Medway Towns
| Medway | |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority, Borough | |
View ENE from Merrall's Shaw, Cuxton over the riverside parts and higher slopes of the Medway Towns
|
|
 Shown within Kent |
|
| Coordinates: 51°23′N 0°32′E / 51.39°N 0.54°ECoordinates: 51°23′N 0°32′E / 51.39°N 0.54°E | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Ceremonial county | Kent |
| Status | Unitary authority |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1998 |
| Admin HQ | Gun Wharf, Chatham |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unitary authority |
| • Body | Medway Council |
| • Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Conservative) |
| • MPs |
Kelly Tolhurst (C) Tracey Crouch (C) Rehman Chishti (C) |
| • Mayor | Cllr Stuart Tranter |
| • Deputy Mayor | Cllr Gloria Opara |
| • Council Leader | Cllr Alan Jarrett |
| Area | |
| • Total | 74.14 sq mi (192.03 km2) |
| Area rank | 170th (of 326) |
| Population (mid-2015 est.) | |
| • Total | 276,500 |
| • Rank | 45th (of 326) |
| • Density | 3,700/sq mi (1,400/km2) |
| • Ethnicity | 92.6% White 3.5% S.Asian 1.4% Black 1.4% Mixed 1.0% Chinese or other |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC0) |
| • Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
| ONS code | 00LC (ONS) E06000035 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TQ768688 |
| Website | www |
| Top 10 countries of birth in 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Country of birth | Population |
 United Kingdom
|
236,589 |
 India
|
3,812 |
 Poland
|
1,731 |
 Ireland
|
1,725 |
 Germany
|
1,542 |
 Nigeria
|
1,527 |
 South Africa
|
743 |
 Bangladesh
|
737 |
 Pakistan
|
692 |
 Lithuania
|
601 |
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. It had a population in 2014 of 274,015. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County Council.
Over half of the unitary authority area is rural in nature. Because of its strategic location by the major crossing of the River Medway, it has made a wide and historically significant contribution to Kent, and to England, dating back thousands of years, as evident in the siting of Watling Street by the Romans and by the Norman Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral (the second oldest in Britain) and the Chatham naval dockyard and its associated defences.
The main towns in the conurbation are (from west to east): Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham. These are traditionally known as the Medway Towns. Many smaller towns and villages such as Frindsbury, Brompton, Walderslade, Luton, Wigmore etc., lie within the conurbation. Outside the urban area, the villages retain parish councils. Cuxton, Halling and Wouldham are in the Medway Gap region to the south of Rochester and Strood. Hoo St Werburgh, Cliffe, High Halstow, St Mary Hoo, Allhallows, Stoke and Grain are on the Hoo Peninsula to the north. Frindsbury Extra including Upnor borders Strood.
...
Wikipedia