Swale is a local government district with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

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 and is bounded by

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to ...

to the west,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

to the east,

Ashford 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 ...

to the south and Maidstone to the south west. Its council is based in Sittingbourne. The district is named after the narrow channel called The Swale, that separates the mainland of Kent from the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...

, and which occupies the central part of the district. The district was formed in 1974 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 ...

, from the Borough of

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient Briti ...

; the Borough of

Queenborough-in-Sheppey Queenborough-in-Sheppey was a municipal borough in Kent, England from 1968 to 1974. It was created by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Queenborough with Sheerness Urban District and Sheppey Rural District, and occupied the entire Isle of Sh ...

, which covered the whole of Sheppey; the Sittingbourne and Milton

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

; and Swale Rural District. Most of the southern half of the Borough lies within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, whilst Sittingbourne and the

forms the concluding part of the Thames Gateway growth area. There are four towns in the borough: Sittingbourne and

on the mainland, and

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

and Queenborough on Sheppey.

Economy

Swale is a mainly rural borough, containing a high proportion of the UK's apple, pear, cherry and plum orchards (the North Kent Fruit Belt), as well as many of its remaining hop gardens. Faversham has the Shepherd Neame brewery. Sheerness is a busy port and previously produced steel. Sittingbourne has a variety of smaller industrial sites.

Transport

The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...

passed through the area, as witness the straightness of the A2 main road, now by-passed by the M2 motorway. There are two railway lines in Swale: 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 ...

and the Sheerness Line, which meet at .

Governance

Chairmen

* 1973-74 R. D. Sharrock * 1974-75 R. D. Sharrock * 1975-76 K. H. Burbidge * 1976-77 R. W. Barnicott

Mayors

Honorary Freemen of the Borough

* 1978 D. Allen * 1982 Mrs D. M. Elvy JP DL * 1986

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part o ...

* 2004 Gerald David Thomsett * 2004 Peter James Salmon * 2018 Stephen Mark Brown * 2021 Peter Morgan * 2021 Robin Castle

Elections

Swale Borough Council is elected every four years, with currently 47

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s being elected at each election. After the Conservatives had a majority on the council from 1976 to 1986, no party had overall control from 1986 until the 2002 election when the Conservatives regained control. The Conservatives held their majority until the last election in 2019 when the council returned to no overall control. The council is currently composed of the following councillors:-

Parishes

The district contains the following civil parishes: * Bapchild * Bobbing * Borden * Boughton-under-Blean *

Bredgar Bredgar is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale, Kent, England. Location The village lies to the southwest of Sittingbourne on the road between Tunstall and Hollingbourne (previously the B2163). The M2 motorway crosses the parish. ...

* Conyer *

Danaway Danaway is a village near the A249 road and the M2 motorway, in the Swale district, in the English county of Kent. The nearest town is Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from ...

* Doddington *

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

* Eastchurch *

Eastling Eastling is a small village 4½ miles to the southwest of Faversham, Kent in England. It is set in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the slope of the North Downs. The village's Conservation Area boasts some excellent buildings an ...

* Goodnestone *

Graveney Graveney is a relatively small but widely dispersed village located between Faversham and Whitstable in Kent, England. The main part of the village is located along the intersection of Seasalter Road, Sandbanks Road and Head Hill Road (at the rai ...

Hartlip Hartlip is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale, in the county of Kent, England. The population estimate was 680 in 1991, and in 2001 there were 566 registered voters. At the 2011 Census the population was 746. The village covers 1 ...

Hernhill Hernhill is a village and civil parish between Faversham and Canterbury in southeast England. The parish includes the hamlets of Crockham, Dargate, The Fostall, Lamberhurst, Oakwell, Staple Street, Thread, Waterham and Wey Street. Churches Du ...

* Iwade * Leysdown * Lower Halstow *

Lynsted Lynsted is a village in Lynsted with Kingsdown civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The village is situated south of the A2 road between Faversham and Sittingbourne and the nearest M2 junction is Faversham three miles east. Ly ...

* Kemsley *

Milstead Milstead is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. It is surrounded by the villages of Frinsted, Wichling, Doddington and Lynsted in Kent, England. It is the southernmost parish in the Sittingbourne area, it is ...

* Milton Regis *

Minster-on-Sea Minster-on-Sea is a civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is on the Isle of Sheppey and thus forms part of the borough of Swale. It was created in 2003. The main populated area is the seaside town of Minster on the north coast. The ...

Murston Murston is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is about 1 mile north-east of central Sittingbourne, on the east bank of the Milton Creek. History According to Edward Hasted in 1798, it was once called 'Muston'. The parish contains abo ...

* Newington * Newnham *

Norton, Buckland and Stone Norton, Buckland and Stone is a small rural civil parish east of Teynham and west of the centre of Faversham in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. It is bypassed by the M2 to the south and traverses the historic A2, on the route of the R ...

* Oare *

Ospringe Ospringe is a village and area of Faversham in the English county of Kent. It is also the name of a civil parish, which since 1935 has not included the village of Ospringe. The village lies on the Roman road Watling Street (nowadays the A2 r ...

Rodmersham Rodmersham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale in the north of the English county of Kent. It is just under south of Bapchild on the A2 road and south-east of the town of Sittingbourne. Rodmersham Green, which forms the bulk ...

* Rushenden * Selling * Sheldwich, Badlesmere and Leaveland * Stalisfield *

Teynham Teynham ( ) is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish lies between the towns of Sittingbourne and Faversham, immediately north of the A2 road, and includes the hamlet of Conyer on an inlet of the ...

Throwley Throwley is an English village south of Faversham in the Borough of Swale in Kent.The name is recorded in the Doomsday Book as Trevelai, which corresponds with a Brittonic origin, where "Trev" means a settlement or farm house and "Elai" typicall ...

* Tonge * Tunstall *

Upchurch Upchurch is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. It is situated just off the A2 road, between Rainham and Sittingbourne. History Upchurch lay on a pre-Roman trackway; the many linking roads are the result of ...

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

References

External links

Bored In Swale - an information site listing activities for the youth in Swale.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swale, Borough of Non-metropolitan districts of Kent Boroughs in England