North Lincolnshire Council is the local authority of North Lincolnshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lincolnshire County Council.
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2011. It is based at Church Square House in Scunthorpe.
History The district of North Lincolnshire and its council were created on 1 April 1996. The new district covered the whole area of two former districts of Glanford and Scunthorpe, and part of Boothferry district, all of which were abolished at the same time. They had all been lower-tier districts within the county of Humberside prior to the 1996 reforms, with Humberside County Council providing county-level services to the area. Humberside had only been created in 1974; prior to 1974 this area had been part of Lincolnshire.
The way the 1996 changes were implemented was to create both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county called North Lincolnshire, but with no separate county council. Instead, the district council also performs the functions that legislation assigns to county councils, making it a unitary authority.
At the same time, the new district was transferred for ceremonial purposes back to Lincolnshire, but as a unitary authority the council has always been independent from Lincolnshire County Council. The district was awarded borough status with effect from 16 December 1996, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.
In 2025 the council became a member of the new Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, along with North East Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council. The combined authority is chaired by the directly-elected Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
Governance As a unitary authority, North Lincolnshire provides the local government services of a non-metropolitan county council and non-metropolitan district council combined. Some functions are still delivered covering the whole of the former county of Humberside, notably the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service. Such functions are managed by joint committees of the four unitary authorities which now cover the area. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a lower tier of local government. The only part of the borough not covered by civil parishes is Scunthorpe, which is an unparished area.
Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1995 has been as follows: (Put "North Lincolnshire" in search box to see specific results.)
Party in controlYears 1996–2003 2003–2007 2007–2011 2011–present
Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in North Lincolnshire. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since the council's creation in 1996 have been:
Councillor Party From To Ian Cawsey 1 Apr 1996 May 1997 Nic Dakin May 1997 May 2003 Don Stewart May 2003 Nov 2004 Alan Holgate 9 Dec 2004 2006 Liz Redfern 2006 2007 Mark Kirk 2007 May 2011 Liz Redfern 25 May 2011 15 Jan 2017 Rob Waltham 16 Jan 2017
Composition Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes up to March 2026, the composition of the council was:
The next election is due in 2027.
Premises
The council is based at Church Square House in the centre of Scunthorpe.
Until 2019 the council's main offices were at Scunthorpe Civic Centre on Ashby Road. The Civic Centre had been completed in 1962 for the former Scunthorpe Borough Council. In 2019 the council extended its existing town centre office at Church Square House to become its main offices. The civic centre was then converted to become a campus of North Lindsey College, an associate college of the University of Lincoln.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 43 councillors representing 19 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.
Wards and councillors There are 19 wards, each represented by between one and three councillors. Following the 2023 election the councillors were: Parliamentary constituency Ward CouncillorParty Brigg and Gooleconstituency Axholme CentralDavid Robinson Tim Mitchell Axholme NorthJohn Briggs Julie Reed Axholme SouthDavid Rose Judy Kennedy Brigg and WoldsCarl Sherwood Nigel Sherwood Rob Waltham Broughton and ScawbyJanet Lee Carol Ross Burringham and GunnessJosh Walshe Burton upon Stather and WintertonElaine Marper Helen Rowson Ralph Ogg Cleethorpesconstituency BartonChris Patterson Keith Vickers Paul Vickers FerryDavid Wells Peter Clark Richard Hannigan Scunthorpeconstituency Ashby CentralMick Grant Andrea Davison Ashby LakesideMax Bell Judith Matthews BottesfordJohn Davison Margaret Armiger Janet Longcake BrumbyLen Foster Steve Swift Susan Armitage Crosby and ParkNaseer Ahmed Christine O'Sullivan Helen Yates FrodinghamDarryl Southern Tony Ellerby Kingsway with Lincoln GardensHelen Rayner Tony Gosling MessinghamNeil Poole RidgeDavid Garritt Trevor Foster TownLorraine Yeadon Mashook Ali
Arms
References