Borough of Melton

Borough of Melton
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Melton Mowbray, best known for both the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and St Mary's Church. It is the administrative centre of the borough.
Shown within Leicestershire.
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Administrative county	Leicestershire
Founded	1974
Admin. HQ	Melton Mowbray
Government
• Type	Melton Borough Council
• MPs:	Alicia Kearns
Area
• Total	186 sq mi (481 km2)
• Rank	79th
Population  (2022)
• Total	52,433
• Rank	Ranked 293rd
• Density	280/sq mi (110/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 96.9% White 1.3% Mixed 1.2% Asian 0.4% Black 0.2% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 56.8% Christianity 41.7% no religion 1.2% other 0.3% Islam
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code	31UG (ONS) E07000133 (GSS)
Ethnicity	98.8% White
Website	melton.gov.uk

Melton is a local government district with borough status in north-eastern Leicestershire, England. It is named after its only town, Melton Mowbray. The borough also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The north of the district includes part of the Vale of Belvoir. Melton is the least populous district of its type and the fourth least populous district in England overall.

The neighbouring districts are Harborough, Charnwood, Rushcliffe, Newark and Sherwood, South Kesteven and Rutland.

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of two former districts, which were both abolished at the same time:^[2]

• Melton Mowbray Urban District
• Melton and Belvoir Rural District

The new district was named Melton after the area's only town, Melton Mowbray.^[3] The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.^[4]

Melton Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Tim Webster, Conservative since 16 May 2024[5]
Leader	Pip Allnatt, Labour since 24 May 2023[6]
Chief Executive	Edd de Coverly since 28 August 2017[7]
Structure
Seats	28 councillors
Political groups	Administration (15)   Independent (9)   Labour (6) Other parties (13)   Conservative (10)   Liberal Democrat (1)   Independent (2)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Parkside, Station Approach, Burton Street, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1GH
Website
www.melton.gov.uk

Melton Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council. Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[8][9]

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a joint administration of Labour and most of the independent councillors, led by Labour councillor Pip Allnatt.^[10]

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:^[11]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Melton. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been:^[12]

Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:^{[14][15][16][17]}

Of the eleven independent councillors, nine sit together as the "Independent Group" which forms the council's administration with Labour.^[18] The next election is due in 2027.

Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 28 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[19]

The borough is part of the Melton and Syston parliamentary constituency.

The council is based at Parkside on Burton Street, adjoining Melton Mowbray railway station. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 2011.^[20]

When first created in 1974 the council inherited offices at Egerton Lodge on Wilton Road from Melton Mowbray Urban District Council and at Warwick Lodge on Dalby Road from Melton and Belvoir Rural District Council.^[21] In 1986 the council moved to a new building called Council Offices on Nottingham Road.^[22] The Nottingham Road building burnt down on 30 May 2008.^[23][24] The northern wing of the building was repaired and is now called Phoenix House, but the rest of the building was beyond repair and was demolished. The council instead chose to build new headquarters at Parkside, spending £5.6m on the new building.^[20]

East Midlands Councils is based at the Pera Business Park on Nottingham Road, opposite the former Melton borough offices.^[25] The former East Midlands Regional Assembly was based at the same site until it was abolished in 2010.

The district borders South Kesteven, in Lincolnshire, to the east, Rutland to the south, Charnwood to the west (along the A46 Fosse Way), and Rushcliffe and Newark and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire to the north. The north part of the district is known as the Vale of Belvoir.

The former Melton Mowbray Urban District is an unparished area. The rest of the borough is divided into civil parishes.^[9]

• Ab Kettleby, Asfordby
• Barkestone-le-Vale, Plungar and Redmile, Belvoir, Bottesford, Buckminster
• Broughton and Old Dalby, Branston, Burton and Dalby
• Clawson, Hose and Harby, Croxton Kerrial
• Eaton, Eastwell
• Freeby, Frisby on the Wreake
• Gaddesby, Garthorpe, Goadby Marwood, Grimston
• Harby, Hoby with Rotherby
• Kirby Bellars, Knossington and Cold Overton
• Saxelbye, Scalford, Shoby, Somerby, Sproxton, Stathern
• Twyford and Thorpe
• Waltham and Thorpe Arnold, Wymondham

Farming and food production are the main industries with Pedigree Petfoods in Melton, and its Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition at Waltham on the Wolds. There is a large creamery (Long Clawson Dairy) at Long Clawson. Samworth Brothers are headquartered in Melton. The Royal Army Veterinary Corps and Defence Animal Training Regiment are also in Melton.

The Birmingham to Peterborough Line runs through the borough, and the borough is criss-crossed by the A607 (Leicester-Grantham) and the A606 (Nottingham-Oakham). Both these roads meet in the centre of Melton (outside Melton Brooksby College), with resulting congestion.

The borough is the home of Stilton Cheese and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies.

The area is served by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central with television signals received from the Waltham transmitter which is situated at Waltham-on-the-Wolds, 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Melton Mowbray. ^[26]

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Leicester on 104.9 FM
• Smooth East Midlands on 106.6 FM
• Capital Midlands on 96.2 FM
• Greatest Hits Radio Midlands on 106 FM
• The Eye, a community based station that serves Melton Mowbray and the Vale of Belvoir on 103 FM^[27]

Local newspapers are Leicester Mercury and Melton Times^[28]

Until September 2008, the district operated the three-tier education system, whereby there were three middle schools. All these schools fed into the same upper school in Melton from 14-18. At both GCSE and A level, the district's results are above the England average. From age 16 Students can attend either Melton Vale Post 16 Centre for academic sixth form courses, or Brooksby Melton College for vocational courses.

The Borough of Melton has experienced steady population growth in recent times albeit at a rate lower than the other districts within Leicestershire.

In March 2012, Melton was identified as having the highest rate of accidental death by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, with statistics over the period from 2010/11 showing an average of 29 deaths for 100,000 people.^[32]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melton.

• Community profile at Leicestershire County Council
• Council returns to Melton in October 2008
• Council office demolished in June 2008
• Stapleford Miniature Railway

52°48′N 0°48′W / 52.8°N 0.8°W / 52.8; -0.8