# Mansfield District

Mansfield District is a local government district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is named after the town of Mansfield, where the council is based. The district also contains Mansfield Woodhouse (which forms part of the Mansfield urban area) and Warsop.
The neighbouring districts are Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Ashfield and Bolsover.

## History

The town of Mansfield had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1823. They were replaced in 1891 when it was incorporated as a municipal borough.
The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the whole area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:
* Mansfield Municipal Borough
* Mansfield Woodhouse Urban District
* Warsop Urban District
The new district was named Mansfield after its main town. Unusually for a district taking the same name as a former borough, the new Mansfield district was not granted borough status. Instead charter trustees were established for the area of the former borough of Mansfield, with responsibility for looking after the civic regalia of the town.
Since 2002 the council has been led by a directly elected mayor.

## Governance

Mansfield District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Nottinghamshire County Council. Warsop is also a civil parish, which is a third tier of local government for that part of the district.

### Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.
The first election to the modern district council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| Labour | 1974–2003 |
| Mansfield Independent | 2003–2011 |
| Labour | 2011–2015 |
| Mansfield Independent | 2015–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–2023 |
| Labour | 2023–present |

### Leadership

From 1974 until 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. Only one person served as leader in that time:
| Councillor | Party | Party | From | To |
| Jim Hawkins | | Labour | 1 Apr 1974 | 20 Oct 2002 |
In 2002 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor. The mayors since 2002 have been:
| Mayor | Party | From | To |
| Tony Egginton | Mansfield Independent | 21 Oct 2002 | 10 May 2015 |
| Kate Allsop | Mansfield Independent | 11 May 2015 | 5 May 2019 |
| Andy Abrahams | Labour | 6 May 2019 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election and a By-election in June 2024, the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) was:
On 25 October 2024, three long standing members of Mansfield Independent Forum defected to Reform UK, marking a new political group on the council.
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 26 |
| | Conservative | 4 |
| | Reform UK | 3 |
| | Independent | 2 |
| | Mansfield Ind. | 1 |
| Total | Total | 36 |
The next full election is due in May 2027.

### Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the district has been divided in 36 wards, each of which elects one councillor. Elections are held every four years.

### Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre on Chesterfield Road South in Mansfield. The building was purpose-built for the council at a cost of £6.7 million and opened on 1 September 1986.

## Geography

Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse form a single urban area, which also includes Forest Town. The only civil parish in the district is Warsop; the rest of the district, corresponding to the combined area of the pre-1974 borough of Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse urban district, is an unparished area. The parish of Warsop contains the settlements of Market Warsop, Church Warsop and Meden Vale plus surrounding rural areas, including areas of woodland which form part of Sherwood Forest. Part of the urban area of Pleasley, most of which is in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, extends across the boundary into Mansfield district.

## Arms

Coat of arms of Mansfield District :
* NotesGranted 10 June 1987.
* CrestOn a wreath Or and Azure on a mount Vert an oak tree Proper between two lions rampant combatant Or armed and langued Gules the dexter lion supporting by its sinister paw a pickaxe passing behind the tree in bend the haft Or the sinister lion supporting by its sinister paw a pickaxe passing in front of the tree in bend sinister its haft also Or and the blades of both Sable resting upon the ground.
* EscutcheonQuarterly Or and Azure in dexter chief and in sinister chief a Roman helmet proper lined Gules and in base the attires of a stag conjoined at their burrs Proper over all a cross flory per cross counterchanged of the field.
* SupportersOn the dexter side a stag per fesse Verte and Or semée of oak Leaves counterchanged attired and unguled Gold langued Gules and gorged with a duke's coronet Or and on the sinister side a lion per fesse Vert and Or semée of oak leaves counterchanged armed and langued Gules and gorged with a duke's coronet Gold.
* MottoSicut Quercus Virescit Industria (Industry Flourishes Like The Oak)
* BadgeThe attires of a stag conjoined at their burrs Proper braced at their beams with a cross flory per cross Azure and Or.