City of Canterbury

The City of Canterbury (/ˈkæntərbəri/)[1] is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. As well as Canterbury itself, the district extends north to the coastal towns of Whistable and Herne Bay.

City of Canterbury
Canterbury shown within Kent
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Non-metropolitan countyKent
StatusNon-metropolitan district, Borough, City
Admin HQCanterbury
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
  TypeNon-metropolitan district council
  BodyCanterbury City Council
  LeadershipCommittee system, Ben Fitter-Harding (Conservative)
  MPsRosie Duffield
Roger Gale
Area
  Total119.24 sq mi (308.84 km2)
Area rank131st (of 317)
Population
 (mid-2019 est.)
  Total165,394
  Rank118th (of 317)
  Density1,400/sq mi (540/km2)
  Ethnicity
93.4% White
2.2% S.Asian
1.6% Chinese and other
1.4% Mixed Race
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code29UC (ONS)
E07000106 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTR145575
Websitewww.canterbury.gov.uk

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the existing city of Canterbury with the Whitstable and Herne Bay Urban Districts, and Bridge-Blean Rural District. The latter district entirely surrounded the city; the urban districts occupied the coastal area to the north.

Politics

Geography

Within the district are the towns of Herne Bay and Whitstable, which, with the rural parishes and the cathedral city itself, make up the district of the City of Canterbury. There are 26 parishes within the district, as follows:[2]

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 from Seasalter, west of Whitstable, to Herne Bay. Between them and the city the hills rise into the wooded area of Blean, south of which the Great Stour flows from its source beyond Ashford.

Twin towns

The district participates in the Sister Cities programme, with links[3] to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, and Vladimir, 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 chose Vladimir as the twin city in Russia because it is the seat of Christianity in that country as Canterbury is the seat of Christinaity 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:[3] see the articles on Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay.

References

  1. "Canterbury". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. "Parish Councils". Canterbury City Council. 2008. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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