West Lindsey

West Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Gainsborough, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Caistor and Market Rasen, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The east of the district includes part of the Lincolnshire Wolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The neighbouring districts are North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, East Lindsey, North Kesteven, Lincoln, Newark and Sherwood and Bassetlaw.

History
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering five former districts which were all abolished at the same time:
 * Caistor Rural District
 * Gainsborough Rural District
 * Gainsborough Urban District
 * Market Rasen Urban District
 * Welton Rural District

The new district was named West Lindsey, reflecting its position within Lindsey, one of the three historic Parts of Lincolnshire, which had been an administrative county between 1889 and 1974.

Governance
West 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 2021. Following the 2023 election the Liberal Democrats had exactly half the seats on the council, and managed to form an administration with the support of one of the independent councillors.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2010 have been:

Composition
Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:

One of the independent councillors sits with the Liberal Democrats as the "Liberal Democrat Administration Group", which forms the council's administration. Another independent councillor sits with the Conservatives as the "Opposition Group". The next election is due in 2027.

Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

In the 2016 EU referendum, West Lindsey voted 61.8% leave (33,847 votes) to 38.2% remain (20,906 votes).

Premises
The council is based at the Guildhall in Marshall's Yard in Gainsborough, which is a modern office building within a retail development. The council moved there in 2008 from its former headquarters, also called the Guildhall, on Caskgate Street in Gainsborough. The old Guildhall had been built in 1966 for the former Gainsborough Urban District Council, one of the council's predecessors. It has since been demolished.

Geography
West Lindsey borders North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire to the north, East Lindsey to the east, North Kesteven and the city of Lincoln to the south, and the county of Nottinghamshire to the west.

The boundary of the district in the west borders the River Trent, and meets Nottinghamshire (Bassetlaw) and North Lincolnshire at East Stockwith, close to Wildsworth. On the other side of the Trent is Gunthorpe, Lincolnshire. It deviates from the Trent, to the east along the River Eau at Scotter, where it meets Messingham in North Lincolnshire. The boundary deviates southwards near Scotton, then at Northorpe follows the B1205 eastwards, crossing the A15 at Waddingham. It follows the Sallowrow Drain to the Old River Ancholme at South Kelsey, which it follows northwards. At North Kelsey, it deviates from the Old River Ancholme, following the North Kelsey Beck eastwards. This crosses the B1434 then the Newark-Grimsby railway line, where at Searby cum Owmby it follows a drain parallel to the railway line northwards, and at Bigby it follows Kettleby Beck westwards across the railway line back to the Old River Ancholme, which it follows for almost a mile towards Brigg. The Bigby parish is the northern part of West Lindsey that skirts the southern edge of Brigg, crossing the A1084 and the railway line.

Also in Bigby, it crosses the Scunthorpe-Grimsby line, then three railway lines together at Wrawby Junction. North of Bigby village it crosses the western escarpment of the northern Lincolnshire Wolds, then skirts the southern and eastern perimeter of Humberside Airport. It crosses the A18 and B1210, then the B1211. The furthest north section of the district, and of the county, is where it meets a short section of the A180, where a few hundred metres west of the A160 interchange it meets North East Lincolnshire. It follows the New Beck Drain south-east across the B1210, and at Riby, the A1173 and A18. At Swallow it crosses the A46. It follows the Waithe Beck at Thorganby. At Swinhope it meets East Lindsey, next to Scallows Hall (in East Lindsey), and crosses the B1203, then again at Kirmond le Mire. It meets the B1225 High Street at Tealby, and for around two miles southwards is the district boundary, crossing the A631 at North Willingham. At Sixhills it deviates westwards from the B1225, next to the former RAF Ludford Magna (in East Lindsey). At Holton cum Beckering it crosses the B1202, then the A158 at Goltho, where it skirts the western edge of Wragby (in East Lindsey). It passes southwards in Bardney through Chamber's Farm Wood (mostly in East Lindsey); Chamber's Farm itself is in West Lindsey. It skirts the southern edge of the former RAF Bardney, and crosses the B1190 near Tupholme Abbey (in East Lindsey). East of Southrey (also in Bardney parish) it meets the River Witham and North Kesteven. It follows the River Witham westwards until Greetwell where it meets the City of Lincoln, deviates northwards, crossing the Lincoln - Market Rasen railway line. It follows the outskirts of Lincoln, crossing the B1182 (former A46) at Nettleham. It crosses the A15 north of the Riseholme roundabout, and follows a short section of the A57, then crosses it, near Bishop Bridge. A few hundred metres west it meets the Foss Dyke, which from there a mile north-west is the boundary with North Kesteven. At Saxilby with Ingleby it deviates westwards from the Foss Dyke, and at Broadholme (former Nottinghamshire until 1989) at the B1190 (Tom Otters Lane), it meets Nottinghamshire (Newark and Sherwood). It follows a half-mile section of Ox Pasture Drain north to the A57, which it briefly follows westwards until Kettlethorpe (A156 junction). It crosses the A1133 at Newton on Trent, and under a mile westwards it meets the River Trent and Bassetlaw, a mile north of the former High Marnham Power Station.

Towns and parishes
It covers Gainsborough, Market Rasen, Sudbrooke, Fiskerton, Reepham, Cherry Willingham, Nettleham, Welton, Caistor, and Keelby.

The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Caistor, Market Rasen and Gainsborough 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.

Education
The district, similar to North and South Kesteven, has a mixture of comprehensive schools in the south-east of the district and selective schools in Gainsborough (Queen Elizabeth's High School, The Gainsborough Academy) and Caistor. Both grammar schools are in the top ten for A level results in the East Midlands, with Caistor Grammar School getting the best results in this region consistently year on year. It also gets some of the best results in England. These schools offer a standard of state education from ages 11–16 not available in the regions of Lincolnshire directly north of the district (former Lindsey before 1974). Pupils from outside of the district may travel to be educated in Gainsborough from Scunthorpe (12–15 miles via the A159), and (in greater number) to Caistor from Grimsby and Cleethorpes (10–12 miles via the A46). The situation is reversed in the sixth form, with Lincolnshire pupils studying at the John Leggott College in Scunthorpe and the Franklin College, Grimsby. The best comprehensive in this district (and the county) is the William Farr School in Welton, which gets A level results similar to a grammar school.

Transport
Large parts of the district can be accessed from the M180, to the north of the region. The A1500 (Tillbridge Lane) and A631 are the main east–west routes, and avoid busy town centres. The A631, further west, allows passage (through Bassetlaw) to Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield in the nearby Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The north–south route is the A15, officially the straightest road in the UK, following the Roman road Ermine Street.

Media
In terms of television, West Lindsey is served by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire (East) broadcasting from the Belmont transmitter which situated near Market Rasen. However, western parts of the district such as Gainsborough can also receive BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire (West) from the Emley Moor TV transmitter near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. Radio stations for the area are:
 * BBC Radio Lincolnshire
 * Lincs FM
 * Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire
 * Trentside Radio (serving Gainsborough)

Lincolnshire Echo is the local newspaper.

Tourism
Attractions to the district include the Lincolnshire Wolds. The Lincolnshire Show is held in the district at the Lincolnshire Showground, south of RAF Scampton, which is also the home for the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team.

Demographics
The district has seen steady population growth since 2001, with Gainsborough and the villages north of Lincoln particular points of growth. The population of the district now stands at 95,200 as of 2021.

The district ranked 161 out of 326 local authorities for amounts of deprivation. Part of the Gainsborough South West ward is in the top 5% for deprived areas (Super Output Area) in the country. Gainsborough East and Gainsborough South West wards have the highest levels of unemployment, although the region as a whole has a below-average rate.

16% of employment is in manufacturing, and 6% in agriculture. There are around 3,220 businesses. There are few council houses and house prices are lower than the regional average.