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Thanet is a local government district in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England. Formed under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, it came into being on 1 April 1974 and is governed by Thanet District Council. On the north eastern tip of Kent, it is predominantly coastal, with north, east and southeast facing coastlines, and is bordered by the
City of Canterbury The City of Canterbury () is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. As well as Canterbury itself, the district extends north to the coastal towns of Whistable and Herne Bay. History The district was formed on 1 April ...
district to the west and the
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...
district to the south. The main towns are
Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...
,
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populati ...
and Broadstairs.


History

The Isle of Thanet is the major part of the district. Formed over 7,000 years ago and separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it has always borne the brunt of invasions from
the Continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
. An Isle of Thanet Rural District had existed from the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...
until it was abolished in 1935 to form part of
Eastry Rural District Eastry Rural District was a rural district in the county of Kent, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1935 when several parishes were gained from the disbanded Isle of Thanet Rural District and othe ...
. The current District was formed in 1974, by the addition of the area over which was once the Wantsum Channel, including the settlement of Sarre.


Governance

The District Council is held by a Labour minority with support from Greens and Independents, following a vote of no confidence in the Conservative Leader, Cllr Bob Bayford. There are two MPs for Thanet: * Roger Gale, Conservative MP for
North Thanet North Thanet is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1983 creation by Sir Roger Gale, a Conservative. History North Thanet and South Thanet were created by a rearrangement of the former ...
, *
Craig MacKinlay Craig Mackinlay (born 7 October 1966) is a Conservative Party politician and businessman. Since May 2015, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Thanet. Initially a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Mackinlay served a ...
, Conservative MP for South Thanet.


Responsibilities

Thanet district council is responsible for providing clear leadership to the community and continuously to improve the delivery of local services. These services include: leisure, environmental health, housing — including the provision of social housing and housing benefit and rubbish collection. (First tier authorities have no responsibility for highways and under statute this function cannot be passed between different levels of local government.) Kent County Council is responsible for more strategic services such as education, libraries, main roads, social services, trading standards and transport.


Organisation

The powers of the council are specified in its constitution in accordance with the
Local Government Act 2000 The Local Government Act 2000 (c.22) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales. Its principal purposes are: * to give powers to local authorities to promote economic, social and envir ...
. The council is a
cabinet-style council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...
with a leader and the cabinet itself, which is formed by the majority party in the district. Decisions on the council's services are made by the executive (or cabinet) which comprises five councillors. Each member of the cabinet holds a separate portfolio. The leader and cabinet are responsible for policies, plans and strategies, and for recommending them to the overall council, which is convened as a whole, at regular council meetings. The full council consists of 56 councillors. The cabinet is held to account by the remainder of the councillors acting as
overview and scrutiny Overview may refer to: * Overview article, an artícle that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic * Overview map, generalised view of a geographic area See also * Summary (disambiguation) * Outline (list) * '' A Brief Ove ...
who verify that decisions are appropriate and can prevent a decision taking immediate effect.


Officers

Councillors are responsible for the appointment and oversight of officers, who are delegated to perform most tasks. The chief executive officer, has overall responsibility for council employees and operates in conjunction with department heads.


Parishes

The
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
es located in the district are: * Acol * Birchington * Broadstairs *
Cliffsend Cliffsend is a village (sometimes written, correctly, as Cliffs End) and civil parish situated almost west of Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom, in the Thanet local government district. Hengist and Horsa landed near here in 410AD, and St Augusti ...
* Manston * Minster * Monkton *
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populati ...
* St Nicholas at Wade with Sarre The town of
Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...
comprises an unparished area. The Thanet councillors representing the wards covering Margate act as
charter trustees In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established. Duties ar ...
, choosing one of their number to be the mayor of Margate each year. The chairs of the town councils for Ramsgate and Broadstairs also take the title of mayor.


Elections

*''See Thanet District Council elections for historic political control and leadership.'' Elections are held every four years. The most recent election on 2 May 2019 saw the council remain under no overall control. A minority Conservative administration formed after the election, but was replaced by a minority Labour administration in October 2019. That administration lasted until June 2021, when another minority Conservative administration, led by Ash Ashbee managed to take control of the council. The next election is due in 2023.


Electoral wards

The district is divided into 23 electoral wards.


Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Cecil Street in the centre of Margate. The building was originally designed in the early 1970s to be a new headquarters for Margate Borough Council, but by the time the building was finished in 1974 that council had been abolished and absorbed into the larger Thanet District Council. The building was formally opened on 9 April 1975.


Demography

According to the 2011 census, the population of Thanet was 134,186, an increase of about 6000 in the ten years since the previous census.


Economy

The whole district suffers from seasonal unemployment, in spite of its proximity to London, because of various factors, among them being inward migration, high numbers of old people, and low numbers of affluent people. It is not helped by poor overall indicators for health.Association of Public Health Observatories - Health Profiles APHO Health Profiles
In a study of resilience to economic downturns, Thanet was poorly rated at 295th out of 324 districts. Unemployment levels are nearly twice the South East of England as a whole, and as a result a great deal of planning is being done to encourage more businesses to relocate to the District. Th
Thanet & East Kent Chamber
produces a weekly business digest, the Thanet & East Kent Insider, which reports on economic activity in the private and public sectors. New projects underway include: A new community centre for Broadstairs. Redevelopment and renovations are to be undertaken at Margate's Dreamland (a Heritage Amusement Park); Cliftonville (Lido site); and a Holiday Inn (hotel), now open. A large retail and residential development on Ramsgate seafront, known as Royal Sands, started construction in 2011 but was quickly halted. A multimillion-pound art gallery The Turner Contemporary (opened by Tracey Emin in April 2011) in Margate and this has created the opening of many new shops in the Margate old town and visitor numbers have far exceeded expectation. Margate has been chosen as a
Mary Portas Mary Portas (''née'' Newton; born 28 May 1960) is an English retail consultant and broadcaster, known for her retail- and business-related television shows, founding her creative agency Portas and her appointment by David Cameron, the British P ...
retail town. Large investment and building work is taking place in schools across the island. In addition, the District Council has introduced an empty property initiative and has compulsory purchased empty and derelict buildings with the objective of bringing them back into use. The
Thanet Offshore Wind Project The Thanet Wind Farm (also sometimes called Thanet Offshore Wind Farm) is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. On commissioning it was the world's largest offshore wind farm. It has a nameplate capacity (max ...
, near North Foreland, began operating in September 2010. The project is expected to have a total capacity of up to 300 MW which, on average, is sufficient to supply approximately 240,000 homes with green energy. The project will thus make a significant contribution to the government's national and regional renewable energy targets. Thanet Earth is the largest greenhouse development in the UK, covering an area of 91 hectares with 7 greenhouses each the size of 10 football pitches producing cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers all year. Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs each have shopping centres with a mix of local and national retailers complemented by Northdown Road, Cliftonville, Westgate and Birchington. Westwood at the centre of Thanet has seen much major development in recent years with the building of
Westwood Cross Westwood Cross is a British, open, pedestrianised shopping centre at Westwood, Kent. It opened in 2005, and since 2008 has incorporated a casino, cinema and bingo hall. History Westwood Cross is situated on the former Haine Hospital site, whi ...
shopping centre which is the home of national retailers and several restaurant chains including a Travelodge hotel. Associated development has taken place around the shopping centre spawning other retail parks. National retailer
Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...
opened a new superstore in October 2012, the largest Primark store in Kent.


Transport

The rail connections are via the
Chatham Main Line The Chatham Main Line is a railway line in England that links London VictoriaQuail Map 5 – England South ages 2–13Sept 2002 (Retrieved 14 December 2011) and Dover Priory / Ramsgate, travelling via Medway (of which the town of Chatham is ...
through Margate to Ramsgate, and the
Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...
. New high-speed rail links from London to Thanet began in December 2009, and it is now possible to travel from Margate to
St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...
at an average speed of 96 kmh (around 60 mph); maximum speed of 225 km/h (around 140 mph). This will form part of the UK's first true high-speed commuter service, according to the South Eastern Railway Company. Main road links are the A28 which brings traffic from Canterbury and Ashford; and the A299, north coast route. The
Saxon Shore Way The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...
Long distance footpath skirts the coast. There is an airport, now closed, at Manston, formerly RAF Manston, but later renamed by its commercial operators as Kent International Airport. The airport closed permanently on 15 May 2014. Because it was used as a U.S. airbase during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
it has one of the longest runways in the UK, and while open it was designated by the United Nations as an emergency landing site for aircraft in trouble. Ferry services are no longer running from the Port of Ramsgate, and the council is currently in dispute with the former operators over the payment of £3.3 million


Health

Thanet has a large hospital: the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, known as the QEQM. Extension work which started in 2007 has made the QEQM a major hospital site. As of July 2010, overall indicators of health were poor for Thanet:Association of Public Health Observatories
Thanet Health Profile
, July 2010
* Health is worse in Thanet than in England on average * Life expectancy is lower than for England * There are health inequalities: in deprived areas life expectancy is 5 years lower for women and 10 years lower for men * Teenage pregnancies are high compared to the England average * Estimated smoking rates are average but death rates from smoking are significantly higher * Binge drinking is around the national average * Children are significantly less active than average * Significantly higher than average number of people admitted to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions * Significantly higher than average rate of diabetes * Significantly higher than average rate of mental health problems


Media

Local newspapers are the ''Thanet Extra'', part of the KM Group; ''Isle of Thanet Gazette'' and ''Thanet Times'' (merged with Adscene, October 2009), (the Thanet Times was withdrawn in October 2012) all owned by Northcliffe Media; and the midweek Your Thanet published online by KOS Media. The county-wide newspaper '' Kent on Saturday'' also serves the district. Local radio stations are; *
KMFM Thanet KMFM Thanet is an Independent Local Radio serving the Isle of Thanet and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is the Thanet region of the KMFM radio network (owned by the KM Group), containing local advertisements and sponsorsh ...
(previously known as Thanet Local Radio) owned by the KM Group. (All Programmes are networked with other KM Kent stations). *Community non-commercial station Academy FM Thanet on 107.8FM and online and via mobile app it broadcasts from within
Marlowe Academy The Royal Harbour Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located over two sites in Ramsgate in the English county of Kent. The school was formed in September 2015 from the merger of The Ellington and Hereson School located o ...
, Ramsgate. *The county-wide
Heart Kent Heart Kent (previously Invicta FM) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Kent from studios at John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable. History Invicta in the 80s Original ...
* BBC
Radio Kent BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...
National TV stations carry regional news: The ITV1 service is provided currently by Meridian Broadcasting; and the BBC South East Today. Thanet also has a local online radio and podcasting service currently operating online only known as 'Thanet Community Radio' (TCR). The station works closely with
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...
-based 'Dover Community Radio' (DCR) which operates in a similar way.


Education

Thanet has a wide variety of local schools including approximately 41 primary schools such as Drapers Mills, Palm Bay, and Upton. Outstanding secondary schools include Dane Court Grammar, and Chatham and Clarendon Grammar. The community learning within the district is varied and wide, including charitable training organisations such as East Kent ITeC Ltd, and organisations such as Margate Adult Education Centre, Thanet Skills Studio and Thanet Stage School.
East Kent College East Kent College is a further education college (although also provides higher education courses) located in Broadstairs, Kent on the southeast coast of the United Kingdom. The main campus is located on Ramsgate Road, Broadstairs. In September ...
is a provider of further education in Thanet and a Training Provider that works with local businesses to raise the level of education across the region. Canterbury Christ Church University currently has a campus in Broadstairs, serving Media, Art and Design subjects.


Climate

Thanet enjoys a maritime climate, being surrounded on three sides by the sea. This generally results in mild winters and warm, dry summers.


References

{{Authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Kent