Broxtowe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately west of the city of Nottingham, and most of the built-up areas of the borough form part of the Nottingham Urban Area. The council is based in Beeston and the borough also includes the towns of Eastwood, Kimberley and Stapleford and surrounding villages and rural areas.

The neighbouring districts are Ashfield, Nottingham, Rushcliffe, Erewash and Amber Valley.

History The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time: Basford Rural District (part, being the parishes of Awsworth, Brinsley, Cossall, Greasley, Kimberley, Nuthall, Strelley and Trowell) Beeston and Stapleford Urban District Eastwood Urban District The new district was named after the ancient Broxtowe Wapentake, which had covered a larger area. Despite the name, the district does not include the Broxtowe Estate, which is in Nottingham. The district was granted borough status in 1977, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

Under current local government reorganisation plans, all district councils in Nottinghamshire, as well as the county council, will be abolished in 2028, with the district being split between a Nottinghamshire unitary authority and a Greater Nottingham unitary covering an area including and around Nottingham.

Governance

Broxtowe Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Nottinghamshire County Council. Parts of the district are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control The council has been under no overall control since January 2025, when the majority of the Labour councillors, including the leader of the council, Milan Radulovic, left the party. They were the largest group on the council, and managed to form a minority administration. They initially formed a group called the Broxtowe Independents, which was subsequently registered as a formal political party called the Broxtowe Alliance in February 2025.

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: (Put "Broxtowe" in search box to see specific results.) Party in control Years 1974–1995 1995–2003 2003–2015 2015–2019 2019–2023 2023–2025 2025–present

Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Broxtowe. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1995 have been:

Councillor Party From To John Booth May 1995 Milan Radulovic May 1995 2007 Michael Rich 2007 12 May 2010 David Watts 12 May 2010 2011 Milan Radulovic 18 May 2011 May 2015 Richard Jackson May 2015 May 2019Milan Radulovic 15 May 2019 2 Jan 2025 2 Jan 2025

Composition Following the 2023 election, and changes of allegiance up to September 2026, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Foster Avenue in Beeston. The building was completed in 1991 at a cost of £2.7 million and was formally opened on 17 April 1991 by Andrew Buchanan, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.

Elections

Since the last full review of boundaries took effect in 2015, the council has comprised 44 councillors elected from 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors.

Wards The wards are:

Attenborough and Chilwell East Awsworth, Cossall and Trowell Beeston Central Beeston North Beeston Rylands Beeston West Bramcote Brinsley Chilwell West Eastwood Hall Eastwood Hill Top Eastwood St Mary's Greasley Kimberley Nuthall East and Strelley Stapleford North Stapleford South East Stapleford South West Toton and Chilwell Meadows Watnall and Nuthall West

Parliamentary constituency

Since 1983 Broxtowe has also been the name of a parliamentary constituency. The constituency boundaries do not exactly match the borough boundaries, with some parts in the north of Broxtowe borough, including Eastwood and Brinsley, being in the Ashfield constituency.

A Broxtowe constituency also existed from 1918 to 1970. The area of the former constituency was very different, including Hucknall and Kirkby in Ashfield, but excluding Beeston.F. A. Youngs, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. II (London, 1991)

Settlements

Settlements include Beeston—where the council is based—Attenborough, Awsworth, Bramcote, Brinsley, Chilwell, Cossall, Eastwood, Giltbrook, Greasley, Kimberley, Moorgreen, Newthorpe, Nuthall, Stapleford, Strelley, Swingate, Toton, Trowell and Watnall. Additionally a small part of Wollaton falls within Broxtowe.

The Broxtowe Estate is not within the borough, but within the boundaries of the City of Nottingham.

Civil parishes

Broxtowe has nine civil parishes. The parish councils of Eastwood, Kimberley and Stapleford take the style "town council". An unparished area in the south of the borough covers the town of Beeston and the neighbouring places of Chilwell, Toton, Attenborough and Bramcote, being the area of the former Beeston and Stapleford Urban District minus Stapleford, which was parished in 1987. Strelley was abolished in 2023 and is presently also unparished. The parishes are:

Awsworth Brinsley Cossall Eastwood (town) Greasley Kimberley (town) Nuthall Stapleford (town) Trowell

Twinning

Broxtowe is twinned with Gütersloh in Germany.

Local attractions Broxtowe's main visitor attraction is the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum in Eastwood. A small local attraction is the Hemlock Stone in Stapleford. Broxtowe is also the location of the Attenborough Nature Reserve rated as one of the most popular nature reserves in the UK. Its visitor centre was opened in March 2005 by David Attenborough, who can trace his family back to the village of Attenborough located to the east of the visitor centre.

Local nature reserves Broxtowe has 13 designated local nature reserves, namely Alexandrina Plantation (Bramcote), Bramcote Park Woodland (Bramcote), Brinsley Headstocks (Brinsley), Hall Om Wong (Kimberley), King George's Park (Bramcote), Nottingham Canal, Sandy Lane Public Open Space (Bramcote), Smithurst Meadows (Giltbrook), Stapleford Hill Woodland (Stapleford), Toton Fields (Toton), Watnall Spinney and Watnall Green (Watnall), and Colliers Wood (Moorgreen).

Arms

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

Individuals Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff: 17 November 2022.

Military units 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group Royal Engineers: 2010.

References