# Borough of Erewash

Erewash (/ˈɛrəwɒʃ/ ) is a local government district with borough status in Derbyshire, England. The borough is named after the River Erewash. The council has offices in both the borough's towns of Ilkeston and Long Eaton. The borough also includes several villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the built-up areas in the east of the borough form part of the Nottingham Urban Area.
Erewash Borough has military affiliations with 814 Naval Air Squadron Fleet Air Arm based at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose and the Mercian Regiment of the British Army, as the successors to the local infantry regiment the Sherwood Foresters.
The neighbouring districts are South Derbyshire, Derby, Amber Valley, Broxtowe, Rushcliffe and North West Leicestershire.

## History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of nine districts within Derbyshire. The new district covered the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time:
* Ilkeston Municipal Borough
* Long Eaton Urban District
* South East Derbyshire Rural District (part north of the River Derwent, rest went to South Derbyshire)
The new district was named after the River Erewash, which forms the district's eastern boundary. On 28 June 1974 the district was awarded borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

## Governance

Erewash Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Derbyshire County Council. Parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

### Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.
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:
| Party in control | Years |
| Labour | 1974–1976 |
| Conservative | 1976–1991 |
| Labour | 1991–2003 |
| Conservative | 2003–2023 |
| Labour | 2023–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Erewash. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council and executive. The leaders since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Jock Barnes | Labour | 1974 | 1976 |
| Robert Parkinson | Conservative | 1976 | 1990 |
| Henry Shaw | Conservative | 1990 | 1991 |
| Peter Jeffrey | Labour | 1991 | 1995 |
| Eric Goacher | Labour | 1996 | 1996 |
| John Kirby | Labour | 1996 | 1997 |
| Cyril Stevens | Labour | 1997 | 2003 |
| Robert Parkinson | Conservative | 2003 | 24 May 2007 |
| Chris Corbett | Conservative | 24 May 2007 | 18 May 2017 |
| Carol Hart | Conservative | 18 May 2017 | 25 May 2023 |
| James Dawson | Labour | 25 May 2023 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 28 |
| | Conservative | 16 |
| | Green | 1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | Total | 47 |
The next election is due in 2027.

### Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015, the council has comprised 47 councillors, elected from 19 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

### Premises

When the council was created, it inherited three sets of offices from the predecessor district councils. The South East Derbyshire council offices on St Mary's Gate in Derby were sold shortly after the new council's creation. There was some discussion about building a central headquarters for the council, with possibilities examined at Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre, but it was decided in 1976 that the cost of a single new building or a large enough extension to existing buildings was prohibitive. Instead the council built more modest extensions to the buildings it had inherited from the old Ilkeston and Long Eaton councils, notably in 1981 to Ilkeston Town Hall, and in 1991 to The Hall in Long Eaton, renaming the enlarged building Long Eaton Town Hall. The council continues to use both town halls for its offices and meetings.

## Parishes

The towns of Ilkeston and Long Eaton are both unparished areas. The rest of the borough is divided into 13 civil parishes. None of the parish councils are styled as town councils.
* Breadsall
* Breaston
* Dale Abbey
* Draycott and Church Wilne
* Little Eaton
* Morley
* Ockbrook and Borrowash
* Risley
* Sandiacre
* Sawley
* Stanley and Stanley Common
* Stanton-by-Dale
* West Hallam

## Education

The borough has fourteen state secondary schools and 41 primary schools. It is also home to the public (fee-paying) school of Trent College, with its junior/preparatory school, The Elms School.
Broomfield Hall of Derby College is located in Morley.
Derby Japanese School (ダービー日本人補習校 Dābī Nihonjin Hoshūkō), a Japanese weekend school, holds its classes in Broomfield Hall.

## Media

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central broadcast from the Waltham TV transmitter.
Radio stations for the area are:
* BBC Radio Derby
* BBC Radio Nottingham
* Capital East Midlands
* Smooth East Midlands
* Greatest Hits Radio Midlands
* Erewash Sound, the borough's community based radio station which broadcast from its studios in Ilkeston.
The local newspapers that cover the area are:
* Ilkeston Advertiser
* Derbyshire Times
* Nottingham Post
* Nottingham Journal

## Arms

Coat of arms of Borough of Erewash :
* NotesGranted 4 October 1983 by the College of Arms.
* CrestOn a wreath Or Gules and Azure out of a mural crown Or masoned Gules charged with four annulets Sable and between two torches issuing Azure enflamed Proper a stag rampant Gules and gorged with lace Proper attired and unguled Gold.
* EscutcheonArgent three bends wavy Azure overall between three astronomical signs of Mars Or a chevron Gules thereon a fleur de lys also Or on a chief dovetailed Gules a garb of wheat between two hanks of cotton Gold.
* MottoPer Sapientiam Constantiamque Victoria (Triumph Through Wisdom And Endeavour)
* BadgeA stag's head caboshed Gules attired Or in the mouth an astronomical sign of Mars Or and between the attires a rose Gules barbed Proper thereon another Argent barbed and seeded also Proper.