24-502: Bredgar is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale , Kent , England. The village lies to the southwest of Sittingbourne on the road between Tunstall and Hollingbourne (previously the B2163). The M2 motorway crosses the parish. Junction 5 is west of the village. A hoard of 34 Roman gold aurei was discovered in the parish in 1957. It is thought to be related to
48-434: 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: 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: Following the 2023 election , and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024,
72-576: 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. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically a district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have
96-461: A two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with a borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them
120-728: A variety of smaller industrial sites. 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 line , which meet at Sittingbourne . Two adjoining bridges across The Swale link the Isle of Sheppey to the mainland: Kingsferry Bridge and
144-561: 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
168-676: Is based at Swale House on East Street in Sittingbourne. 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 ), 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
192-441: Is the village's pub. It has existed since the 16th century and features a large garden. Bredgar is home to the privately owned Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway , a steam railway with a collection of various locomotives and rolling stock. The railway is open to the public on Saturdays through the summer. This Kent location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Borough of Swale Swale
216-712: The Claudian invasion , possibly buried by a soldier before the Battle of the Medway . In the reign of King Henry III (12th century), Robert de Bredgar, resided here and his name appears in an ancient roll of the benefactors to the monastery of Davington (in Faversham ). The village was then named after this family. The village was originally called Bradgare. The parish had around 1300 acres of land, of which one hundred acres are covered by wood. With Tunstall and Bobbing , it
240-604: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with
264-574: The Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Swale, after the waterway which divides the mainland part of the district from the Isle of Sheppey. The district was awarded borough status on 20 January 1978, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. Swale Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council . Most of
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#1732793810035288-742: The Sheppey Crossing . In 2022, the council implemented a low-emission car club in the town of Faversham, in partnership with car sharing company Hiyacar. After a successful first year, the council expanded the Swale Car Club offering to the town of Sittingbourne. In terms of television, Swale is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian (East) broadcasting from the Bluebell Hill transmitter. Local radio stations are: Local newspapers are Sittingbourne News Extra , yourswale , and Sheerness Times Guardian that serves
312-476: The Isle of Sheppey. Most of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness take the style "town council". 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. For
336-454: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by
360-533: The borough is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. 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. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as
384-673: The composition of the council was: One of the independent councillors sits with local party the Swale Independents as the 'Swale Independents Alliance', which forms part of the council's administration with Labour and the Greens. The other independent councillor does not belong to a group. The next elections are due in 2027. 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. The council
408-601: The council's first four years it had a chairman rather than a mayor. The chairmen were: 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: Non-metropolitan district 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 (colloquially shire counties ) in
432-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming
456-560: 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 borough borders the Medway unitary authority area to the west, the Borough of Maidstone to the south-west, the Borough of Ashford to the south-east, and the City of Canterbury to the east. The district was created on 1 April 1974 under
480-565: The right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues a style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system
504-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since
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#1732793810035528-436: Was Grade II listed in 2007. The parish also has its own church, St John The Baptist Church, which is in the diocese of Canterbury, and the deanery of Sittingbourne . It is Grade I listed . King Henry III gave out alms from this church to the leprous women of the hospital of St. James, (alias St. Jacob), near Thanington , near Canterbury. It was refurbished in 2014, including the installation of running water. The Sun Inn
552-620: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in
576-545: Was controlled by the Manor of Milton . The parish includes several Grade II listed buildings. These include Swanton Court, a 16th-century house, and the 15th century Mann's Place. Bredgar House is in the centre of the village, and was constructed in the 18th century. A war memorial was constructed in the village centre by the pond in 1920, to commemorate soldiers fallen in World War I , and later updated for World War II . It
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