South Holland District

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the area of three former districts from the administrative county of Holland, which were all abolished at the same time:^[5]

• East Elloe Rural District
• Spalding Rural District
• Spalding Urban District

The new district was named South Holland referencing its position within Holland, one of the three historic parts of Lincolnshire.^[6]

In 2021 the district council joined East Lindsey District Council and Boston Borough Council in the "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership" which shares management and other staff.^[7]

South Holland District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lincolnshire County Council.^[8] Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. The town of Spalding is an unparished area.^[9]

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2003.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:^[10]

The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:^[11]

Following the 2023 election and a by-election in November 2023, the composition of the council was:^[13][14]

The South Holland Independents and independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group".^[15] The next election is due in 2027.

The council is based at the Council Offices on Priory Road in Spalding. The original building had been completed in 1954 for the Spalding Rural District Council, one of the modern council's predecessors.^[16] A large extension was added in front of the original building in 1991.^[17]

Since the last boundary changes in 2007 the council has comprised 37 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[18]

There were 76,512 residents in the district at the 2001 census.^[19] The median age was nearly 43.^[19] 82.6% of people in the district claimed to adhere to a Christian religion – the highest proportion of any district in the East Midlands.

The 2011 census reports 88,270 people at 1.2 per hectare in 37,264 households.^[20]

Much of the district is low-lying and highly fertile agricultural land which is protected from flooding by land drainage. This is the responsibility of the South Holland Internal Drainage Board and the Environment Agency.^[21]

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire broadcast from the Belmont transmitter.^[22] BBC East Midlands and ITV Central can also be received from the Waltham TV transmitter.^[23] With the co-channel interference from the Waltham transmitter, a small number of households in the southern tip of the district are able to receive BBC East and ITV Anglia.^[24]

Radio stations for the area are: ^[25]

• BBC Radio Lincolnshire on 104.7 FM and 94.9 FM
• BBC Radio Cambridgeshire can also be received on 95.7 FM,
• Lincs FM on DAB
• Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire on 96.7FM and 102.2 FM
• Connect Radio on 106.8 FM
• Heart Peterborough on 102.7 FM
• Tulip Radio (for Spalding) on 107.5 FM

52°45′N 0°09′W / 52.75°N 0.15°W / 52.75; -0.15