City of Canterbury | |
|---|---|
| Canterbury | |
.jpg) Aerial view ofCanterbury Cathedral and the surrounding area | |
 Canterbury shown within Kent | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Kent |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district,Borough,City |
| Admin HQ | Canterbury |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Canterbury City Council |
| • MPs | Rosie Duffield Roger Gale |
| Area | |
• Total | 119.24 sq mi (308.84 km2) |
| • Rank | 117th(of 296) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 157,550 |
| • Rank | 132nd(of 296) |
| • Density | 1,300/sq mi (510/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 29UC (ONS) E07000106 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TR145575 |
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| Click the map for an interactive fullscreen view | |
Canterbury (/ˈkæntərbəri/),[2][3] also known as theCity of Canterbury, is alocal government district withcity status inKent, England. It is named after its largest settlement,Canterbury, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns ofFordwich,Herne Bay andWhitstable, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Parts of the district lie within the designatedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty of theKent Downs.
The neighbouring districts (clockwise from east) areThanet,Dover,Folkestone and Hythe,Ashford andSwale, all of which are also in Kent. To the north the district has a coast onto theNorth Sea.
Canterbury itself was anancient borough, which had held city status fromtime immemorial. The earliest knowncharter was issued byHenry II (reigned 1154–1189). A subsequent charter in 1448 gave the city the right to appoint amayor. Another in 1461 gave the city the right to appoint its ownsheriff, making it acounty corporate, independent from the jurisdiction of theSheriff of Kent.[4] When elected county councils were established in 1889, Canterbury's independence was maintained by making it acounty borough, independent from the newKent County Council.[5] Although administratively independent, Canterbury was still deemed part of Kent for the purposes oflieutenancy.[6]
The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[7]
The Bridge-Blean Rural District entirely surrounded the old city; the urban districts occupied the coastal area to the north.[8] The new district was named Canterbury after its largest settlement.[9] The district is anon-metropolitan district, with Kent County Council providing county-level services to the area. The district was awardedborough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Canterbury's series of mayors dating back to 1448.[10] Canterbury's city status was extended to cover the whole of the new borough.[11]
In 1988 the position of mayor was given the honorific title oflord mayor.[12] The council continues to appoint a ceremonial sheriff; the sheriff no longer has any judicial functions, but the title is today taken by the deputy chair of the council.[13]
Canterbury City Council | |
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 | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 39 |
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Political groups |
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| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Guildhall, St Peter's Place, Canterbury, CT1 2DB | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Canterbury City Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byKent County Council.[18] The more rural parts of the district are covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.[19]
The council has been underno overall control since April 2023.[20] Following theMay 2023 elections aLabour andLiberal Democrat coalition was formed to run the council, led by Labour councillor Alan Baldock.[21]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[22]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1991 | |
| No overall control | 1991–2005 | |
| Conservative | 2005–2023 | |
| No overall control | 2023–present | |
The role oflord mayor in Canterbury is largely ceremonial. Since 2002 the council has formally appointed aleader of the council to provide political leadership; the chair of the policy committee was sometimes called the leader prior to 2002. The leaders since 2002 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Perkins[23][24] | Liberal Democrats | 8 May 2002 | 11 May 2005 | |
| Harry Cragg[24][25] | Conservative | 11 May 2005 | May 2007 | |
| John Gilbey[26][27] | Conservative | 16 May 2007 | May 2015 | |
| Simon Cook[28][29] | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | May 2019 | |
| Rob Thomas[30][31] | Conservative | 22 May 2019 | Sep 2020 | |
| Ben Fitter-Harding[32][33] | Conservative | 10 Sep 2020 | May 2023 | |
| Alan Baldock[34] | Labour | 17 May 2023 | ||
Following the2023 election and subsequent by-elections up to March 2025, the composition of the council was:[35][36]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 18 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 9 | |
| Conservative | 8 | |
| Green | 4 | |
| Total | 39 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[36]
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015 the council has comprised 39councillors representing 21wards with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[37]
Council meetings are held atCanterbury Guildhall at the corner of St Peter's Place and St Peter's Street, adjoining theWestgate.[38] The building was formerly the Church of the Holy Cross. It had been commissioned byArchbishopSimon Sudbury and was completed before his death in 1381.[39][40] After the church was declared redundant anddeconsecrated in 1972, it was acquired by the city council and converted for municipal use: it was officially re-opened byPrince Charles as the council's meeting place on 9 November 1978.[41]
The council's main offices are the Council Offices on Military Road, Canterbury, which was built in the 1980s.[42] During 2024 the council plans to vacate Military Road and move its offices to converted parts of theWhitefriars Shopping Centre.[43]
Within the district are the towns ofHerne Bay andWhitstable, which, with the rural parishes and the cathedral city itself, make up the district of the City of Canterbury. There are 27 parishes within the district, as follows:[44]
Swalecliffe is an unparished area within the district.
The district is largely rural, with a coastal strip taken up by the almost unbroken spread of seaside towns and beaches fromSeasalter, west of Whitstable, toHerne Bay. Between them and the city the hills rise into the wooded area of Blean, south of which theGreat Stour flows from its source beyondAshford.
| Ethnic Group | 1991[45] | 2001[46] | 2011[47] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 121,942 | 98.4% | 130,700 | 96.6% | 140,620 | 93% |
| White:British | – | – | 125,289 | 92.6% | 132,269 | 87.5% |
| White:Irish | – | – | 1,338 | 1,260 | ||
| White:Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | 374 | |
| White:Other | – | – | 4,073 | 3% | 6,717 | 4.4% |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | 1,086 | 0.9% | 1,964 | 1.5% | 5,135 | 3.4% |
| Asian or Asian British:Indian | 349 | 600 | 1,448 | |||
| Asian or Asian British:Pakistani | 34 | 77 | 306 | |||
| Asian or Asian British:Bangladeshi | 110 | 117 | 251 | |||
| Asian or Asian British:Chinese | 279 | 650 | 1,436 | |||
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 314 | 520 | 1,694 | |||
| Black or Black British: Total | 409 | 0.3% | 610 | 0.5% | 1,937 | 1.3% |
| Black or Black British:Caribbean | 121 | 186 | 437 | |||
| Black or Black British:African | 149 | 384 | 1,338 | |||
| Black or Black British:Other Black | 139 | 40 | 162 | |||
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | 1,362 | 1% | 2,551 | 1.7% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | 331 | 680 | ||
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | 134 | 305 | ||
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | 494 | 897 | ||
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | 403 | 669 | ||
| Other: Total | 510 | 0.4% | 642 | 0.5% | 902 | 0.6% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 405 | |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | 510 | 0.4% | 642 | 0.5% | 497 | |
| Total | 123,947 | 100% | 135,278 | 100% | 151,145 | 100% |
The district participates in theSister Cities programme, with links[48]toBloomington-Normal, Illinois, andVladimir, Russia.
The Three Towns Association was founded in 1985 on the initiative of three local clergymen to promote person-to-person contact between ordinary people in the UK, the U.S. and Russia. The name was subsequently changed to the Three Cities Association. The Association choseVladimir as the twin city in Russia because it is the seat of Christianity in that country as Canterbury is the seat of Christianity in England. Vladimir was already twinned with Bloomington-Normal. Among other activities, the Association arranged home-stay exchanges between the two Simon Langton Schools in Canterbury and School No. 23 in Vladimir, where the teaching was conducted in English.
Several towns and villages within the City of Canterbury have their own twinning arrangements:[48] see the articles onCanterbury,Whitstable andHerne Bay.
51°17′N1°05′E / 51.28°N 1.08°E /51.28; 1.08
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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