louth Rural District
• Mablethorpe and Sutton Urban District
• Skegness Urban District
• Spilsby Rural District
• Woodhall Spa Urban District

The new district was named East Lindsey, reflecting its position within Lindsey, one of the three historic Parts of Lincolnshire, which had been an administrative county between 1889 and 1974. ^[3]

In 2020 the council agreed to share its management and other staff with neighbouring Boston Borough Council. ^[4] South Holland District Council joined the partnership in 2021, which is now described as the "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership". ^[5]

Governance

East Lindsey District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Dick Edginton, Conservative since 24 May 2023 [6]
Leader	Craig Leyland, Conservative since 20 May 2015
Chief Executive	Robert Barlow [lower-alpha 1] since 5 December 2018 [7]
Structure
Seats	55 councillors
Political groups	Administration (26)   Conservative (26) Other parties (29)   Independent (16)   Labour (6)   SUDS (5)   Green (1)   Liberal Democrats (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
The Hub, Mareham Road, Horncastle, LN9 6PH
Website
www.e-lindsey.gov.uk

East Lindsey District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lincolnshire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. ^{[8] [9]}

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a Conservative minority administration. ^[10]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: ^{[11] [12]}

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1974–2003
	No overall control	2003–2015
	Conservative	2015–2023
	No overall control	2023–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been: ^[13]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Michael Capes		Independent	pre-2001	4 May 2003
Jeremy Webb		Independent	14 May 2003	23 May 2007
Doreen Stephenson		Conservative	23 May 2007	10 May 2015
Craig Leyland		Conservative	20 May 2015

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: ^[14]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	26
	Independent	16
	Labour	6
	Skegness Urban District Society	5
	Green	1
	Liberal Democrats	1
Total		55

Of the independent councillors, 13 sit with the Green councillor as the "East Lindsey Independent Group", one sits with the Liberal Democrat as the "District Independent / Liberal Democrat" group and the other two do not belong to a group. ^[15] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

See also: East Lindsey District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 37 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. ^[16]

Premises

The council is based at The Hub on Mareham Road in Horncastle, which was completed in 2023 as a joint campus with Boston College. Prior to that the council had its headquarters at Tedder Hall in Manby, with additional offices at Skegness Town Hall. ^[17]

Geography

The Lincolnshire Wolds from Hoe Hill near Fulletby.

East Lindsey has an area of 1,760 km², making it the fifth-largest district (and second-largest non-unitary district) in England.

It borders North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire to the North, the North Sea to the east, Boston (borough) to the south, and North Kesteven and West Lindsey, to the west. The boundary between the district and North Kesteven, and part of Boston borough, is the River Witham. The furthest west settlement in the district is Wragby, and the furthest south is Frith Bank, around three miles from Boston.

The Lincolnshire Wolds AONB run north-south through the central and northern reaches of the district. To the east along the North Sea coast lies the Lincolnshire Marsh, with the Fens to the south and south-west.

Along the boundary with West Lindsey to the west can be found the Lincolnshire Lime Woods.

East Lindsey has a greater land area than several English counties, in particular being larger than the two-tier counties of Worcestershire, East Sussex, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.

Economy

Notable Towns and Villages of East Lindsey

Notable Towns and Villages of East Lindsey

Landmarks from top left to bottom right:

1. Horncastle
2. Spilsby
3. Woodhall Spa
4. Ingoldmells
5. Mablethorpe
6. Alford
7. Wragby
8. Coningsby
9. Tattershall
10. Chapel St Leonards
11. Sutton-on-Sea
12. Grimoldby and Manby
13. Burgh le Marsh
14. Louth
15. Skegness

The economy in the district is divided between the coast and rural inland areas. The coastal towns of Mablethorpe and Skegness attract recreational and tourist traffic, and are characterised by a highly seasonal economy. The rural inland areas are dominated by agriculture. ^[18]

Transport

East Lindsey is highly rural and contains no dual carriageways. The A158 runs east-west from Lincoln, entering the district at Wragby, passing Horncastle and near by Spilsby, before terminating in Skegness. The A16 runs from Boston to the south, through Spilsby and Louth, and then on to Grimsby.

The district's only modern railway line is the Poacher Line in the south of the district, which connects Skegness to Nottingham via Boston and Grantham.

Historically the area was served by the East Lincolnshire Railway, which connected Boston to Grimsby via Alford and Louth. There were also spurs and branch lines, which included the Mablethorpe loop railway, Horncastle Railway and Spilsby branch. These connected small towns with the mainline and all closed between 1950 and 1970, with only the spur at Louth to Grimsby surviving until 1981. A section of the former East Lincolnshire Railway north of Louth has been restored as a heritage railway called the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, centred on Ludborough station.

Towns and parishes

Further information: List of civil parishes in Lincolnshire

The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Carrington and New Bolingbroke, Coningsby, Horncastle, Louth, Mablethorpe and Sutton, Skegness, Spilsby and Wainfleet All Saints have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Many of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. ^[19]

See also

• Education in Lincolnshire

References

1. Joint chief executive of Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council and South Holland District Council

1. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – East Lindsey Local Authority (E07000137)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "The English Non-metropolitan District (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 17 November 2023
3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
4. "Council minutes, 25 June 2020". Boston Borough Council. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
5. "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership". Boston Borough Council. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
6. "Council minutes, 24 May 2023". East Lindsey District Council. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
7. Hennessy, Peter (7 December 2018). "East Lindsey District Council announces new chief executive". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
8. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
9. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
10. Jaines, Daniel (May 2023). "Focus on smaller communities as East Lindsey leader re-elected". My Local Lincolnshire. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
11. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
12. "East Lindsey". BBC News Online . Retrieved 23 October 2009.
13. "Council minutes". East Lindsey District Council. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
14. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
15. "Your councillors by political party". East Lindsey District Council. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
16. "The East Lindsey (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2014/1189, retrieved 25 November 2023
17. Jaines, Daniel (3 November 2022). "East Lindsey District Council move to new HQ set for January". The Lincolnite. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
18. "East Lindsey Economic Baseline 2016 - Key Messages for Businesses" (PDF). East Lindsey District Council. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
19. "Parish Council contact details". East Lindsey District Council. Retrieved 26 November 2023.

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