Bolsover District

It is named after the town of Bolsover, which is near the geographic centre of the district, but the council is based in the large village of Clowne to the north. The district also includes the town of Shirebrook and several villages and surrounding rural areas.

Bolsover District
Non-metropolitan district
Bolsover Castle
Shown within Derbyshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Ceremonial county	Derbyshire
Admin. HQ	Clowne
Government
• Type	Bolsover District Council
• Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
• Executive:	Labour
• MPs:	Mark Fletcher (C)
Area
• Total	61.9 sq mi (160.3 km2)
• Rank	162nd
Population  (2021)
• Total	80,476
• Rank	Ranked 279th
• Density	1,300/sq mi (500/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 97.4% White 0.9% Asian 0.9% Mixed 0.5% Black 0.3% other
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 51% Christianity 47.6% no religion 1.1% other 0.3% Islam
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	DE, NG, S
ONS code	17UC (ONS) E07000033 (GSS)
Ethnicity	99.1% White[citation needed]

The neighbouring districts are Amber Valley, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Rotherham, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, and Ashfield.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Bolsover Urban District
• Blackwell Rural District
• Clowne Rural District

The new district was named Bolsover, after its largest town.

Bolsover District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Tom Munro, Labour since 24 May 2017
Leader	Steve Fritchley, Labour since 22 May 2019
Chief Executive	Karen Manson since November 2022
Structure
Seats	37 councillors
Political groups	Administration (31)   Labour (31) Other parties (6)   Conservative (3)   Independent (3)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
The Arc, High Street, Clowne, S43 4JY
Website
www.bolsover.gov.uk

Bolsover District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Derbyshire County Council. The district is also entirely covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Since 2014 the district has been a non-constituent member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (formerly known as the Sheffield City Region); the council sends representatives to meetings of the combined authority, but the electorate of Bolsover District do not vote in elections for the Mayor of South Yorkshire.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2021.

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:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019, the council has comprised 37 councillors, elected from 17 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

 

Premises

The council is based at The Arc in Clowne, which is a combined leisure centre and council headquarters. Prior to 2013 the council was based at Sherwood Lodge on Oxcroft Lane in Bolsover, comprising a large Victorian house and modern office extensions. Sherwood Lodge was subsequently sold and a retail development built on the site.

Following the September, 2022 commercial failure of Woodhead Construction Ltd, an Edwinstowe-based business contracting to the council since 2016, and mid-way into delivering a Bolsover Homes scheme, Bolsover District Council created their own development business, Dragonfly Development Limited based at The Arc in Clowne, with the intention of fullfilling ongoing contracts and having potential to undertake entirely new construction and development works outside of the council's normal remit.

Councillor Fritchley stated the only risks involved were "calculated risks".

The district is divided into 16 civil parishes. The parish councils for Old Bolsover (which covers the town of Bolsover) and Shirebrook take the style "town council".