Rushcliffe

Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. The borough also includes the towns of Bingham and Cotgrave as well as numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the built-up areas in the north-west of the borough, including West Bridgford, form part of the Nottingham Urban Area.

Borough of Rushcliffe
West Bridgford, the largest settlement in the borough and the administrative centre
West Bridgford, the largest settlement in the borough and the administrative centre
Shown within Nottinghamshire
Shown within Nottinghamshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast Midlands
Administrative countyNottinghamshire
Admin. HQWest Bridgford
Government
  TypeRushcliffe Borough Council
  Leadership:Leader & Cabinet
  Executive:Conservative
  MPs:Ruth Edwards
Robert Jenrick
Area
  Total158.0 sq mi (409.2 km2)
  Rank84th
Population
 (2021)
  Total119,438
  RankRanked 197th
  Density760/sq mi (290/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
  Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code37UJ (ONS)
E07000176 (GSS)
Ethnicity94.1% White
2.7% S.Asian
1.0% Black
1.3% Mixed
0.9% Chinese or Other[1]

The neighbouring districts are Broxtowe, Nottingham, Gedling, Newark and Sherwood, Melton, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire and Erewash.

History

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

The new district was named after the ancient Rushcliffe Wapentake, which had covered part of the area.[3] Rushcliffe means "cliff where brushwood grows", from Old English hris "brushwood" and clif "cliff". The new Rushcliffe district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]

Governance

Rushcliffe Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Debbie Mason,
Conservative
since 25 May 2023
Neil Clarke,
Conservative
since 25 May 2023
Kath Marriott
since 5 March 2020[5]
Structure
Seats44 councillors
Political groups
Administration (25)
  Conservative (25)
Other parties (19)
  Labour (9)
  Independent (5)
  Green (2)
  Rushcliffe Ind. (2)
  Liberal Democrat (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Rushcliffe Arena, Rugby Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7YG
Website
www.rushcliffe.gov.uk
Bingham, the second-largest settlement in the borough
Cotgrave, the third-largest settlement in the borough

Rushcliffe Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Nottinghamshire County Council. Most of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6]

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[7][8]

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–1995
No overall control1995–1999
Conservative1999–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Rushcliffe. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2005 have been:[9]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Neil Clarke[10] ConservativeMay 200525 May 2017
Simon Robinson Conservative25 May 20177 May 2023
Neil Clarke Conservative25 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:[11]

Party Councillors
Conservative25
Labour9
Independent5
Green2
Rushcliffe Independents2
Liberal Democrats1
Total 44

Of the five independent councillors, three sit together as the "Leake Independents" group and two sit together as the "Bingham Independents" group.[12] The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

Rushcliffe Civic Centre, West Bridgford: Council's offices 1982–2016.

The council is based at the Ruscliffe Arena on Rugby Road in West Bridgford. The building is a combined leisure centre and council headquarters. The council moved into the new building in December 2016 and the leisure centre opened the following month.[13] From 1982 to 2016 the council was based at Rushcliffe Civic Centre on Pavilion Road in West Bridgford, overlooking Trent Bridge. That building had been built in 1966 as a hotel called the Bridgford Hotel.[14][15]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 44 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[16]

Wards

The wards are:[16]

Wider politics

The borough straddles two parliamentary constituencies. Most of the borough is in the Rushcliffe constituency. The north-eastern part of the borough around Bingham and surrounding villages is in the Newark constituency.[17]

Geography

South-east of Nottingham, the Rushcliffe boundary splits from the City of Nottingham boundary near the Holme Pierrepont Watersports Centre and then follows the River Trent to near RAF Syerston, which is the most northern part of the district, although Syerston the village itself is in the Newark and Sherwood district. It meets the River Devon near Cotham, then follows this river to the east southwards to where it meets the Leicestershire boundary. To the south, the Leicestershire/Rushcliffe boundary crosses the runways of the former RAF Langar with most of the airfield in Rushcliffe.

Rushcliffe is split between an urbanised north-west, containing suburbs of Greater Nottingham that have not been incorporated into the city, and the south and east which is predominantly rural, which stretches to the Leicestershire border. Many of these villages lie in the Vale of Belvoir. The Grantham Canal threads from nearby Grantham through Rushcliffe to the River Trent. Villages in the Vale of Belvoir include Redmile, Hickling, Harby, Stathern and Langar. Geographically, the River Soar marks the divide between the two counties.

Towns and parishes

The former West Bridgford Urban District is an unparished area.[17] The rest of the borough is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Bingham and Cotgrave take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.[18]

Education

Rushcliffe Spencer Academy and West Bridgford school have ranked regularly in the top 100 comprehensive schools in the UK for GCSE results. In 2014 West Bridgford was ranked at 63rd of all comprehensives in the UK with 83% achieving '5+ A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and maths GCSEs' and Rushcliffe 81st in the UK with 82% achieving 5 A*-C in 2014.[19]

The Becket School (partly geographically outside the Rushcliffe district), West Bridgford School and Rushcliffe Spencer Academy get A level results for 'Average point score per A level student (full-time equivalent)' in the top 10% of all schools in the UK, comprehensive or selective, better than many English grammar schools.[20] These scores are in the top 2% for all UK comprehensives.

Sutton Bonington is in the south of the district, which has the Sutton Bonington Campus of the University of Nottingham.

Notable residents

Arms

Coat of arms of Rushcliffe
Crest
On a wreath Or and Vert within a mural crown Or charged with three oak leaves a cliff surrounded by rushes Proper.
Escutcheon
Per chevron Sable and Vert in chief two bears salient respectant and in base a representation of the Bingham Butter Cross Or on a chief Argent a barrulet wavy Azure rising therefrom a bridge of three arches Or.
Motto
Salus Populi (The Welfare Of The People)[21]

References

  1. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=277083&c=rushcliffe&d=13&e=13&g=479699&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1212004187468&enc=1&dsFamilyId=1812
  2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  4. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  5. "Kath Marriott named Chief Executive at Rushcliffe Borough Council". Nottingham Local News. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  6. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  7. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  8. "Rushcliffe". BBC News Online. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  9. "Council minutes". Rushcliffe Borough Council. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  10. Breese, Chris (24 May 2017). "Rushcliffe Borough Council leader Neil Clarke stands down". Notts TV. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  11. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  12. "Your councillors by party". Rushcliffe Borough Council. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  13. "Borough Council on the move". Rushcliffe Business Partnership. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  14. "Area's first big hotel for 60 years: Now a Trent Bridge view for visitors". Nottingham Evening Post. 28 June 1966. p. 13. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  15. "Rushcliffe Hotel HQ". Nottingham Recorder. 29 July 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  16. "The Rushcliffe (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/1364, retrieved 3 July 2023
  17. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  18. "Parish council contact details". Rushcliffe Borough Council. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  19. "DfE". www.education.gov.uk. DfE. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  20. "DfE". www.education.gov.uk/. DfE. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  21. "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 8 March 2021.

Media related to Rushcliffe at Wikimedia Commons

52.90°N 1.05°W / 52.90; -1.05

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