Gravesham

Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox settlement Gravesham (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. The district also contains Northfleet and a number of villages and surrounding rural areas.

Parts of the borough lie within the Kent Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The neighbouring districts are Dartford, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, and Medway, plus Thurrock on the opposite side of the River Thames.

Gravesham is twinned with Cambrai in Hauts-de-France, France and Neumünster in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The Gravesham parliamentary constituency covers the same area as the borough.

History

The first borough in the area of modern Gravesham was "Gravesend and Milton", an ancient borough which had been incorporated in 1568 by Elizabeth I.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The borough had been reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough, at which point the name was changed to just "Gravesend".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and parts of a third, which were all abolished at the same time:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

• Gravesend Municipal Borough
• Northfleet Urban District
• Strood Rural District (parishes of Cobham, Higham, Luddesdown, Meopham and Shorne only, rest went to Medway)

The new district was named Gravesham, using the form of Gravesend's name which had appeared in the Domesday Book.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> 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 name Gravesham appears only in the Domesday Book, 1086, and was probably the error of a Norman scribe. It was 'Gravesend' in the Domesday Monarchorum c.1100, and 'Gravesende' in the Textus Roffensis c. 1100. It is strange that this "clerical error" should now have been adopted as the name of the new Council".

The district was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Governance

Gravesham Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. The more rural parts of the borough are also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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:<ref name=electionscentre>Template:Cite web (Put "Gravesham" in search box to see specific results.)</ref><ref name="gain">Template:Cite news</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1976
Template:Party name with colour	1976–1987
Template:Party name with colour	1987–1993
Template:Party name with colour	1993–2007
Template:Party name with colour	2007–2011
Template:Party name with colour	2011–2015
Template:Party name with colour	2015–2018
Template:Party name with colour	2018–2019
Template:Party name with colour	2019–2021
Template:Party name with colour	2021–2023
Template:Party name with colour	2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Gravesham. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Rosemary Leadley<ref name=9Dec2003/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour		2003
John Burden<ref name=9Dec2003>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	9 Dec 2003	May 2007
David Turner<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=26Jun2007/>	Template:Party name with colour	15 May 2007	26 Jun 2007
Mike Snelling<ref name=26Jun2007>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	26 Jun 2007	May 2011
John Burden<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	17 May 2011	May 2015
John Cubitt<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	19 May 2015	Mar 2017
David Turner<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	18 Apr 2017	Aug 2018
	Template:Party name with colour	Aug 2018	May 2019
Gurdip Ram Bungar<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	16 May 2019

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=LocalCouncils>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Party name with colour	22
Template:Party name with colour	17
Total		39

The next election is due in 2027.<ref name=LocalCouncils/>

Elections

Template:Also Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 39 councillors, representing 17 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

The wards are: Template:Div col

• Chalk
• Coldharbour and Perry Street
• Denton
• Higham and Shorne
• Istead Rise, Cobham and Luddesdown
• Meopham North
• Meopham South and Vigo
• Northfleet and Springhead
• Painters Ash
• Pelham
• Riverview Park
• Rosherville
• Singlewell
• Town
• Westcourt
• Whitehill and Windmill Hill
• Woodlands

Premises

The council is based at Gravesham Civic Centre on Windmill Street in Gravesend, which had been built in 1966 for the old Gravesend Borough Council.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The building was formally opened on 15 November 1968 by Katharine, Duchess of Kent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Housing and architecture

Housing varies from mid rise to low rise, particularly in the villages. The district has 12 buildings listed in the highest category of the national grading system, Grade I, three of which are private residences:

• Gadshill Place in Higham
• Luddesdown Court in Luddesdown
• Nurstead Court in Meopham

Cobham Hall, also in the highest architectural category,<ref name=NHLE1000182>Template:National Heritage List for England</ref> is a stately home which was formerly the seat of the Earls of Darnley: since 1965 it has been a private 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;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and includes the remains of a Roman villa.<ref name=NHLE1000182/><ref>Template:National Heritage List for England</ref>

The other Grade I-listed buildings in the borough comprise its ancient parish churches.

Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, Gravesend

Gravesham is home to the largest Sikh Gurdwara in Europe, Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Parishes

Template:Also The borough includes six civil 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 an unparished area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The parishes are: Template:Div col

• Cobham
• Higham
• Luddesdown
• Meopham
• Shorne
• Vigo

External links

• Gravesham Borough Council YouTube channel
• About Gravesend website Template:Webarchive