# South Ribble

South Ribble is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The borough includes the towns and villages of Penwortham, Leyland, Farington, Farington Moss, Hutton, Longton, Walmer Bridge, Much Hoole, Coupe Green, Salmesbury, Lostock Hall, Walton-le-Dale and Bamber Bridge. Many of the built-up areas in the borough form part of the wider Preston built-up area.
The neighbouring districts are Preston, Ribble Valley, Blackburn with Darwen, Chorley, West Lancashire and Fylde.

## History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and parts of a third, which were abolished at the same time:
* Leyland Urban District
* Preston Rural District (parishes of Cuerdale, Farington, Hutton, Little Hoole, Longton, Much Hoole, Penwortham and Samlesbury only, rest split between Preston and Ribble Valley)
* Walton-le-Dale Urban District (which included Bamber Bridge)
The new district was named South Ribble, reflecting the fact that the River Ribble forms its northern boundary. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

## Governance

South Ribble Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Parts of the borough are 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, and prior to this was under a Labour leader since 2019 with a supply and confidence agreement with the Liberal Democrat Group. Previous to this the council was under Conservative control for some time, with a short period of a Labour Leader controlling a Conservative administration during a period of instability.
The first election to the 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 |
| Conservative | 1974–1995 |
| Labour | 1995–1999 |
| No overall control | 1999–2007 |
| Conservative | 2007–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–2023 |
| Labour | 2023–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in South Ribble. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Margaret Smith | Conservative | 2007 | 20 Jul 2016 |
| Peter Mullineaux | Conservative | 15 Sep 2016 | 17 May 2018 |
| Mary Green | Conservative | 17 May 2018 | 15 Oct 2018 |
| Paul Foster | Labour | 15 Oct 2018 | 1 Nov 2018 |
| Margaret Smith | Conservative | 1 Nov 2018 | 15 May 2019 |
| Paul Foster | Labour | 15 May 2019 | 17 Jul 2024 |
| Jacky Alty | Labour | 17 Jul 2024 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in February 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 29 |
| | Conservative | 15 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 5 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | Total | 50 |
The next election is due in 2027.

### Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.
The borough straddles the parliamentary constituencies of Ribble Valley and South Ribble.

### Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre on West Paddock in Leyland. The building was built in the early 1970s for the former Leyland Urban District Council.

## Parishes

There are eight civil parishes in the borough. The parish council for Penwortham has declared its parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council". The parishes of Samlesbury and Cuerdale share a grouped parish council. The former urban districts of Leyland and Walton-le-Dale are unparished areas.
The parishes are:
* Cuerdale
* Farington
* Hutton
* Little Hoole
* Longton
* Much Hoole
* Penwortham (town)
* Samlesbury

## Twin town

South Ribble is twinned with:
* Schleswig-Flensburg, Germany

## Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of South Ribble.

### Individuals

* Anthony Kelly: September 2010.

### Military Units

* The King's Royal Hussars: 1992.

## Footnotes

* 1 2 UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – South Ribble Local Authority (E07000124)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
* ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 August 2022
* ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 22 August 2022
* ↑ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
* ↑ Faulkner, Paul (24 May 2024). "I'm the new mayor of South Ribble - and this is why I think my mayoress and I could be unique". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
* ↑ Faulkner, Paul (18 July 2024). "New leader for South Ribble Borough Council as last one departs for Parliament". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
* ↑ Aldred, Tim (22 April 2022). "Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council appoint shared chief executive". Lancashire Business View. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
* ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
* 1 2 3 "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
* ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
* ↑ "South Ribble". BBC News Online. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
* ↑ "Council minutes". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
* ↑ Faulkner, Paul (4 June 2021). "'I got into local politics because I'm nosey', confesses outgoing South Ribble Tory leader who ran the borough for a decade". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
* ↑ "Labour takes over scandal-hit South Ribble council". BBC News. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
* ↑ "South Ribble clocks up another leader - and it's a familiar face". Lancashire Post. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
* ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
* ↑ "South Ribble". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
* ↑ "The South Ribble (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/3288, retrieved 19 October 2023
* ↑ "Contact us". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 25 August 2022. Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 1DH
* ↑ "Parish council contacts". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
* ↑ South Ribble Borough Council, Town Twinning retrieved 21 January 2019
* ↑ "Tributes pour in for former South Ribble Mayor and council leader Tony Kelly".
* ↑ "King's Royal Hussars mark 25 years as honorary freemen with Leyland parade | South Ribble Borough Council". Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2021.