Borough of Swale
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Kingsferry Bridge
Kingsferry Bridge
Swale shown within Kent
Swale shown within Kent
Coordinates: 51°20′24.73″N 0°43′51.32″E / 51.3402028°N 0.7309222°E / 51.3402028; 0.7309222
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Non-metropolitan countyKent
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQSittingbourne
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodySwale Borough Council
 • MPsHelen Whately (C)
Gordon Henderson (C)
Area
 • Total144.2 sq mi (373.4 km2)
 • Rank93rd (of 296)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total152,223
 • Rank139th (of 296)
 • Density1,100/sq mi (410/km2)
 • Ethnicity[1]
96.1% White
1.3% S.Asian
1.1% Black
1.0% Mixed Race
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code29UM (ONS)
E07000113 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTQ9018863720

Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based in Sittingbourne, the borough's largest town. The borough also contains the towns of Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It includes the Isle of Sheppey and is named after The Swale, the narrow channel which separates Sheppey from the mainland part of the borough.

Some southern parts of the borough lie within the Kent Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The neighbouring districts are Canterbury, Ashford, Maidstone and Medway.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]

The new district was named Swale, after the waterway which divides the mainland part of the district from the Isle of Sheppey.[3] The district was awarded borough status on 20 January 1978, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]

Governance

Swale Borough Council
Swale Borough Council Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Sarah Stephen,
Swale Independents
since 17 May 2023[5]
Tim Gibson,
Labour
since 17 May 2023
Larissa Reed
since January 2021[6]
Structure
Seats47 councillors
Political groups
Administration (31)
  Labour (16)
  Swale Independents (11)
  Green (3)
  Independent (1)
Other parties (16)
  Conservative (11)
  Liberal Democrats (5)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Motto
Known By Their Fruits
Meeting place
Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, ME10 3HT
Website
www.swale.gov.uk

Swale Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. Most of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[7][8]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 election a coalition of Labour, local party the Swale Independents, the Greens and an independent councillor have formed the council's administration.[9]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[10][11][12]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1974–1976
Conservative1976–1986
No overall control1986–2002
Conservative2002–2019
No overall control2019–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Swale is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:[13]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Andrew Bowles Conservative20025 May 2019
Roger Truelove Labour22 May 201927 Apr 2022
Mike Baldock Swale Ind.27 Apr 202219 May 2023
Tim Gibson Labour19 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, a subsequent by-election in September 2023, and a defection from the Swale Independents Alliance to the Labour Party, the composition of the council was:[14][15][16]

Party Councillors
Labour 16
Swale Ind. 10
Conservative 11
Liberal Democrats 5
Green 3
Independent 1
Total 47

The independent councillor and the Swale Independents sit together as the "Swale Independents Alliance".[17] The next elections are due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 47 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[18]

Premises

The council is based at Swale House on East Street in Sittingbourne.[19]

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[20]), as well as many of its remaining hop gardens. Faversham has the Shepherd Neame brewery. Founded in 1698 it is claimed to be oldest brewery in the UK.

Sheerness is a busy port and previously produced steel. Sittingbourne has a variety of smaller industrial sites.

Transport

The Roman Watling Street 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 and the Sheerness Branch Line, which meet at Sittingbourne.

Two adjoining bridges across The Swale link the Isle of Sheppey to the mainland: Kingsferry Bridge and the Sheppey Crossing.

Parishes

Most of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness take the style "town council".[21] The former Sittingbourne and Milton Urban District is an unparished area, as is the Halfway Houses area on Sheppey, being the only part of the pre-1974 borough of Queenborough-in-Sheppey not to have been subsequently added to a parish.[8]

Mayors

For the council's first four years it had a chairman rather than a mayor. The chairmen were:

  • 1974-75 R. D. Sharrock
  • 1975-76 K. H. Burbidge
  • 1976-78 R. W. Barnicott

From the grant of borough status in January 1978 onwards the chairman of the council has taken the title of mayor. The mayors have been:

  • 1978-78 R. W. Barnicott
  • 1978-80 J. M. Elliott
  • 1980-81 A. M. North
  • 1981-82 T. T. Holden
  • 1982-83 L. A. Nash
  • 1983-84 H. T. Curling
  • 1984-85 William Boggia
  • 1985-86 Richard Moreton
  • 1986-87 Kenneth Ingleton
  • 1987-88 Peter Morgan
  • 1988-89 L. T. Vaughan
  • 1989-91 Jean Newman
  • 1991-92 Keith Evans
  • 1992-93 Brian Groves
  • 1993-94 Brian Austen
  • 1994-95 L. T. Vaughan
  • 1995-96 Don Jordan
  • 1996-97 Ernest Madgwick
  • 1997-98 David Sargent
  • 1998-99 Gerry Lewin
  • 1999-00 Ann McLean
  • 2000-01 Peter Salmon
  • 2001-02 Brenda Simpson
  • 2002-03 Brenda Hammond
  • 2003-04 Mick Constable
  • 2004-05 Colin Prescott
  • 2005-06 Bryan Mulhern
  • 2006-08 John Morris
  • 2008-09 Alan Willicombe
  • 2009-10 Adrian Crowther
  • 2010-11 Steve Worrall
  • 2011-12 Ben Stokes
  • 2012-13 Pat Sandle
  • 2013-14 Sue Gent
  • 2014-15 George Bobbin
  • 2015-16 Anita Walker
  • 2016-17 Lesley Ingham
  • 2017-18 Colin Prescott
  • 2018-19 Samuel Koffie-Williams
  • 2019-20 Kenneth Ingleton
  • 2020-22 Paul Stephen
  • 2022-23 Simon Clark
  • 2023-24 Sarah Stephen

Honorary Freemen of the Borough

References

  1. ↑ Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics: Swale
  2. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 27 September 2023
  3. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  4. ↑ Alteration of Status of Local Authorities June 1977 – January 1978 (PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1978. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Council minutes, 17 May 2023". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  6. ↑ George, Martin (8 October 2020). "New Swale chief executive named". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  8. 1 2 "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Boothroyd, David (19 May 2023). "As a Green councillor walked out one midsummer morning". Local Councils. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Swale Borough Council". BBC News. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Council minutes". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  14. ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ Harbert, Joe (14 September 2023). "By-election for Minster Cliffs ward on Swale Borough Council following Ken Ingleton's death". Kent Online. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  16. ↑ "Minster Cliffs by-election results". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  17. ↑ "Your Councillors by Party". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "The Swale (Electoral Changes) Order 2012", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2012/2985, retrieved 29 September 2023
  19. ↑ "Our offices". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  20. ↑ Orchards http://www.englandinparticular.info/orchards/o-kent.html
  21. ↑ "Parish council contact details". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Photograph of Bob Geldof Receiving the Freedom of the Borough of Swale". Shutterstock. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  23. ↑ Dunt, Paul (13 October 2021). "Former Sheerness RNLI Coxswain honoured with Freedom of the Borough". The Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  24. ↑ "Photograph of Robin Swale Receiving the Freedom of the Borough of Swale". Twitter. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
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