Oadby and Wigston

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]

• Oadby Urban District
• Wigston Urban District

The new district was named Oadby and Wigston, combining the towns' names.^[3] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.^[4]

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Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Clare Kozlowski, Liberal Democrat since 14 May 2024[5]
Leader	Samia Haq, Liberal Democrat since 18 Apr 2023[6]
Chief Executive	Anne Court since 2018
Structure
Seats	26 councillors
Political groups	Administration (18)   Liberal Democrat (19) Opposition (8)   Conservative (7)   Independent (1)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Brocks Hill Council Offices, Washbrook Lane, Oadby, Leicester, LE2 5JJ
Website
www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk

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Oadby and Wigston Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council. There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.^[7][8]

Elections

See also: Oadby and Wigston Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 26 councillors representing 10 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[15]

The wards are:

• Oadby Brocks Hill (2)
• Oadby Grange (3)
• Oadby St Peter's (2)
• Oadby Uplands (2)
• Oadby Woodlands (2)
• South Wigston (3)
• Wigston All Saints (3)
• Wigston Fields (3)
• Wigston Meadowscroft (3)
• Wigston St Walstan's (3)

The district forms part of the Harborough, Oadby and Wigston parliamentary constituency.^[8]

Premises

The council meets at the Brocks Hill Council Offices in Brocks Hill Park on Washbrook Lane in Oadby.

Until 2023 the council was based at Bushloe House on Station Road in Wigston, which had been built c. 1850 as a house and had been bought in 1942 by the old Wigston Urban District Council and converted to become its headquarters.^[16][17] In 2023 the council moved its meetings and offices to the Brocks Hill offices in Oadby.^[18]

It is composed of the areas of Oadby, Wigston, South Wigston and the hamlet of Kilby Bridge. It is predominantly urban, and borders Leicester directly to the north-west. There are no civil parishes in the district.

The most northerly corner is near the junction of the A6030 and B582, and near the Spire hospital it meets Harborough. It runs along the B582 then along the former Roman road (which runs to Corby), passing the playing fields of the University of Leicester. It passes along the north edge of Oadby Lodge, a farm owned by the Co-op. Towards the deserted village of Stretton Magna (outside the district), the boundary passes southwestwards. This area was proposed to be the site of the eco-town Pennbury. It crosses the A6 at Glen Gorse Golf Club. It crosses Newton Lane and the Midland Main Line. It crosses the Grand Union Canal, and towards Kilby it meets the district of Blaby at the River Sence. It follows the River Sence, crossing the A5199 (Welford Road). At Rose Farm it follows Countesthorpe Road towards South Wigston, to the Grand Union Canal, crossing the former Midland Counties Railway, which it follows westwards. It passes northwards across St Thomas Road (B582) and the Birmingham to Peterborough Line. It passes northwards on the east side of the Glen Parva prison (in Blaby district). It meets Leicester UA south of Eyres Monsell, a large housing estate.

Following the Leicester boundary, it crosses Saffron Road (B5366), then follows Dorset Avenue, follows the Midland Main Line northwards, crossing Aylestone Lane (B5418), then crosses the Midland Main Line. It crosses the Welford Road (A5199) at the point where the road becomes a dual-carriageway south of the Best Western Leicester Stage Hotel (in Leicester UA). It passes on the south edge of Knighton Park, and the western edge of Oadby Golf Club, west of Leicester Racecourse (in the district). Near the racecourse entrance it crosses the A563 southern ring road, then London Road (A6), passing northwards along the western edge of the University of Leicester's Oadby Student Village, west of the University of Leicester Botanic Garden (in the district).

Both Beauchamp College, in the south of Oadby, and Wigston College, on the B582 in Wigston, are former grammar schools. Both were upper schools, as the three tier system operated in the district's schools. Also near the council offices on the B582 is South Leicestershire College, an FE college. Next to the Beauchamp College is Gartree High School, a former middle school. Another school is Manor High School, Oadby, which was the largest middle school in the country.

The following people, military units and Organisations have received the Freedom of the Borough of Oadby and Wigston.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2021)

• 
  Wigston Magna, one of the two towns that form the borough
• 
  South Wigston, the largest village in the borough
• 
  Brocks Hill Borough Council offices at Brocks Hill Country Park
• 
  Ash Tree Road in Oadby
• 
  Grand Union Canal - Kilby Bridge
• 
  South Wigston, Blaby Road