Ribble Valley | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | North West England |
Ceremonial county | Lancashire |
Historic county | Lancashire and West Riding |
Admin. HQ | Clitheroe |
Government | |
• Type | Ribble Valley Borough Council |
• MPs: | Maya Ellis |
Area | |
• Total | 225 sq mi (583 km2) |
• Rank | 63rd |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 63,107 |
• Rank | Ranked 290th |
• Density | 280/sq mi (110/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
ONS code | 30UL (ONS) E07000124 (GSS) |
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It is named after the River Ribble. Much of the district lies within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The neighbouring districts are Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, South Ribble, Preston, Wyre, Lancaster and North Yorkshire.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of four former districts and parts of another three, which were abolished at the same time: [2]
The new district was named Ribble Valley after the River Ribble which flows through the area. [3] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. [4]
The Bowland Rural District had been in the West Riding of Yorkshire prior to the reforms, whereas the other parts had all been in Lancashire. The council was granted a coat of arms in 1975, which includes both the Red Rose of Lancaster and White Rose of York, referencing the two historic counties. [5]
The parish of Simonstone was transferred from Burnley to Ribble Valley in 1987. [6]
Ribble Valley Borough Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Leadership | |
Marshal Scott since April 2009 [8] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 40 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Council Offices, Church Walk, Clitheroe, BB7 2RA | |
Website | |
www |
Ribble Valley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. The whole borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [9]
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by a Conservative minority administration. [10] [11]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [12] [13]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1995 | |
No overall control | 1995–2003 | |
Conservative | 2003–2023 | |
No overall control | 2023–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Ribble Valley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1999 have been: [14]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Redpath [15] | Conservative | 1999 | 2002 | |
Chris Holtom | Conservative | 2002 | 6 May 2007 | |
Michael Ranson | Conservative | 15 May 2007 | 14 May 2013 | |
Stuart Hirst | Conservative | 14 May 2013 | 9 May 2017 | |
Ken Hind [16] | Conservative | 9 May 2017 | 20 Dec 2018 | |
Stephen Atkinson | Conservative | 15 Jan 2019 |
Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: [17] [18] [19]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 17 | |
Labour | 9 | |
Independent | 7 | |
Liberal Democrats | 5 | |
Green | 2 | |
Total | 40 |
Two of the independent councillors (both former Liberal Democrats) sit with the Greens as the 'Green and Progressive Liberal Group'. [20] The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 40 councillors representing 26 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years. [21]
The council is based at the Council Offices on Church Walk in Clitheroe, which was purpose-built for the council in 1980. [22] [23] The council chamber is in an adjoining building at 13 Church Street, which had been offices of the old Clitheroe Borough Council prior to the 1974 reforms. [24]
Longridge Town FC
Ribble Valley Radio was a community radio station based in Clitheroe, part of the new, third sector of local radio licensed by OFCOM. [25] The project was launched in September 2004. The radio station helped six local residents into paid work within the radio sector in just three years and trained more than 100 volunteers to present and produce their own radio shows. The project was not supported by the Borough Council, which caused controversy in the area, and local newspaper theClitheroe Advertiser and Times' held a poll which returned the result that 94% agreed that the Ribble Valley Borough Council were wrong not to fund the project and assist its long-term success. Many letters appeared in support of the project and damning the "short sighted" decision of the council. The whole episode brought excellent publicity and boosted the radio station's listening figures by 400%.
MP Nigel Evans was a staunch supporter and tabled an Early Day Motion at Parliament EDM 979 [26] calling for "better resources and funding" for Ribble Valley Radio and the new and emerging sector. None of this was sufficient to save the station and on 14 October 2007 Ribble Valley Radio closed, because it was unable to gain sufficient funding to apply for a licence. [27]
A new group, known as Ribble FM, [28] was formed in 2011 with the aim of applying for a community radio licence in the third round of licensing by Ofcom. Ribble FM was set up by The Bee founder Roy Martin and includes local directors and trustees.
The whole borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Clitheroe and Longridge have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". [29]
Although Ribble Valley is the largest area of Lancashire, it also has the smallest population. The economy of Ribble Valley is mainly rural in nature, with a high proportion of jobs being in the private sector, due to BAE there is a bigger sway towards manufacturing jobs and less of a service economy when compared to the rest of Lancashire presumably due to the size of the authority and the dispersed nature of settlements. The authority also has the highest proportion of remote workers in Lancashire. [30]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Ribble Valley.
Read is a village in Lancashire 5 miles west northwest of Burnley and 2 miles east of Whalley. It is on the A671 which is the main road between Burnley and Clitheroe. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 1,419.
Longridge is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated 8 miles (13 km) north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. The nearest villages are Grimsargh, 2 miles (3 km) to the southeast, and Ribchester 4 miles (6 km) to the southeast. The parish of Longridge had a population of 7,546 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 7,724 at the 2011 Census.
Ribble Valley is a constituency in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Maya Ellis, of the Labour Party.
Newton or Newton-in-Bowland is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district, in the county of Lancashire, England, formerly known as Newton-on-Hodder. The civil parish had a population of 237 in 2001, according to the United Kingdom Census, increasing to 315 at the 2011 Census. The township covers almost 6,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.
Slaidburn is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers just over 5,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland.
Bowland Forest Low is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some 5,500 acres (22 km2) of the Forest of Bowland. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 168, falling to 160 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Whitewell and Cow Ark. From northwards clockwise, it borders the civil parishes of Newton, Bashall Eaves, Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley, Bowland-with-Leagram and Bowland Forest High. Before 1974, it formed part of Bowland Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Burnley was a Rural district of Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include the large town of Burnley, which was a county borough.
Bowland was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the Forest of Bowland, which it included.
Chipping is a village and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its grid reference is SD6243, and the nearest substantial settlement is Longridge, nearly 4 mi (6.4 km) to the south. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,046, falling slightly to 1,043 at the 2011 census. The village has won several best-kept village competitions over the years. The village also won the village section of the Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom competition in 2009, picking up RHS Tourism and Gold achievement awards in the process.
Simonstone is a small village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,154. It is about 4 miles (6 km) west of Burnley and south of Pendle Hill and Clitheroe along the A671 road. The village adjoins the village of Read, Lancashire and neighbours Padiham.
Sabden is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Sabden is located south of Pendle Hill, in a valley about three miles north west of Padiham. The parish covers 2,450.9 acres (991.85 ha), of which 103.2 acres (41.75 ha) is occupied by the village. It lies in the Forest of Pendle section of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Gisburn is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Clitheroe and 11 miles (18 km) west of Skipton. The civil parish had a population of 506, recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 521 at the 2011 Census.
Pendleton is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, within the county of Lancashire, England. It is close to the towns of Whalley and Clitheroe. The parish lies on the north west side of Pendle Hill below the Nick o' Pendle. The village is just off the A59, Liverpool to York main road, since the construction of the Clitheroe By-Pass. Older roads through the parish include one from Clitheroe to Whalley which passes through the Standen area and another to Burnley which passes Pendleton Hall.
Mearley is a civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish is north-west of Pendle Hill, east of Clitheroe, and is in the Ribble Valley district. It is a small parish with no villages or hamlets and a population of 25, the second smallest in Lancashire, at the 2001 census. It has no parish council, but instead has a parish meeting shared with neighbouring Worston. From the 2011 Census population information for both Mearley and Worston is included within the civil parish of Pendleton, giving a total of 349. The eastern part of the parish is included in the Pendle outlier section of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Rimington is a rural village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 382 at the 2001 Census, however at the 2011 Census Middop was included with Rimington giving a total of 480. It is east of Clitheroe and south of the A59 road. The village consists of the hamlets of Howgill, Martin Top, Newby, and Stopper Lane, and is in the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.
Sawley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 305 at the 2001 Census, rising to 345 at the 2011 census. It is situated north-east of Clitheroe, on the River Ribble. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Great Mitton is a village and a civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is separated from the civil parish of Little Mitton by the River Ribble, both lie about three miles from the town of Clitheroe. The combined population of both civil parishes at the 2011 census was 266. In total, Great and Little Mitton cover less than 2000 acres of the Forest of Bowland, making it the smallest township in the Forest. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.
Middop is a rural hamlet and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is in Ribble Valley district. Middop is near the villages of Rimington and Gisburn and approximately 8 miles (13 km) north-east of its post town, Clitheroe. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, Middop had a population of 43. Owing to the limited population from the 2011 Census details are included in the parish of Rimington.