Hyndburn

Borough of Hyndburn
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Accrington, the largest town and administrative centre of Hyndburn
Coat of Arms
Shown within Lancashire and England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	North West England
Ceremonial county	Lancashire
Founded	1974
Admin. HQ	Accrington
Government
• Type	Hyndburn Borough Council
• MPs:	Sarah Smith
Area
• Total	28 sq mi (73 km2)
• Rank	226th
Population  (2022)
• Total	83,213
• Rank	Ranked 275th
• Density	3,000/sq mi (1,100/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 82.7% White 15.1% Asian 1.3% Mixed 0.7% other 0.3% Black
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 51% Christianity 28.4% no religion 14.7% Islam 5.2% not stated 0.4% other 0.2% Buddhism 0.1% Hinduism 0.1% Sikhism 0.1% Judaism
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	BB1, BB5, BB6
Area code	01254
ONS code	30UG (ONS) E07000120 (GSS)

Hyndburn /ˈhaɪndbərn/ is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood, Oswaldtwistle and Rishton. The borough was created in 1974 and takes its name from the River Hyndburn. It had a population of 80,734 at the 2011 Census.^[2] Elections to the council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the 35 seats on the council being elected at each election. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have controlled the council at different times, as well as periods when no party has had a majority.

Hyndburn borders the boroughs of Ribble Valley to the north, Burnley to the east, Rossendale to the south, and Blackburn with Darwen to the west.

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a non-metropolitan district covering the territory of six former districts, which were abolished at the same time, plus a single parish from a seventh district:^[3]

• Accrington Municipal Borough
• Altham parish from Burnley Rural District
• Church Urban District
• Clayton-le-Moors Urban District
• Great Harwood Urban District
• Oswaldtwistle Urban District
• Rishton Urban District

The new district was given the name Hyndburn, taken from the River Hyndburn which passes through the district.^[4] The new district was awarded borough status on the day that it came into being, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.^[5]

In 2007, the council proposed changing the name from Hyndburn to "Accrington and Districts", to aid recognition of the borough by those not familiar with the area.^[6] After a public consultation, the change of name did not go ahead.^[7]

Hyndburn Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Mike Booth, Labour since 23 May 2024[8]
Leader	Munsif Dad, Labour since 23 May 2024
Chief Executive	David Welsby
Structure
Seats	35 councillors
Political groups	Administration (22)   Labour (22) Other parties (13)   Conservative (11)   Green (1)   Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Blackburn Road, Accrington, BB5 1LA
Website
www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk

Hyndburn Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Altham is a civil parish, which forms a third tier of local government for that part of the borough.^[9]

In March 2010, Hyndburn Borough Council was voted the 10th best council in The Times "Best Public Sector Places to Work".^[10] The borough also made it to The Times Best Companies Guide.

The council has been under no overall control since 2022. Following the 2023 election a Conservative minority administration formed.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:^[11][12]

The role of Mayor of Hyndburn is largely ceremonial, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:^[13]

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:^[15]

The next election is due in 2026.

Since the last boundary changes in 2002 the council has comprised 35 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council elected each time for a four year term of office. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.^[16]

The council's main offices are at Scaitcliffe House on Ormerod Street in Accrington, being part of a converted textile mill. The council moved there in 2002.^[17] Full council meetings are usually held at Accrington Town Hall.^[18]

There are approximately nine state secondary schools in Hyndburn. These include The Hyndburn Academy, St Christopher's Church of England High School, Accrington Academy, Rhyddings, Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, The Hollins, along with Broadfield Specialist School, and North Cliffe School.^[19]

The percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C has increased from 43.7% in 2001 up to 75.9% in 2011. Absences dropped from 12,052 in 2006 to 9,545 in 2011, mainly due to schools competing.^[20]

The district is polycentric and is located between the larger settlements of Blackburn and Burnley. It is linked to both areas by the M65 motorway and the East Lancashire railway line.

The borough had a population of 80,734 at the 2011 census.^[2] Much of the borough forms part of the Accrington/Rossendale Built-up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics, which covers the borough and parts of the neighbouring borough of Rossendale. The Acrrington/Rossendale built-up area extends from the town of Accrington to Rawtenstall and Bacup, taking in parts of the boroughs of Hyndburn and Rossendale. The Accrington/Rossendale built-up area was recorded at having a population of 125,059 at the 2011 census.^[21]

Accrington

Clayton-le-Moors

Great Harwood

Oswaldtwistle

Altham

Baxenden

Belthorn

Church

Huncoat

Oakenshaw

Rishton

Tottleworth

Whitebirk

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Towns, suburbs and villages in the Borough of Hyndburn

• Accrington
• Altham
• Baxenden
• Belthorn (part)
• Church
• Clayton-le-Moors
• Great Harwood
• Huncoat
• Knuzden (considered a suburb of Blackburn)
• Oswaldtwistle
• Rishton
• Tottleworth
• Whitebirk (part) (considered a suburb of Blackburn)

Altham is the only civil parish in Hyndburn. The rest of the borough is an unparished area.^[22]

The role of mayor is usually held by a different councillor each year. They chair meetings of the full council and are expected to be politically impartial during their term of office, but they do get an additional casting vote in the event of a tie. The mayors since 1974 have been:^[23]

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

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2020)

• Ronald Hill: 10 July 2012^[24]
• Julie Hesmondhalgh: 28 January 2015^[25]
• David Lloyd: 6 July 2018^[26]
• Bernard Dawson: 6 July 2018^[26]

• The Queen's Lancashire Regiment: 29 June 2002.^[27]

• Official website
• Accrington Web Hyndburn's local community forum
• Civic Arts Centre Listings for what's on at the Civic Arts Centre

53°46′05″N 2°22′55″W / 53.768°N 2.382°W / 53.768; -2.382