Swale 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 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 the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[1]
The new district was named Swale, after the waterway which divides the mainland part of the district from the Isle of Sheppey.[2] The district was awarded borough status on 20 January 1978, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[3]
| Swale Borough Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Swale Borough Council.svg |
| Logo Res: | 220px |
| Logo Alt: | Swale Borough Council Logo |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Foundation: | 1 April 1974 |
| Leader1 Type: | Mayor |
| Leader1: | Ben Martin |
| Party1: | Liberal Democrat |
| Election1: | 15 May 2024[4] |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Tim Gibson |
| Party2: | Labour |
| Election2: | 17 May 2023 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Larissa Reed |
| Election3: | January 2021[5] |
| Seats: | 47 councillors |
| Structure1: | swale_district council_after_2023.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Term Length: | 4 years |
| Voting System1: | First-past-the-post |
| Last Election1: | 4 May 2023 |
| Next Election1: | 6 May 2027 |
| Session Room: | Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 927659.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, ME103HT |
| Motto: | Known By Their Fruits |
Swale Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. Most of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6] [7]
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.[8]
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:[9] [10] [11]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1986 | ||
| 1986–2002 | ||
| 2002–2019 | ||
| 2019–present | ||
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:[12]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Bowles | 2002 | 5 May 2019 | ||
| Roger Truelove | 22 May 2019 | 27 Apr 2022 | ||
| Mike Baldock | 27 Apr 2022 | 19 May 2023 | ||
| Tim Gibson | 19 May 2023 | |||
Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was:[13] [14] [15] [16]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | |||
| 11 | |||
| 10 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 2 | |||
| Total | 47 | ||
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.[17] 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.[18]
The council is based at Swale House on East Street in Sittingbourne.[19]
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[20]), 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 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 .
Two adjoining bridges across The Swale link the Isle of Sheppey to the mainland: Kingsferry Bridge and the Sheppey Crossing.
In 2022, the council implemented a low-emission car club in the town of Faversham,[21] 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.[22]
In terms of television, Swale is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian (East) broadcasting from the Bluebell Hill transmitter.[23]
Local radio stations are:
Local newspapers are Sittingbourne News Extra,[25] yourswale, and Sheerness Times Guardian that serves 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".[26] 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.[7]
For 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: