Gravesham Borough of Gravesham | |
|---|---|
 GravesendRoyal Terrace Pier and town skyline | |
 Gravesham located within Kent | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Kent |
| Status | Borough |
| Admin HQ | Gravesend |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan District Council |
| • Body | Gravesham Borough Council |
| • Leadership | Member of Parliament |
| • MP | Lauren Sullivan |
| Area | |
• Total | 38.23 sq mi (99.02 km2) |
| • Rank | 198th(of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 110,671 |
| • Rank | 225th(of 296) |
| • Density | 2,895/sq mi (1,118/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 29UG (ONS) E07000109 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TQ647740 |
| Website | www |
Gravesham (/ˈɡreɪvʃəm/GRAYV-shəm) is alocal government district withborough status in north-westKent, England. The council is based in its largest town ofGravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appeared in theDomesday Book of 1086. The district also containsNorthfleet and a number of villages and surrounding rural areas.
Parts of the borough lie within theKent Downs, a designatedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The neighbouring districts areDartford,Sevenoaks,Tonbridge and Malling, andMedway, plusThurrock on the opposite side of theRiver Thames.
Gravesham is twinned withCambrai inHauts-de-France,France andNeumünster inSchleswig-Holstein,Germany. TheGravesham parliamentary constituency covers the same area as the borough.
The first borough in the area of modern Gravesham was "Gravesend andMilton", anancient borough which had been incorporated in 1568 byElizabeth I.[2] The borough had been reformed in 1836 to become amunicipal borough, at which point the name was changed to just "Gravesend".[3]
The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and parts of a third, which were all abolished at the same time:[4]
The new district was named Gravesham, using the form of Gravesend's name which had appeared in the Domesday Book.[5] The choice of name was not without criticism; Robert Heath Hiscock, chairman of the Gravesend Historical Society, in the foreword to his book, 'A History of Gravesend' (Phillimore, 1976) wrote:
The district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]
Gravesham Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leadership | |
Stuart Bobby since 1 April 2020[8] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 39 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Gravesham Civic Centre, Windmill Street, Gravesend, DA12 1AU | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Gravesham Borough Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byKent County Council. The more rural parts of the borough are also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[9]
The council has been underLabour majority control since the2023 election.[10]
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:[11][12]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1987 | |
| No overall control | 1987–1993 | |
| Labour | 1993–2007 | |
| Conservative | 2007–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–2015 | |
| Conservative | 2015–2018 | |
| No overall control | 2018–2019 | |
| Labour | 2019–2021 | |
| No overall control | 2021–2023 | |
| Labour | 2023–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Gravesham. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary Leadley[13][14] | Labour | 2003 | ||
| John Burden[13][15] | Labour | 9 Dec 2003 | May 2007 | |
| David Turner[16][17] | Conservative | 15 May 2007 | 26 Jun 2007 | |
| Mike Snelling[17][18] | Conservative | 26 Jun 2007 | May 2011 | |
| John Burden[19][20] | Labour | 17 May 2011 | May 2015 | |
| John Cubitt[21][22] | Conservative | 19 May 2015 | Mar 2017 | |
| David Turner[23][24][25] | Conservative | 18 Apr 2017 | Aug 2018 | |
| Independent | Aug 2018 | May 2019 | ||
| Gurdip Ram Bungar[26] | Labour | 16 May 2019 | ||
Following the2023 election, the composition of the council was:[27][28]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 22 | |
| Conservative | 17 | |
| Total | 39 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[28]
Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 39councillors, representing 17wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[29]
The wards are:
The council is based atGravesham Civic Centre on Windmill Street in Gravesend, which had been built in 1966 for the old Gravesend Borough Council.[30] The building was formally opened on 15 November 1968 byKatharine, Duchess of Kent.[31]
Housing varies frommid rise tolow rise, particularly in the villages. The district has 12 buildingslisted in the highest category of the national grading system, Grade I, three of which are private residences:
Cobham Hall, also in the highest architectural category,[32] is a stately home which was formerly the seat of theEarls of Darnley: since 1965 it has been aprivate girls' school. Cobham Park is Grade II*-listed which is listed separately in the gardens and parklands category of classification approved by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport;[33] and includes the remains of aRoman villa.[32][34]
The other Grade I-listed buildings in the borough comprise its ancientparish churches.
Gravesham is home to the largestSikhGurdwara in Europe,Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara.[35]
The borough includes sixcivil parishes, covering the more rural eastern and southern parts. The more urban north-west of the borough, roughly corresponding to the combined area of the former borough of Gravesend and urban district of Northfleet, is anunparished area.[36][37] The parishes are:
Towns and villages in theBorough of Gravesham | ||
|---|---|---|
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