North Midlands


The North Midlands is a loosely defined area of England. A statistical definition, first defined in 1881, included the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland as part of the North Midlands region. The region has remained in informal use for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the northern parts of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, and Cheshire and South Yorkshire to a lesser extent. A combined authority area for the North Midlands was proposed during 2016 for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, but was cancelled when the devolution deal for it collapsed later in the year.

History and Extent

A North Midlands region was first defined for the 1881 UK census. It was defined as the entirety of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. A new definition of the region appeared in 1939, for various government statistical purposes: Derbyshire without High Peak, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and the Soke of Peterborough. In 1942, High Peak was added, but it was removed again in 1946. In 1962, it was merged into a new Midlands statistical region.
The North Midlands has remained in use as an informal term for part of the area, covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the northern parts of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, and Cheshire and South Yorkshire to a lesser degree, even though Staffordshire, Cheshire and South Yorkshire never formed part of the statistical region. For example, in the 1960s, Sheffield was described in an official publication as "the vigorous shopping and cultural centre of the North Midlands".
The introduction to J. B. Priestley's play An Inspector Calls specifies that it is set in the fictional town of Brumley in the North Midlands.

Organisations

The North Midlands Helicopter Support Unit was previously operated jointly by Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Police until 2013 when all police air support functions were taken over by the newly formed National Police Air Service. The service subsequently closed the North Midlands unit permanently in 2016. The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust operates in Staffordshire and covers the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and the Stafford County Hospital.
A North Midlands Combined Authority was proposed to be formed in April 2017. In March 2016 it was reported that plans for a combined authority may not proceed, as South Derbyshire District Council, High Peak Borough Council, Amber Valley Borough Council and Erewash Borough Council had all voted to reject the proposal. In addition, Chesterfield Borough Council decided to sign up to the South Yorkshire Combined Authority, rather than the North Midlands Combined Authority. In July 2016, it was reported that the North Midlands devolution deal had collapsed.