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83-549: Snodland is a town in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent , England. It lies on the River Medway , between Rochester and Maidstone , and 27 miles (43 km) from central London . At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 10,211. "Snoddingland" is first mentioned in a charter of 838 in which King Egbert of Wessex gave "four ploughlands in the place called Snoddingland and Holanbeorge" (Holborough) to Beornmod ,

166-490: A "similar attitude towards food," whereas Chicago 's link with Warsaw , Poland began with Chicago's historic Polish community . The twinning of Indianapolis with Monza , Italy, is due to both cities' long association with auto racing . A twin towns program was instituted in the United States in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a citizen diplomacy initiative. Sister Cities International (SCI)

249-519: A "tuning" partnership based on a shared musical heritage and culture offer, at the initiative of Bristol Mayor George Ferguson . Annecy , France and Nerima , Tokyo have for several years shared a partnership based on their "co-existent animation industry". Toledo, United States twinned with Toledo, Spain in 1931, and was the first city in North America to engage in town twinning. Vancouver, Canada twinned with Odesa, Ukraine in 1944,

332-534: A common etymology . These similarities usually arise from sharing the same or related language or having been a colony or previously conquered. The twinning of towns and cities is sometimes done for political purposes. The Hungarian city Gyöngyös was twinned with the Azerbaijani city of Shusha in 2013, signing the twinning agreement with representatives from the Azerbaijani government; Hungary recognised Shusha as de jure part of Azerbaijan , even though it

415-575: A factory in the Republic of Karelia in Russia and offered the same profit-sharing plan to its Russian employees. China's sister city relationships are managed by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries , a united front organization. Sister city initiatives are an increasingly widespread mechanism for Chinese public diplomacy . From the early 2000s until 2024,

498-499: A gift of timber from his native country for use in the new Civic Theatre, which when finished was named Belgrade Theatre . The purpose of twinnings was then expanded to encourage trade and tourism or to reflect other links, such as towns sharing the same name or migration links. By the 2000s, town twinning became increasingly used to form strategic international business links among member cities, and may include localities of any scope such as villages, prefectures, or countries. In

581-401: A hierarchical relationship. In the 2010s, Tokyo began to actively promote 'city diplomacy' with other global cities at the initiative of governor Yoichi Masuzoe . Relationships between communities can also arise because of shared names; they may be named after one community (as in the case of Córdoba ), they may share names (as in the case of Santiago de Compostela ), or their names may have

664-611: A link that still exists. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with each other, following the motto: "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris." Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about € 12 million was allocated to about 1,300 projects. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions also works closely with

747-558: A sister-city or twin-city relationship, but the first officially documented case of such a relationship was a signed agreement between the leaders of the cities of Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain in 1931. However, the modern concept of town twinning appeared during the Second World War. More specifically, it was inspired by the bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940, known as the Coventry Blitz . First conceived by

830-409: A sort of international relations that works in parallel to the conventional system involving embassies, ambassadors, and treaties negotiated at the level of nation states . According to Rodrigo Tavares , the earliest formal attempts to establish city diplomacy across national boundaries took place in the 19th century. Only a handful of cities were involved in the 19th-century efforts; it was not until

913-638: A town of similar size, located near Metz in North East France. The towns planned to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the partnership in May 2016. Snodland has two public houses, The Freemasons Arms and The Monks Head, and two working men's clubs , Snodland WMC and Ham Hill WMC. The Roman villa in Church Field has survived quite well and has been partially excavated. Aside from the churches (see below), Woodlands Farmhouse on Constitution Hill

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996-546: A twin town. Twinned towns are often chosen because of similarities between them; thus about 15 towns in Wales are twinned with towns in Brittany , and Oxford is with Bonn , Leiden , Grenoble and other university cities. In Italy, two sets of twins are Rovigo with Viernheim , and Bedford with Tulcea . Many former West German cities are twinned with former East German cities; these twinning links were established before

1079-548: Is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of international links between municipalities akin to what are known as sister cities or twin towns today dating back to the 9th century, the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide during World War II . Throughout history, many cities have participated in various cultural exchanges and similar activities that might resemble

1162-518: Is a Grade II* listed building dating to the early-mid 15th century. The Mulberry Cottages on the High Street were originally a classical Wealden hall house dating to c1450; there's another hall house at 72 Holborough Rd. There are a number of more recent listed structures, perhaps the most unusual is a mock ruin, built c1850 to the south of the water company headquarters on the High St. The town

1245-539: Is a Norman church on the Pilgrim's Way about a mile west of the town. It dates from the early 12th century but has spent much of its life as a farm building and is currently in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust . There is a Kingdom Hall on Church Field, used by local Jehovah's Witnesses. In the late 1940s, the defunct Grand Picture Palace cinema on Holborough Road was converted into

1328-415: Is in a separate smaller painting (above its main one) showing a beech tree, intended as a symbol of prosperity and from which Carshalton Beeches in the borough derives its name. Another example of the use of public art is the wall sculpture of the partner cities of Munich , Germany. A recent study has concluded that geographical distance has very little, if any, influence upon communities' selections of

1411-476: Is marked by a memorial on the opposite side of the river from Snodland, close to Burham . Near this spot, a ferry later carried pilgrims bound for Canterbury along the Pilgrims' Way . Bishop Gundulph , at the end of the 11th century, built a palace at Halling , which was used by his successors until the 16th century. Lime working had been carried out at Snodland for centuries, but expanded dramatically in

1494-490: Is now named after him. Several Judge Dread songs refer to Snodland, such as "Belle of Snodland Town" and "Last Tango in Snodland". Samuel Beckett used the name "Snodland" in his short play Play of 1963. "Before I could do anything he disappeared. That meant she had won. That slut! I couldn't credit it. I lay stricken for weeks. Then I drove over to her place. It was all bolted and barred. All grey with frozen dew. On

1577-474: Is now under a 10-year development plan by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to redevelop and expand the Holborough part of Snodland. In 2005, Berkeley Homes began the construction of around 1,200 houses on the former Holborough Quarry. Fifteen members sit on Snodland Town Council. Snodland East ward elects two councillors and Snodland West three councillors on Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council . In

1660-652: Is situated on the A228 road connecting the Medway Towns with Tonbridge . The M20 motorway junction 4 is two miles south of the town and affords good access to London and the Channel Ports. The Snodland by-pass takes heavy commercial traffic away from the town centre. The railway station was opened on 18 June 1856, on an extension of the North Kent Line from Strood to Maidstone (SER) along

1743-553: Is the Upper Greensand Ridge , used in church building in Kent. The land included is mainly agricultural – orchards, and livestock in the main – although major business parks and buildings within 30 miles (50 km) coupled with the railways and the motorway means a majority of working residents commute to work in the more built-up villages and Tonbridge. The new settlement of Kings Hill can be regarded as tied in with

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1826-447: Is twinned with Dorval, Quebec ; Huai'an, China , and Neyagawa, Osaka , Japan. Town twinning begins for a variety of reasons. Generally, partner towns have similar demographics and size. They may arise from business connections, travel, similar industries, diaspora communities, or shared history. For example, the partnership between Portland, Oregon and Bologna , Italy arose from shared industries in biotechnology and education, and

1909-642: The 2011 election , the West ward elected three Conservative councillors, and East ward elected one Conservative and one Labour. Sarah Hohler is the town's member on Kent County Council , and the town is part of the Chatham and Aylesford constituency , represented at Westminster since 2024 by Tris Osborne of the Labour Party. The town is situated between the North Downs to the west and the river Medway to

1992-458: The Bishop of Rochester . Since -ingland names are mostly derived from personal names, the name appears to refer to 'cultivated land connected with Snodd' or Snodda. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to it as "Esnoiland". The first Roman advance in the conquest of Britain may have crossed the River Medway near Snodland, although there are other possible locations. The supposed crossing place

2075-782: The Coldrum Stones at Trottiscliffe ; and the Long barrows at Addington being examples. Bronze and Iron Age finds are also plentiful. There is evidence of the Romano-British civilisation along the Medway Valley. The immediate district of Tonbridge is omitted from the Domesday Book ; however most other settlements in the Borough are included. Castles were built at Tonbridge, Allington and West Malling in

2158-657: The Crystal Palace TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Kent on 96.7 FM, Heart South on 103.1 FM, Gold Radio on 1242 AM and KMFM Maidstone on 105.6 FM. The town is served by the local newspaper, Kent Messenger . The Holmesdale School is a Foundation school formerly known as Holmesdale Technology College. It still specialises in technology and is linked to The Malling School in The Malling Holmesdale Federation Trust. There are two primary schools in

2241-877: The M2 , M20 and the M26 ; three west-east roads ( A20 ; A21 and the A26 road ). Three other roads of similar stature are the A227 , A228 and A229 . In addition there are long distance footpaths , among them the Greensand Way , the Medway Valley Walk , the Wealdway and the Eden Valley Walk. In terms of television, the area is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from

2324-544: The Medway Valley Line . There are peak-time services via HS1 direct to St Pancras ; otherwise, passengers for London need to change at Strood or Maidstone Barracks / Maidstone East . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Bluebell Hill TV transmitter, BBC London and ITV London can also be received from

2407-908: The North Kent Line at Strood with the South Eastern Main Line at Paddock Wood railway station . Stations are at Snodland , New Hythe , and Aylesford on the Strood – Maidstone West section of the line in the north of the borough and Wateringbury on the Maidstone West – Paddock Wood section of the line in the south of the borough. Beltring and Brandbridges Halt is close to the borough boundary. Trains on this line now run through from Paddock Wood to Tonbridge, but through services from Maidstone West via Strood to London Bridge have been discontinued. The borough has road routes passing through it. There are three motorways:

2490-468: The Redhill to Tonbridge Line services run to Redhill: through services on that line to Guildford have been discontinued. The High Speed 1 line with Eurostar services crosses the north of the borough, but there are no stations here, although southeastern high speed commuter services to / from London St Pancras call at Snodland during the morning and evening peak periods. The Medway Valley Line links

2573-723: The World Economic Forum . In addition to C40, other organisations facilitating city diplomacy include the World Cities Summit , City Mayors Foundation , the Smart City Expo World Congress , the Strong City Network and 100 Resilient Cities. As of 2016, there were over 125 such multilateral networks and forums to facilitate international collaboration between different municipal authorities. A Bill introduced in

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2656-477: The 13th century. Religious houses: Malling, Aylesford and Tonbridge were built: one such was St Mary's Abbey dating from 1092. Aylesford Priory on the banks of the Medway, was built in the 13th century. There are surviving medieval manor houses including Ightham Mote and Old Soar Manor . Tonbridge district can be divided in two distinct areas, which were divided at the beginning of the nineteenth century by

2739-581: The 1990s, when the Nottingham City Council in the UK considered installing a tram network, it consulted experts from its twin city of Karlsruhe , which has one of the most extensive and efficient tram networks in Germany. With assistance from Karlsruhe's specialist engineers, Nottingham completed its second tram line in 2013. In 2014, Bristol and New Orleans announced their intention to form

2822-487: The 19th century, as building boomed. The firm of Poynder and Medlicott began quarrying on the Snodland-Halling border in the early 19th century and the company was taken over by William Lee in 1846. Others followed and the last one was built in 1923 by W. L. H. Roberts at Holborough. Lime for building Waterloo and other London bridges came from the area. The paper-making industry came to Snodland around 1740, when

2905-533: The 2019 session of the US Congress would have legislated for a City and State Diplomacy Act to create a new Office of Subnational Diplomacy at the Department of State . H.R.3571 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): City and State Diplomacy Act. Recently, the field of city diplomacy has taken a step beyond city-to-city exchanges to target the facilitation of dialogue between cities and multilateral organs, such as

2988-557: The Catholic Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, but it was closed in 2007 and redeveloped. A Primitive Methodist Chapel on Chapel Road closed in 1976 and is now a car showroom. The Swedenborgian Church of the New Jerusalem on the High St was used until the 1980s but is now a private house, and is called Church House. The United Church on the High Street closed in 2011 after becoming structurally unsound. The cemetery

3071-676: The Cricket Pavilion as its playing venue. The chess club has been national champions in two sections of the National Chess Club Championship. The postal pioneer Thomas Fletcher Waghorn (1800–50), shortened the mail route to India from three months to between 35 and 45 days by going through the Egyptian desert. He is buried in the churchyard. The white reggae singer Judge Dread (real name Alex Hughes, 1945–98) lived in Snodland. Alex Hughes Close

3154-512: The Dutch city was still occupied by the German Army in the final months of the war, and children from each city took part in exchanges in 1945 and 1946. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation (later Bristol City Council) sent five "leading citizens" on a goodwill mission to Hanover . Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with a former "enemy" city – Düsseldorf ,

3237-584: The French town; formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding and cross-border projects of mutual benefit. For example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. The city of Bath formed an " Alkmaar Adoption committee" in March 1945, when

3320-642: The May family built a mill which the Hook family took over in 1854. New manufacturing techniques and the coming of the railway in the 1850s improved paper production from five to 70 tons a week. Snodland's population doubled between 1840 and 1857. After the Medway Valley railway was opened on 18 June 1856, the village trebled in size between 1861 and 1881. As a result, the parish boundary was re-aligned in 1898 and again in 1988, both changes absorbing areas of Birling parish, known locally as "Lower Birling". Snodland

3403-633: The Netherlands, the term is jumelage , partnerstad or stedenband ("city bond" when providing mutual support). In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση ( adelphopiisi  – fraternisation) has been adopted. In Iceland, the terms vinabæir (friend towns) and vinaborgir (friend cities) are used. In the former Soviet Bloc , "twin towns" and "twin cities" were used, and in Russian, they use города-побратимы (sworn brother cities). The Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use

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3486-631: The North Downs at Burham and Snodland in the north to the town of Tonbridge in the south. The River Medway meanders north-east through the borough towards the Medway Gap , having in the west of the area received the River Eden . The Eden Valley Walk is also mostly in this borough. The area has been occupied for thousands of years. The Neolithic people left behind much evidence: megaliths such as Kit's Coty House at Aylesford and

3569-574: The Scottish village of Dull and the US town of Boring, Oregon , agreed to twin their municipalities to promote tourism in both places, playing on their names. Recently some towns have made novelty twinning arrangements with fictional or virtual locations. Wincanton , England is partnered with Ankh-Morpork from Terry Pratchett 's Discworld books . Town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links. For example, in

3652-571: The Tunbridge Wells and Bluebell Hill TV transmitters, BBC London and ITV London can also be received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitters. Radio stations for the area are: Local newspapers are Kent and Sussex Courier and Kent Messenger , which is published by the KM Group . Tonbridge and Malling has youth projects and organisations including Cupid FM , the first ever youth radio station or project of its kind within

3735-548: The US). In Japan, the international city relations may be split into multiple terms, such as Sister Cities, Friendship Cooperation Cities, Business Partner Cities (BPC), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Sister Ports / Friendship Ports, etc. China mostly uses the term "friendship cooperation cities" rather than "sister cities", as the Chinese words for sisters, "姐妹" (reading: jiěmèi, literally elder sister and younger sister), could imply

3818-527: The United Kingdom, the term "twin towns" is most commonly used; the term "sister cities" is generally used for agreements with towns and cities in the Americas. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are "twin towns", "partnership towns", "partner towns", and "friendship towns". The European Commission uses the term "twinned towns" and refers to the process as "town twinning". Spain uses

3901-825: The United Nations. Not only cities and towns, but also provinces, states, territories, and regions enter into twinning agreements. For example, the Canadian province of Alberta has "sister province" agreements with Gangwon, South Korea (since 1974), Hokkaido, Japan (since 1980), Heilongjiang, China (1981), Jalisco, Mexico (1999), Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2004), Lviv, Ukraine (2005), Guangdong, China (2017), and California, United States (2018), as well as policy-oriented (as opposed to economic and cultural) agreements with Nevada, United States (since 2013), Missouri, United States (2015), and Texas, United States (2018). The earliest known town twinning in Europe

3984-469: The area. The project received funding and support from Kent County Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, and during 2006 set up a studio and online broadcast which came to a close in November of that year. The station was run by local teens and music was populated by the latest chart hits. The councillor presiding at council meetings was initially called the chairman until December 1983 when

4067-596: The borough is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. Since the 2023 election the council has been under no overall control , being led by a coalition of the Conservatives and the Independent Alliance. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of

4150-521: The borough with stations at Hildenborough and Tonbridge . The Maidstone East Line on the route Victoria – Maidstone East – Ashford International – Canterbury – Thanet with its stations at Borough Green & Wrotham , West Malling for Kings Hill , East Malling and Barming crosses the north of the borough. From Tonbridge , the Hastings line services run to Tunbridge Wells and Hastings , with some through services from Hastings to London, and

4233-470: The commission (DG Education and Culture) to promote modern, high quality twinning initiatives and exchanges that involve all sections of the community. It has launched a website dedicated to town twinning. As of 1995, the European Union had more than 7,000 bilateral relationships involving almost 10,000 European municipalities, primarily French (2837 twinnings) and German (2485 twinnings). Public art has been used to celebrate twin town links, for instance in

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4316-640: The council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tonbridge and Malling. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1985 have been: Following the 2023 election , the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's main offices are at the Gibson Building in Kings Hill , which had been built in 1939 as

4399-406: The council was awarded borough status and the role was renamed mayor. The existing chairman at that point, Barry Hughes, became the first mayor. The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling. Kent History Illustrated Frank W Jessup (KCC, 1966) Twin towns and sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship

4482-405: The district is covered by civil parishes , with the exception being the former Tonbridge Urban District, covering the town of Tonbridge, which is an unparished area . The parish council for Snodland takes the style "town council". Six railway routes operate through the borough. The South Eastern Main Line on the route London – Tonbridge – Ashford International – Dover crosses the west of

4565-416: The east. Leybourne Lakes Country Park was created from disused gravel pits to the south that have been flooded and landscaped to make fishing and wildlife lakes; across the river is the Burham Marsh nature reserve, a tidal reed bed . At the 2011 census, Snodland had a population of 10,211. Since 1903, Snodland has been the home of the Mid Kent Water Company. After privatisation of the water companies ,

4648-566: The economy of Maidstone equally with that of parts of Kent further to the western extremity. A remnant of the once flourishing hop-growing industry is provided by a tourist attraction at Beltring : once the Whitbread Hop Farm , it puts on weekend exhibitions and shows. Tonbridge and Malling has 27 listed buildings in the highest category of the national system, Grade I. This includes eight churches, five reduced structures left over from St Mary's Abbey or Malling Abbey , West Malling and four manor houses , mostly built by lower social ranks than

4731-410: The fall of the Iron Curtain . Famous examples are the partnerships of Hanover and Leipzig , both of which have important trade fair grounds , or between Hamburg and Dresden. The first US-German town twinning was in 1947 between Worthington, Minnesota and Crailsheim . St Petersburg in Russia holds the record for the largest number of partnership arrangements with other communities. In June 2012,

4814-403: The form of seven mural paintings in the centre of the town of Sutton , Greater London. The five main paintings show a number of the main features of the London Borough of Sutton and its four twin towns, along with the heraldic shield of each above the other images. Each painting also features a plant as a visual representation of its town's environmental awareness . In the case of Sutton this

4897-442: The former districts. The district received borough status on 16 December 1983, changing the name of the council from Tonbridge and Malling District Council to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor . Other parties (22) Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council . Much of

4980-507: The genocide in 2016, some twin agreements such as Edirne – Haskovo were terminated by Turkey. China manages sister city relationships through the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). In April 2019, CPAFFC president Li Xiaolin said, “Friendship city relations have become one of the important channels to implement the Belt and Road Initiative .” In January 2020, Shanghai canceled its sister city relationship with Prague after Prague's mayor signed

5063-421: The number of China's sister city relationships doubled. More than one-third of Chinese sister city relationships are with sister cities in the east Asia Pacific region. Town twinning is supported in Japan by the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations , a joint agency of local governments established by the Japanese government in 1988 (similar to Sister Cities International , its counterpart in

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5146-443: The officers' mess building of RAF West Malling . The building is named after Wing Commander Guy Gibson , known for leading the Dambusters Raid , who had been based at RAF West Malling in 1941–1942. The council moved to the Gibson Building in November 1974, just a few months after the council's creation. A large extension to the Gibson Building was added in 2000. The council also has an office at Tonbridge Castle , which had been

5229-465: The offices of the former Tonbridge Urban District Council. Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 44 councillors elected from 19 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. In the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the area is covered by the larger Tonbridge and Malling Parliamentary Constituency and part of Chatham and Aylesford Parliament constituency . Much of

5312-417: The owners of Mid Kent Water in October 2006 also bought South East Water, although regulatory issues dragged on until 2007. The two companies were then merged under the name South East Water , whilst retaining the headquarters facilities in Rocfort Road. The company supplies 2.1 million customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. Since 1986, Snodland has been twinned with Moyeuvre-Grande ,

5395-408: The subsequent Mayor Emily Smith – had their names embroidered on a tablecloth along with the words "Little help is better than a lot of pity" and sent it, along with money (each donated six pence), to the people of Stalingrad. The tablecloth can now be seen at the Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad. The twinning between Coventry and Stalingrad was formalized in 1944 and, after the end of

5478-419: The term "ciudades hermanadas", which means "sister cities". Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic each use Partnerstadt (German), miasto partnerskie (Polish) and partnerské město (Czech), which translate as "partner town" or "partner city". France uses ville jumelée (jumelage, twinned town or city), and Italy has gemellaggio (twinning) and comune gemellato (twinned municipality). In

5561-411: The term "sister cities" or "twin cities". In China, the term is 友好城市 (yǒuhǎo chéngshì – friendly cities). Sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju in South Korea. The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. Though

5644-454: The term is often used interchangeably with the term "friendship city", this may mean a relationship with a more limited scope in comparison to a sister city relationship, and friendship city relationships are mayor-to-mayor agreements. City diplomacy is a form of paradiplomacy that involves discussions between officials and residents of different cities. Often these cities will be located in different countries. As such, city diplomacy involves

5727-431: The then Mayor of Coventry , Alfred Robert Grindlay , culminating in his renowned telegram to the people of Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) in 1942, the idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events. The comradeship between the two cities continued, when again in response to the Battle of Stalingrad , 830 women in Coventry – led by

5810-409: The titled nobility. A diverse materials and appearance construction is Ightham Mote which is recognised in the highest category of the UK's architecture listing system, Grade I, though no longer in private hands. East Malling Research Station disseminates results of research into matters affecting horticultural crops, with particular emphasis on the fruit, hop and nursery stock industries. Many of

5893-418: The turn of the millennium that it became much more common. The first priority of those carrying out city diplomacy typically overlaps with the core aims of municipal government – improving the lives of local residents. Yet they will often collaborate with peers in other cities to work on issues of planet-wide concern, such as efforts to address climate change . The phrase "city diplomacy" is formally used in

5976-511: The village, St Katherine's Primary School and Snodland Church of England Primary School. All Saints Church dates from the 12th century, and is a Grade I listed building. Christ Church , in the south of the town, was built after the population growth in the 19th century led to the requirement for a new church. It was designed by Percy Monkton in Early English Gothic Revival style. St Benedict's Church, Paddlesworth

6059-470: The villages are beside long-distance walks with tourist accommodation, enabling tours of the orchards and bluebell woods . The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . It covered the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, all of which were abolished at the same time: The new district was named Tonbridge and Malling, combining the names of

6142-407: The war, similar links were established to foster friendship and understanding among former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation, with new twinnings between Coventry and German cities: Kiel as early as in 1947 and Dresden in 1956. In 1957, Coventry was officially twinned with Belgrade, even though the link actually dates back to 1953 when then Yugoslav Ambassador visited Coventry and offered

6225-631: The way back by Ash and Snodland" The British jazz/rock band Soft Machine included a track titled Snodland on their 1973 album Seven . Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent , England. The council is based at Kings Hill . The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge and Snodland along with numerous villages including Aylesford , West Malling and surrounding rural areas. The neighbouring districts are Maidstone , Tunbridge Wells , Sevenoaks , Gravesham and Medway . Tonbridge and Malling Borough covers an area from

6308-515: The woods and heaths of the ragstone (1) ridge from Great Comp to East Malling . Northwards lies the well peopled Vale of Holmesdale with the market town of West Malling as the principal centre of population, an area crossed lengthways by the railway and motorway ( M20 ); southwards of the ridge is the heavy clay of the Weald and valley of the Medway Kentish ragstone geologically speaking

6391-826: The workings of the United Cities and Local Governments and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , and is recognised by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy . A March 2014 debate in the British House of Lords acknowledged the evolution of town twinning into city diplomacy, particularly in matters of trade and tourism, but also in culture and post-conflict reconciliation. The importance of cities developing "their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent" has also been highlighted by

6474-576: Was between Paderborn , Germany, and Le Mans , France, in 836. Starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux . The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the World War I . This was initially referred to as an adoption of

6557-574: Was controlled at the time and until 2020 by the military forces of Armenia and the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh . An attempt was made in 2003 by Preston city councillors in England to twin with the Palestinian town of Nablus in the name of solidarity. Turkey bans partnerships with any city in a country that recognizes the Armenian genocide . As a result, when Bulgaria recognized

6640-688: Was opened in 1896, with the house and chapel being designed by Hubert Bensted of Maidstone. The Snodland Sports Association was set up in 2008. The 2012–13 season saw the merger of all the senior and junior football clubs in the town. As of 2016-17, Snodland Town F.C. competes in the Southern Counties East Football League , Division One. The other 13 teams include Snodland Town Reserves FC, Snodland Town Sunday FC and Snodland Town Nomads FC. Snodland Community Cricket Club play at Rectory Meadow, just off Rocfort Road car park. The Snodland Chess Club, established in 2003, uses

6723-580: Was originally a program of the National League of Cities , but it became a separate corporation in 1967 due to the growth and popularity of the program. Twin town cultural events include the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., honoring Washington's twin relationship with Tokyo City . Many twinned towns developed business agreements with their partners. For example, Vermont 's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream company opened

6806-468: Was the first twinned city in Canada and the second in North America, while Denver, United States , twinned with Brest, France , was the second twinned city in the United States. Liberal, Kansas was twinned with Olney, United Kingdom in 1950, and the cities have run a joint Pancake Day race ever since. Littleton, Colorado, twinned with Bega, Australia, in 1961. Tashkent , the capital city of Uzbekistan,

6889-458: Was twinned with Seattle , Washington, in 1973. Rochester, Minnesota , and Knebworth , UK, both centers for primary medical research, twinned in 1967. Ontario, California , has five sister cities around the world. They are Brockville, Ontario, Canada (since 1977); Guamúchil, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1982); Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1982); Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1988); and Winterthur, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Oakville, Ontario

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