East Lindsey

East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Horncastle and the largest town is Skegness. Other towns include Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Coningsby, Louth, Mablethorpe, Spilsby, Sutton on Sea, Wainfleet All Saints, Wragby and Woodhall Spa. The district also covers a large rural area, including many smaller settlements.

The district lies on the east coast, bordering the North Sea. The north-west of the district includes part of the Lincolnshire Wolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The neighbouring districts are Boston, North Kesteven, West Lindsey and North East Lincolnshire.

History
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering nine former districts which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named East Lindsey, reflecting its position within Lindsey, one of the three historic Parts of Lincolnshire, which had been an administrative county between 1889 and 1974.
 * Alford Urban District
 * Horncastle Rural District
 * Horncastle Urban District
 * Louth Municipal Borough
 * Louth Rural District
 * Mablethorpe and Sutton Urban District
 * Skegness Urban District
 * Spilsby Rural District
 * Woodhall Spa Urban District

In 2020 the council agreed to share its management and other staff with neighbouring Boston Borough Council. South Holland District Council joined the partnership in 2021, which is now described as the "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership".

Governance
East Lindsey District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lincolnshire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a Conservative minority administration.

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

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

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

Of the independent councillors, 13 sit with the Green councillor as the "East Lindsey Independent Group", one sits with the Liberal Democrat as the "District Independent / Liberal Democrat" group and the other two do not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 37 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises
The council is based at The Hub on Mareham Road in Horncastle, which was completed in 2023 as a joint campus with Boston College. Prior to that the council had its headquarters at Tedder Hall in Manby, with additional offices at Skegness Town Hall.

Geography
East Lindsey has an area of 1,760 km2, making it the fifth-largest district (and second-largest non-unitary district) in England.

It borders North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire to the North, the North Sea to the east, Boston (borough) to the south, and North Kesteven and West Lindsey, to the west. The boundary between the district and North Kesteven, and part of Boston borough, is the River Witham. The furthest west settlement in the district is Wragby, and the furthest south is Frith Bank, around three miles from Boston.

The Lincolnshire Wolds AONB run north-south through the central and northern reaches of the district. To the east along the North Sea coast lies the Lincolnshire Marsh, with the Fens to the south and south-west.

Along the boundary with West Lindsey to the west can be found the Lincolnshire Lime Woods.

East Lindsey has a greater land area than several English counties, in particular being larger than the two-tier counties of Worcestershire, East Sussex, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.

Economy
The economy in the district is divided between the coast and rural inland areas. The coastal towns of Mablethorpe and Skegness attract recreational and tourist traffic, and are characterised by a highly seasonal economy. The rural inland areas are dominated by agriculture.

Transport
East Lindsey is highly rural and contains no dual carriageways. The A158 runs east-west from Lincoln, entering the district at Wragby, passing Horncastle and near by Spilsby, before terminating in Skegness. The A16 runs from Boston to the south, through Spilsby and Louth, and then on to Grimsby.

The district's only modern railway line is the Poacher Line in the south of the district, which connects Skegness to Nottingham via Boston and Grantham.

Historically the area was served by the East Lincolnshire Railway, which connected Boston to Grimsby via Alford and Louth. There were also spurs and branch lines, which included the Mablethorpe loop railway, Horncastle Railway and Spilsby branch. These connected small towns with the mainline and all closed between 1950 and 1970, with only the spur at Louth to Grimsby surviving until 1981. A section of the former East Lincolnshire Railway north of Louth has been restored as a heritage railway called the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, centred on Ludborough station.

Media
In terms of television, East Lindsey is served by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire broadcasting from the Belmont transmitter.

Radio stations for the area are BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Lincs FM, Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire, and community based stations: County Linx Radio and Endeavour FM.

Lincolnshire Echo is the local newspaper.

Towns and parishes
The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Carrington and New Bolingbroke, Coningsby, Horncastle, Louth, Mablethorpe and Sutton, Skegness, Spilsby and Wainfleet All Saints have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Many of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.