This article is about the local government district. For the parliamentary constituency, see Ribble Valley (UK Parliament constituency). For the geographical valley, see River Ribble. For and, see Ribblesdale.
Ribble Valley
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionNorth West England
Ceremonial countyLancashire
Admin. HQClitheroe
MPs:Maya Ellis
Area rankList of English districts by area
Population rankRanked
Time zoneGreenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
Time zone (DST)British Summer Time (UTC+1)
ONS code30UL (ONS)
E07000124 (GSS)
Historic countyLancashire and West Riding

Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It is named after the River Ribble. Much of the district lies within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Ribble Valley has a rich history especially its connections in folklore, the most infamous being the Pendle Witch Trails.

The neighbouring districts are Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, South Ribble, Preston, Wyre, Lancaster and North Yorkshire.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of four former districts and parts of another three, which were abolished at the same time:[3]

The new district was named Ribble Valley after the River Ribble which flows through the area.[4] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[5]

The Bowland Rural District had been in the West Riding of Yorkshire prior to the reforms, whereas the other parts had all been in Lancashire. The council was granted a coat of arms in 1975, which includes both the Red Rose of Lancaster and White Rose of York, referencing the two historic counties.[6]

The parish of Simonstone was transferred from Burnley to Ribble Valley in 1987.[7]

Governance

Ribble Valley Borough Council
Foundation1 April 1974
MayorSimon O'Rourke
Election 113 May 2025[1]
Party 1
Liberal Democrat
LeaderSimon Hore
Party 2
Conservative
Election 213 May 2025
Chief ExecutiveMarshal Scott
Election 3April 2009[2]
Seats40 councillors
Structure1 res250
Political groups 1
Administration (17)
Conservative (17)
Other parties (23)
Liberal Democrat (6)
Labour (5)
Green (2)
Reform UK (1)
Independent (9)
Voting system 1First past the post
Last election 14 May 2023
Next election 16 May 2027
Session roomRibble Valley Borough Council 03.JPG
Meeting placeCouncil Offices, Church Walk, Clitheroe, BB7 2RA
Websitewww.ribblevalley.gov.uk

Ribble Valley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. The whole borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by a Conservative minority administration.[9][10]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[11][12]

Party in controlYears
1974–1995
1995–2003
2003–2023
2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Ribble Valley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1999 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Peter Redpath[13]19992002
Chris Holtom[14][15]2002May 2004
John Hill[15][16]May 2004May 2007
Michael Ranson[17]20072013
Stuart Hirst[18]20132017
Ken Hind[19][20]9 May 201720 Dec 2018
Stephen Atkinson[21][22][23]15 Jan 2019Mar 2025
Simon Hore[24][25]13 May 2025

Composition

Following the 2023 election,[26] and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[27][28]

PartyCouncillors
17
6
5
2
1
9
Total40

Two of the independent councillors (both former Liberal Democrats) are members of the 'Green & Progressive Liberal Group' along with the two Green Party Councillors.[29]

Elections

See also: Ribble Valley local elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 40 councillors representing 26 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.[30]

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Church Walk in Clitheroe, which was purpose-built for the council in 1980.[31][32] The council chamber is in an adjoining building at 13 Church Street, which had been offices of the old Clitheroe Borough Council prior to the 1974 reforms.[33]

Education

State-funded schools

Primary

See List of schools in Lancashire § Ribble Valley

Secondary

Specialist

  • Hillside Specialist School, Longridge

Independent schools

Adult education

Sport

Longridge Town FC

Local radio

Community radio

Ribble Valley Radio was a community radio station based in Clitheroe, part of the new, third sector of local radio licensed by OFCOM.[34] The project was launched in September 2004. The radio station helped six local residents into paid work within the radio sector in just three years and trained more than 100 volunteers to present and produce their own radio shows. The project was not supported by the Borough Council, which caused controversy in the area, and local newspaper theClitheroe Advertiser and Times' held a poll which returned the result that 94% agreed that the Ribble Valley Borough Council were wrong not to fund the project and assist its long-term success. Many letters appeared in support of the project and damning the "short sighted" decision of the council. The whole episode brought excellent publicity and boosted the radio station's listening figures by 400%.

MP Nigel Evans was a staunch supporter and tabled an Early Day Motion at Parliament EDM 979[35] calling for "better resources and funding" for Ribble Valley Radio and the new and emerging sector. None of this was sufficient to save the station and on 14 October 2007 Ribble Valley Radio closed, because it was unable to gain sufficient funding to apply for a licence.[36]

A new group, known as Ribble FM,[37] was formed in 2011 with the aim of applying for a community radio licence in the third round of licensing by Ofcom. Ribble FM was set up by The Bee founder Roy Martin and includes local directors and trustees. The station has been on air since 2016 and has just been granted, as of March 2026, a third 5 year license to operate from Ofcom.

Settlements

Civil parishes

The whole borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Clitheroe and Longridge have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".[38]

  1. Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley
  2. Balderstone
  3. Bashall Eaves
  4. Billington and Langho
  5. Bolton-by-Bowland
  6. Bowland Forest High
  7. Bowland Forest Low
  8. Bowland-with-Leagram
  9. Chatburn
  10. Chipping
  11. Clayton-le-Dale
  12. Clitheroe
  13. Dinckley
  14. Downham
  15. Dutton
  16. Easington
  17. Gisburn
  18. Gisburn Forest
  19. Great Mitton
  20. Grindleton
  21. Horton
  22. Hothersall
  23. Little Mitton
  24. Longridge
  25. Mearley
  26. Mellor
  27. Middop
  28. Newsholme
  29. Newton
  30. Osbaldeston
  31. Paythorne
  32. Pendleton
  33. Ramsgreave
  34. Read
  35. Ribchester
  36. Rimington
  37. Sabden
  38. Salesbury
  39. Sawley
  40. Simonstone
  41. Slaidburn
  42. Thornley-with-Wheatley
  43. Twiston
  44. Waddington
  45. West Bradford
  46. Whalley
  47. Wilpshire
  48. Wiswell
  49. Worston

Economy

Although Ribble Valley is the largest area of Lancashire, it also has the smallest population. The economy of Ribble Valley is mainly rural in nature, with a high proportion of jobs being in the private sector, due to BAE there is a bigger sway towards manufacturing jobs and less of a service economy when compared to the rest of Lancashire presumably due to the size of the authority and the dispersed nature of settlements. The authority also has the highest proportion of remote workers in Lancashire.[39]

Notable businesses

Freedom of the Borough

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

Military Units

References

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 13 May 2025". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  2. ^ Briggs, Ben (18 December 2008). "Burnley man appointed Ribble Valley Council chief". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  3. ^ No. 2039. 1972. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  4. ^ No. 551. 1973. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  5. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  6. ^ "North West Region". Civic Heraldry. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Local Government Boundary Commission For England Report No. 5O5". Local Government Boundary Commission For England. October 1985. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  8. ^ "70" (act). 1972. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  9. ^ Jacobs, Bill (11 May 2023). "Battered Ribble Valley Tories seek to keep power as a minority". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Council minutes, 23 May 2023". Ribble Valley Borough Council. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Ribble Valley" in search box to see specific results.)
  12. ^ "Ribble Valley". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  13. ^ "Sudden death of former leader". Lancashire Telegraph. 8 March 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. ^ "'We don't want more housing'". Lancashire Telegraph. 12 July 2002. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Council boss quits - work too much". Lancashire Telegraph. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Tourism pledge of new mayor". Lancashire Telegraph. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Michael is new Ribble Valley Mayor". Burnley Express. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  18. ^ Jacobs, Bill (12 May 2022). "New Ribble Valley Mayor confirmed". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Council minutes, 9 May 2017". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Tory leader Ken Hind stands down as council leader". Burnley Express. 21 Dec 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Council minutes, 15 January 2019". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Reform UK name likely future leader of Lancashire County Council after shock election landslide". ITV News. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  23. ^ Macdonald, Robbie (18 March 2025). "Ex-Ribble Valley council leader's resignation letter blasts Tories". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  24. ^ "Council minutes, 13 May 2025". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  25. ^ Macdonald, Robbie (14 May 2025). "Ribble Valley Council appoints new Tory political leader". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  26. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian
  27. ^ Boothroyd, David (13 October 2023). "Cheltenham still enraged by bureaucracy". Local Councils. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Ribble Valley". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Councillors". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  30. ^ No. 1267. 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  31. ^ No. 48120. 6 March 1980. p. 3585.
  32. ^ No. 48273. 7 August 1980. p. 11223.
  33. ^ "Council offices and meetings". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  34. ^ http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ Archived 2009-07-10 at the Wayback Machine ofcom.org.uk
  35. ^ http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=32699&SESSION=885 edmi.parliament.uk
  36. ^ Radio station closes due to funding problems Archived 2008-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ "Home". Ribble FM. 16 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  38. ^ "Information on Town and Parish Councils". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  39. ^ "District Profile – Ribble Valley". Lancashire County Council. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  40. ^ "Cavalry regiment parades through Leyland". The Lancashire Telegraph. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  41. ^ "King's Royal Hussars homecoming parade in Leyland". BBC News. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  42. ^ "Flag waving public line the route for Freedom parade". The Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  43. ^ "Duke of Lancaster's Regiment's freedom of Ribble Valley". BBC News. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2022.