Northavon was a district in the English county of Avon from 1974 to 1996. The district was formed by 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 ...

on 1 April 1974 as part of a reform of local authorities throughout

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Under the reorganisation, the area surrounding the cities of Bath and Bristol was formed into a new county of "Avon", named after the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

that ran through the area. The county was divided into six districts, one of which was formed from the areas of Sodbury Rural District (except the parish of Alderley) and most of Thornbury Rural District (16 out of 21 parishes) in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. The district was given the name "Northavon" in 1973, denoting the district's position in the county. In 1991 the county boundaries of Avon and Gloucestershire were realigned. The main effect of the change was that the Hillesley and Tresham area was transferred from Northavon to the neighbouring District of Stroud in

. Following a review by the Local Government Commission for England, both the County of Avon and District of Northavon were abolished on 1 April 1996. Northavon was merged with the neighbouring Borough of Kingswood to form the unitary authority of

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

. Northavon was a parliamentary constituency. It was abolished ahead of the 2010 general election, with the area being split between the constituencies of Filton and Bradley Stoke and Thornbury and Yate.

Premises

In 1986 Northavon District Council built a civic centre on Castle Street in Thornbury, at the corner with Stokefield Close. The building remained the council's meeting place and main offices until the council's abolition in 1996. The building was subsequently used by South Gloucestershire Council until 2013. It has since been demolished and Alexandra Lodge, a development of retirement homes, has been built on the site.

References

{{Reflist South Gloucestershire District Avon (county) History of Gloucestershire Former non-metropolitan districts of Avon

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References