This is a list of the 296 districts of England, a type of country subdivision governed by a local authority, that cover all of England. Most English districts are known as non-metropolitan districts and are found in non-metropolitan counties. However, primarily in urban areas, other types of districts are found. Each district is contained within one ceremonial county, except Stockton-on-Tees, which is split for this purpose. Population figures are the mid-year estimates for 2021 from the Office for National Statistics. [1]
There are currently 296 districts in England. The districts are divided into several categories which determine the powers and functions of the local authority.
Each district can additionally hold the honorific statuses of borough, city and royal borough, which does not affect the powers and functions of the local authority.
The current pattern of districts was introduced in 1974 throughout England and Wales, replacing an older system of municipal boroughs, urban districts, rural districts and county boroughs.
In England, several changes have taken place, but only within the framework created then.
Former English districts are as follows
District | Status | Date abolished | Former county | Successor |
---|---|---|---|---|
Allerdale | 1 April 2023 | Cumbria | Cumberland | |
Alnwick | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Northumberland | Northumberland |
Aylesbury Vale | 1 April 2020 | Buckinghamshire | ||
Barrow-in-Furness | 1 April 2023 | Cumbria | Westmorland and Furness | |
Bath | non-metropolitan district, City | 1 April 1996 | Avon | Bath and North East Somerset |
Berwick-upon-Tweed | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Northumberland | Northumberland |
East Yorkshire Borough of Beverley | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | East Riding of Yorkshire |
Blyth Valley | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Northumberland | Northumberland |
Boothferry | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire |
Bournemouth | unitary authority, borough | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
Bridgnorth | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Shropshire | Shropshire |
Brighton | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1997 | East Sussex | Brighton and Hove |
Caradon | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Cornwall | Cornwall |
Carlisle | 1 April 2023 | Cumbria | Cumberland | |
Carrick | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Cornwall | Cornwall |
Castle Morpeth | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Northumberland | Northumberland |
Chester | non-metropolitan district, City | 1 April 2009 | Cheshire | Cheshire West and Chester |
Chester-le-Street | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
Chiltern | 1 April 2020 | Buckinghamshire | ||
Christchurch | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
Cleethorpes | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | North East Lincolnshire |
Congleton | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Cheshire | Cheshire East |
Copeland | 1 April 2023 | Cumbria | Cumberland | |
Corby | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | North Northamptonshire |
Craven | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Crewe and Nantwich | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Cheshire | Cheshire East |
Daventry | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | West Northamptonshire |
Derwentside | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
Durham | non-metropolitan district, City | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
Easington | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
East Dorset | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Dorset |
East Northamptonshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | North Northamptonshire |
East Yorkshire | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | East Riding of Yorkshire |
Eden | 1 April 2023 | Cumbria | Westmorland and Furness | |
Ellesmere Port and Neston | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Cheshire | Cheshire West and Chester |
Forest Heath | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Suffolk | West Suffolk |
Gillingham | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1998 | Kent | Medway |
Glanford | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | North Lincolnshire |
Great Grimsby | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | North East Lincolnshire |
Hambleton | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Harrogate | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Hereford | non-metropolitan district, City | 1 April 1998 | Hereford and Worcester | Herefordshire |
Holderness | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | East Riding of Yorkshire |
Hove | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1997 | East Sussex | Brighton and Hove |
Kennet | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Wiltshire | Wiltshire |
Kerrier | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Cornwall | Cornwall |
Kettering | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | North Northamptonshire |
Kingswood | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Avon | South Gloucestershire |
Leominster | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 1998 | Hereford and Worcester | Herefordshire (part to Malvern Hills) |
Macclesfield | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Cheshire | Cheshire East |
Malvern Hills | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 1998 | Hereford and Worcester | Herefordshire and Malvern Hills |
Medina | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1995 | Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight |
Mendip | 1 April 2023 | Somerset | Somerset | |
Mid Bedfordshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Bedfordshire | Central Bedfordshire |
North Cornwall | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Cornwall | Cornwall |
North Dorset | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Dorset |
North Shropshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Shropshire | Shropshire |
North Wiltshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Wiltshire | Wiltshire |
Northampton | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | West Northamptonshire |
Northavon | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 1996 | Avon | South Gloucestershire |
Oswestry | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Shropshire | Shropshire |
Penwith | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Cornwall | Cornwall |
Poole | unitary authority, borough | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
Purbeck | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Dorset |
Restormel | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Cornwall | Cornwall |
Richmondshire | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Rochester-upon-Medway | non-metropolitan district, City | 1 April 1998 | Kent | Medway |
Ryedale | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Salisbury | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Wiltshire | Wiltshire |
Scarborough | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Scunthorpe | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1996 | Humberside | North Lincolnshire |
Sedgefield | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
Sedgemoor | 1 April 2023 | Somerset | Somerset | |
Selby | 1 April 2023 | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | |
Shrewsbury and Atcham | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Shropshire | Shropshire |
Somerset West and Taunton | 1 April 2023 | Somerset | Somerset | |
South Bedfordshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Bedfordshire | Central Bedfordshire |
South Bucks | 1 April 2020 | Buckinghamshire | ||
South Herefordshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 1998 | Hereford and Worcester | Herefordshire |
South Lakeland | 1 April 2023 | Cumbria | Westmorland and Furness | |
South Northamptonshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | West Northamptonshire |
South Shropshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Shropshire | Shropshire |
South Somerset | 1 April 2023 | Somerset | Somerset | |
South Wight | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 1995 | Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight |
St Edmundsbury | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2019 | Suffolk | West Suffolk |
Suffolk Coastal | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Suffolk | East Suffolk |
Taunton Deane | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2019 | Somerset | Somerset West and Taunton |
Teesdale | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
Tynedale | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Northumberland | Northumberland |
Vale Royal | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2009 | Cheshire | Cheshire West and Chester |
Wansbeck | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Northumberland | Northumberland |
Wansdyke | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 1996 | Avon | Bath and North East Somerset |
Waveney | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Suffolk | East Suffolk |
Wear Valley | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | County Durham | County Durham |
Wellingborough | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2021 | Northamptonshire | North Northamptonshire |
West Dorset | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Dorset |
West Somerset | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2019 | Somerset | Somerset West and Taunton |
West Wiltshire | non-metropolitan district | 1 April 2009 | Wiltshire | Wiltshire |
Weymouth and Portland | non-metropolitan district, borough | 1 April 2019 | Dorset | Dorset |
Wycombe | 1 April 2020 | Buckinghamshire |
In most cases, these districts were merged to form unitary authorities, which are indicated in the right.
The exceptions were Malvern Hills and Leominster, which were both split between the new district of Herefordshire and a new district of Malvern Hills.
See List of rural and urban districts of England for a list of the districts as they stood immediately before 1 April 1974.
Under section 74 of the Local Government Act 1972, the council of a district, county or London borough (or county borough in Wales) may change its name, providing the resolution to do so gains two-thirds of the votes at a special meeting. Until 1 April 1978, the council had to have the permission of the Secretary of State, but since that date they may do so unilaterally. At least one district name change was vetoed: the shadow authority for North Wolds wished to become "Bridlington and Yorkshire Wolds" before 1974 at the same time as other name changes were allowed.
Several English districts have done this, whilst others have been renamed under the 1990s UK local government reform. A few districts have even changed names twice.
Original name | New name | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Barking | Barking and Dagenham | 1 January 1980 | [2] |
Basingstoke | Basingstoke and Deane | 20 January 1978 | [3] |
Beaconsfield | South Bucks | 1 April 1980 | [4] |
Bedford | North Bedfordshire | 15 October 1975 | [5] |
Bedford | 1 October 1992 | [6] | |
Beverley | East Yorkshire Borough of Beverley | 12 May 1981 | [2] |
Blackburn | Blackburn with Darwen | 2 May 1997 | (before unitary) |
Bosworth | Hinckley and Bosworth | 20 November 1973 | † |
Bracknell | Bracknell Forest | 27 April 1988 | [7] |
Crewe | Crewe and Nantwich | 17 January 1974 | † |
Ellesmere Port | Ellesmere Port and Neston | 21 June 1976 | |
Grimsby | Great Grimsby | 1 January 1979 | |
Hammersmith | Hammersmith and Fulham | 1 April 1979 | |
Hartley Wintney | Hart | 17 January 1974 | † |
Herefordshire | County of Herefordshire | 20 June 1997 | |
Huntingdon | Huntingdonshire | 1 October 1984 | [8] |
Langbaurgh | Langbaurgh-on-Tees | 1 January 1988 | [7] |
Redcar and Cleveland | 1 April 1996 | (with unitary) | |
Medway | Rochester-upon-Medway | 3 December 1979 | [2] |
Medway Towns | Medway | 1 April 1998 | (with unitary) |
Newark | Newark and Sherwood | 1 April 1985 | [8] |
Newbury | West Berkshire | 1 April 1998 | (with unitary) |
North Wolds | East Yorkshire | 1 February 1981 | [2] |
Nuneaton | Nuneaton and Bedworth | 1 October 1980 | [2] |
Pastonacres | North Norfolk | 20 September 1973 | † |
Petersfield | East Hampshire | 8 October 1973 | † |
Poole | Borough and County of the Town of Poole | 1 April 1997 | (with unitary) |
Rutland | Rutland County Council | 1 April 1997 | (with unitary) |
Shepway | Folkestone and Hythe | 1 April 2018 | [9] |
Shrewsbury | Shrewsbury and Atcham | 12 June 1974 | |
Thamesdown | Swindon | effective 1 April 1997 | (soon before unitary) [10] |
Tiverton | Mid Devon | 6 February 1978 | [11] |
Wallingford | South Oxfordshire | 20 September 1973 | † |
West Derbyshire | Derbyshire Dales | 1 January 1987 | |
West Norfolk | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 14 May 1981 | [2] |
Wimborne | East Dorset | 1 January 1988 | [7] |
Woodspring | North Somerset | 1 April 1996 | (with unitary) |
Wrekin | The Wrekin | 7 February 1974 | † |
Telford and Wrekin | 1 April 1998 | (with unitary) | |
Yeovil | South Somerset | 1 April 1985 | [8] |
† The resolutions to change the name of the district were made by the "shadow" councils elected on 7 June 1973.
Additionally, one English county has been renamed. Shropshire was originally formally known as 'Salop'. Its name was changed effective 1 April 1980.
The subdivisions of England constitute a hierarchy of administrative divisions and non-administrative ceremonial areas.
The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four principal types of district-level subdivision. There are a total of 296 districts made up of 36 metropolitan boroughs, 32 London boroughs, 164 two-tier non-metropolitan districts and 62 unitary authorities, as well as the City of London and Isles of Scilly which are also districts, but do not correspond to any of these categories. Some districts are styled as cities, boroughs or royal boroughs; these are purely honorific titles and do not alter the status of the district or the powers of their councils. All boroughs and cities are led by a mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected by the district council, but—after local government reform—is occasionally a directly elected mayor who makes most of the policy decisions instead of the council.
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan counties. All of the metropolitan districts have been granted or regranted royal charters giving them borough status. Metropolitan boroughs have been effectively unitary authority areas since the abolition of metropolitan county councils by the Local Government Act 1985. Metropolitan boroughs pool much of their authority in joint boards and other arrangements that cover whole metropolitan counties, such as city regions or combined authorities, with most of the latter having a metro mayor.
The counties of England are divisions of England. There are currently 48 ceremonial counties, which have their origin in the historic counties of England established in the Middle Ages. The current ceremonial counties are the result of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 and are based on the Local Government Act 1972 administrative counties which included a number of new counties such as Greater Manchester and Tyne and Wear. However, some counties introduced by the Local Government Act 1972, including Avon and Cleveland, no longer exist. The term "county", relating to any of its meanings, is used as the geographical basis for a number of institutions such as police and fire services, sports clubs and other non-government organisations.
Broxtowe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately west of the city of Nottingham, and most of the built-up areas of the borough form part of the Nottingham Urban Area. The council is based in Beeston and the borough also includes the towns of Eastwood, Kimberley and Stapleford and surrounding villages and rural areas.
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.
Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authorities, and regional authorities. Every part of England is governed by at least one local authority, but parish councils and regional authorities do not exist everywhere. In addition, there are 31 police and crime commissioners, four police, fire and crime commissioners, and ten national park authorities with local government responsibilities. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place in 1974.
The Borough of Brentwood is a local government district with borough status in Essex, England. The borough is named after its main town of Brentwood, where the council is based; it includes several villages and the surrounding rural area.
The Local Government Act 1972 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 Government of 1970–74.
Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902 which transferred education powers from school boards to existing local councils.
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs, able to appoint a mayor and refer to itself as a borough council.
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and were also the counties for the purposes of Lieutenancies. Later changes in legislation during the 1980s and 1990s have resulted in counties with no county council and 'unitary authority' counties with no districts. Counties for the purposes of Lieutenancies are now defined separately, based on the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties.
Southend-on-Sea was a local government district from 1866 to 1974 around the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. Its origin was a local board formed for the parish of St John the Baptist, which had been split off from Prittlewell for ecclesiastical purposes in 1842. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1892. In 1889, when Essex County Council was formed, Southend-on-Sea was within the administrative county of Essex. However, through expansion in area and population by 1914 it was split off from the administrative county as a county borough. The local authority was Southend Local Board from 1886 and Southend Corporation from 1892. The corporation changed the name of the town from Southend to Southend-on-Sea in 1893. In 1974 the county borough was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district with the same boundaries and some powers were transferred to Essex County Council.
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, similarly chartered communities were known as royal burghs, although the status is no longer granted.
Unitary authorities 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.
The history of local government in England is one of gradual change and evolution since the Middle Ages. England has never possessed a formal written constitution, with the result that modern administration is based on precedent, and is derived from administrative powers granted to older systems, such as that of the shires.
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Redditch Borough Council is the local authority covering the non-metropolitan district centred on the town of Redditch.