The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
, centred on the urban area and town of
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
and forming part of the
ceremonial county
The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...
of
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
.
History
In 1974 the Thamesdown district of Wiltshire was created from the areas of the
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
of Swindon (created 1900) and
Highworth
Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
Rural District (created 1894). On 1 April 1997 it was made administratively independent of
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county.
As a result of the 2009 restructur ...
, and its council became a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
. The council adopted the name Swindon on 24 April 1997. The former Thamesdown name and logo continued to be used by the municipal bus operator,
Thamesdown Transport
Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) is a bus operator in England, serving Swindon and the surrounding area. Previously owned by Swindon Borough Council, in February 2017 ownership passed to the Go-Ahead Group and the operat ...
, until 2017 when it was sold and renamed to "Swindon's Bus Company".
Geography
The borough of Swindon occupies an area forming the north east corner of
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
and is bordered by two other counties,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
(to the north) and
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
(to the east).
West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council.
History
The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...
is also only a short distance from the borough's south eastern tip.
The generally hilly landscape is sculpted by the upper
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
guiding the northern border, small tributaries draining into the Thames, and the
Marlborough Downs
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better k ...
rising toward the south.
![Borough of swindon - urban areas with names](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Borough_of_swindon_-_urban_areas_with_names.png)
The borough encompasses the Swindon urban area and surrounding countryside to the north, east and south, including the town of Highworth. It comprises the former Swindon Municipal Borough and a further 18
civil parishes
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...
:
*
Bishopstone (with
Hinton Parva
Hinton Parva is a hamlet former Civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the civil parish of Hinton, Dorset, Hinton, in east Dorset, England, three miles north of Wimborne Minster. The parish had a population of 56 in 2001. The settlement ...
)
*
Blunsdon
Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; t ...
*
Castle Eaton
Castle Eaton is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England, on the River Thames about northwest of Highworth. It was historically in the area governed by the (former) Wiltshire County Council, but since 1997 has b ...
*
Chiseldon
Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It takes its name from the Old English cisel dene, or gravel valley, being noted in the Domesday Book as ''Chiseldene''.
The village lies on the edge of ...
*
Covingham
Covingham is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, now part of the built-up area of the Borough of Swindon. It was developed in the 1960s as part of Swindon's eastward expansion towards the A419. St Paul's Church is the main parish ...
*
Hannington
*
Haydon Wick
The civil parish of Haydon Wick is a northern suburb of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, in England. It had a population of 20,960 in the 2011 census.
The parish includes the former hamlet of Haydon and the suburbs of Greenmeadow and Rodbourne ...
*
Highworth
Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
(town and surrounding district)
*
Inglesham
Inglesham is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, notable for the Grade-I listed St John the Baptist Church. The village is just off the A361 road about south-west of Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Mos ...
*
Liddington
Liddington is a village and civil parish near Swindon in Wiltshire, England. The settlement lies southeast of Swindon town, close to junction 15 of the M4 motorway, which is approximately away via the B4192.
History
The parish has been an a ...
*
Nythe, Eldene and Liden
Nythe, Eldene and Liden is a civil parish in the eastern suburbs of the town of Swindon, England. In addition to the residential areas of Nythe (in the north), Eldene and Liden (southwest and southeast), the parish has the Dorcan industrial area ...
*
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
*
South Marston
South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about north-east of Swindon town centre.
History
The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement dates from the 13th centur ...
*
Stanton Fitzwarren
*
Stratton St Margaret
Stratton St Margaret is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The parish covers north-eastern suburbs of Swindon including Stratton St Margaret itself along with Upper Stratton, Lower Stratton and Kingsdown. Since May 20 ...
*
Wanborough
*
West Swindon
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
*
Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 an ...
Since 1 April 2017 the entire Borough has been parished, following the establishment of West Swindon parish and the creation of
Central Swindon North and
Central Swindon South (styled by its parish council as South Swindon). The two Central parishes fall within the boundaries of the town and former municipal borough, the
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
railway forming the boundary between them.
At the same time:
* the part of Chiseldon parish north of the M4, including the former hamlet of Coate, was transferred to Central Swindon South;
* the parish of Blunsdon St Andrew was divided into St Andrews and Blunsdon, the A419 forming the boundary between them;
* the parish of Nythe was expanded to form Nythe, Eldene and Liden.
Swindon Borough Council
The council follows a leader and cabinet model and has 57 members elected by 20 wards.
Elections are held in three out of every four years, with one-third of the seats being elected at each election.
From the first election in 1996 to the
2000 election,
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
had a majority on the council. Following a period where no party had a majority, the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
gained a majority at the
2003 election and have held control since then.
Other elections
The borough is divided into two Parliamentary constituencies:
North Swindon
North Swindon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative.
History
North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, ...
and
South Swindon
South Swindon is a constituency in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Robert Buckland, a Conservative, who previously served as Justice Secretary and Welsh Secretary ...
.
Both are seen as key marginal seats at general elections, having been
bellwether
A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.[bellwether]
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...
seats since 1997 when they were created. Currently both seats are held by the Conservative Party.
The borough was one of the first areas to declare in the
2016 European Union membership referendum. 61,745 (54.3%) voters supported leaving the European Union, whilst 51,220 (45.7%) wished to remain.
See also
*
History of local government in Swindon
The history of local government in Swindon has its origins in the Middle Ages. After a long period of very little change, there followed a new era, beginning in the 19th century, of constant redevelopment and re-adjustment.
Parliamentary represe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swindon (Borough)
Local government districts of Wiltshire
Unitary authority districts of England
Boroughs in England