The subdivisions of England constitute a hierarchy of administrative divisions and non-administrative ceremonial areas.
The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purposes of lieutenancy; the 84 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties for local government; and the 39 historic counties which were used for administration until 1974.
East Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019.
A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government.
Hurn is a village and civil parish in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district of Dorset, England. It is situated between the River Stour and River Avon 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Christchurch and 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Bournemouth town centre. In 2001, the village had a population of 468.
Branksome is a suburb of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The area consists of residential properties and also a number of commercial and industrial areas.
Bournemouth Borough Council was the local authority for Bournemouth in Dorset, England between 1974 and 2019. Prior to 1974 Bournemouth had been a county borough within Hampshire. Under the Local Government Act 1972 Bournemouth became a non-metropolitan district within Dorset on 1 April 1974, with the same boundaries as the former county borough. On 1 April 1997 it became a unitary authority, taking over the functions previously provided for the area by Dorset County Council. In 2019 the council was abolished, merging with Christchurch and Poole to form Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Holdenhurst is a village in the civil parish of Throop and Holdenhurst, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in Dorset, England, situated in the green belt land of the north-east suburbs of Bournemouth. The village comprises fewer than 30 dwellings, two farms and the parish church. There are no shops and few local facilities in the village.
The unitary authorities of England are a type of local authority responsible for all local government services in an area. They combine the functions of a non-metropolitan county council and a non-metropolitan district council, which elsewhere in England provide two tiers of local government.
Dorset County Council (DCC) was the county council for the county of Dorset in England. It provided the upper tier of local government, below which were district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council had 46 elected councillors and was based at County Hall in Dorchester. The council was abolished on 31 March 2019 as part of structural changes to local government in Dorset.
Bournemouth Borough Council was the local authority of Bournemouth in Dorset, England and ceased to exist on 1 April 2019. It was a unitary authority, although between 1974 and 1997 it was an administrative district council with Dorset. Previously most of the borough was part of Hampshire.
A combined authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain devolved functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area. In areas where local government is two-tier, both must participate in the combined authority.
The 2015 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 7 May 2015, the same day as the general election for the House of Commons.
The South West Hampshire & South East Dorset Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space in the South West region of England. It is mainly within the county of Dorset, extending cross border into Hampshire. Essentially, the function of the belt is to control development expansion in the South East Dorset conurbation and outlying towns and villages. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The district was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch. The authority covers much of the area of the South Dorset conurbation.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. It is independent from Dorset Council, the unitary authority which administers the rest of the county. The district was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch.
Dorset Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Dorset in England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county of Dorset, which also includes Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The council was created in 2019 when local government across Dorset was reorganised.
Structural changes to local government in England took place between 2019 and 2023. Some of these changes continue the trend of new unitary authorities being created from other types of local government districts, which was a policy of Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick from 2019.
The Alliance for Local Living (ALL) was a minor localist party and political group based in Dorset, with separate branches in the two authorities, ALL for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and ALL for Dorset. The BCP office was based in Poole, whilst the Dorset office was based in Weymouth. The party was deregistered in November 2023, at which point it had four councillors on Dorset Council, who continued to sit together as an informal grouping. The group became Independents for Dorset in 2024.
