Nuneaton and Bedworth

Nuneaton and Bedworth
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Market Place in Nuneaton, the borough's largest town
Shown within Warwickshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	West Midlands
Administrative county	Warwickshire
Admin. HQ	Nuneaton
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan borough
•  MPs	Jodie Gosling Rachel Taylor John Slinger
Area
• Total	31 sq mi (79 km2)
• Rank	218th
Population  (2022)
• Total	135,481
• Rank	Ranked 173rd
• Density	4,400/sq mi (1,700/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
•  Ethnic groups	List 87.1% White 8% Asian 1.8% Mixed 1.8% Black 1.2% other
Religion (2021) [1]
•  Religion	List 48.5% Christianity 37.8% no religion 3% Islam 1.6% Hinduism 0.1% Judaism 2.6% Sikhism 0.5% Buddhism 0.6% other 5.3% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	CV7, CV10, CV11, CV12
ONS code	44UC (ONS) E07000219 (GSS)

Nuneaton and Bedworth is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. It includes the towns of Nuneaton (where the council is based) and Bedworth, as well as a modest rural hinterland including the village of Bulkington.

The neighbouring districts are Rugby, Coventry, North Warwickshire and Hinckley and Bosworth.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of two former districts which were both abolished at the same time, these were: ^[2]

• Bedworth Urban District
• Nuneaton Municipal Borough

The new district was initially named Nuneaton, after its largest town. ^[3] Nuneaton's borough status, which it had held since 1907, ^[4] was transferred to the enlarged district, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. ^[5] Following a campaign from Bedworth residents the borough's name was changed to "Nuneaton and Bedworth" with effect from 1 October 1980. ^{[6] [7]}

Governance

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	Bill Hancox, Labour since 15 May 2024 [8]
Leader	Chris Watkins, Labour since 15 May 2024
Chief Executive	Tom Shardlow since 1 June 2024 [9]
Structure
Seats	38 councillors
Political groups	Administration (19)   Labour (19) Other parties (19)   Conservative (17)   Green (2)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Coton Road, Nuneaton, CV11 5AA
Website
www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk

Bedworth, the second town and second-largest settlement in the borough

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Warwickshire County Council. ^[10] There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area. ^[11]

Political control

The council was under Labour majority control since the 2024 election. ^[12] On 11 December, after councillor Will Markham defected to the Conservatives at a Town Hall meeting, Labour lost control of the council, which seen it become no overall control. ^[13]

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: ^{[14] [15]}

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1974–2008
	Conservative	2008–2010
	No overall control	2010–2012
	Labour	2012–2018
	No overall control	2018–2021
	Conservative	2021–2024
	Labour	May 2024–December 2024
	No overall control	December 2024–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Nuneaton and Bedworth. Political leadership is provided instead by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been: ^[16]

Councillor	Party		From	To
John Haynes		Labour	May 1974	May 1982
Bill Olner		Labour	May 1982	May 1986
Dennis Harvey [17]		Labour	1986	May 2008
Marcus Jones		Conservative	May 2008	May 2009
Peter Gilbert		Conservative	May 2009	12 May 2010
Dennis Harvey		Labour	12 May 2010	6 May 2018
Julie Jackson		Labour	16 May 2018	9 May 2021
Kristofer Wilson		Conservative	19 May 2021	15 May 2024
Chris Watkins [18]		Labour	2 May 2024

Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: ^[19]

Party		Councillors
	Labour	20
	Conservative	16
	Green	2
Total		38

The next election is due in 2026.

Elections

See also: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 38 councillors representing 19 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. Elections are held in alternate years, with half the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. ^[20]

Premises

The council is based at Nuneaton Town Hall on Coton Road in Nuneaton. The building was purpose-built for the old Nuneaton Borough Council and opened in 1934. ^[21]

Subdivisions

Bulkington, the third-largest settlement in the borough

Wards of Nuneaton and Bedworth

Nuneaton and Bedworth are divided into 19 wards, each represented by 2 councillors, giving a total of 38 councillors. The borough has no civil parishes.

Ward name	Approximate coverage	Population (2001 census)	Population (2011 census)
Arbury	Heath End, Glendale, Bermuda, Arbury	5,482	6,736
Attleborough	Attleborough, Maple Park, SW Whitestone	7,564	7,676
Bede	Collycroft (east), Furnace Fields (north), Bedworth town centre, Burnside, Water Tower estate	6,760	6,666
Bulkington	Bulkington, Weston-in-Arden, Ryton, Marston Jabbett, Bramcote (west)	6,303	6,146
Camp Hill	Camp Hill	7,325	7,321
Chilvers Coton	Chilvers Coton	[ to be determined ]	[ to be determined ]
Eastboro	Eastboro	[ to be determined ]	[ to be determined ]
Exhall	Exhall (west), Ash Green, Neals Green, Keresley End	7,381	8,006
Galley Common	Galley Common, Chapel End, Whittleford	7,593	8,233
Heath	Bedworth Heath, Goodyers End, Market End	6,377	7,473
Milby	Milby	[ to be determined ]	[ to be determined ]
Poplar	Furnace Fields (south), Coalpit Field, Exhall (east), Hawkesbury Village	6,850	8,043
Slough	Collycroft (west), Mount Pleasant, Bedworth Woodlands, Woodland Park	7,058	7,041
St Mary's	St Mary's	[ to be determined ]	[ to be determined ]
St Nicolas	Horeston Grange, Hinckley Road, The Long Shoot, St Nicolas Park (south)	7,073	6,943
Stockingford East	Stockingford East	[ to be determined ]	[ to be determined ]
Stockingford West	Stockingford West	[ to be determined ]	[ to be determined ]
Weddington	Weddington, St Nicolas Park (north)	7,286	7,256
Whitestone	Whitestone (except SW part), Attleborough Fields	7,435	6,877
TOTAL	NUNEATON & BEDWORTH	119,132	125,252

For a sortable list of wards in Nuneaton and Bedworth by population, see List of wards in Nuneaton and Bedworth by population.

Twinnings

Nuneaton and Bedworth is twinned with:

• Roanne, France
• Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain
• Cottbus, Germany

References

1. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Nuneaton and Bedworth Local Authority (E07000219)". 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 3 January 2024
4. "Nuneaton Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
5. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
6. Alteration of Areas and Status of Local Authorities 1 October 1980 to 1 April 1981 (PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1981. p. 17. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
7. "Bedworth Timeline". The Bedworth Society. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
8. Harrison, Claire (16 May 2024). "New mayor and deputy make history at Nuneaton and Bedworth council". Coventry Live. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
9. "New Chief Executive named". Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
10. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
11. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
12. Dawkins, Andrew; Nevett, Joshua (3 May 2024). "Labour gains control of Nuneaton and Bedworth". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
13. Nevett, Joshua; McIntyre, Alex (12 December 2024). "Labour loses control of council after defection". BBC News . Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
14. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
15. "Nuneaton & Bedworth". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
16. "Council minutes". Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
17. Harrison, Claire (30 November 2017). "Borough council leader announces shock retirement". Coventry Live. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
18. Harrison, Claire (16 May 2024). "'Be courteous' says new council leader after toxic Town Hall claims". Coventry Live. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
19. "Nuneaton & Bedworth election result". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
20. "The Nuneaton and Bedworth (Electoral Changes) Order 2024", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2024/3, retrieved 21 January 2024
21. Veasey, E.A. (2002), Nuneaton A History, Phillimore & Co. Limited, pages 104, 113–114, 126 ISBN   1 86077 215 3.

External links

• The Nuneaton Local History Group
• Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
• Election Results

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