§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.
A historic cathedral community in Denbighshire, St Asaph secured city status in 2012 (letters patent dated 1 June) as part of the Diamond Jubilee honours, making it one of the UK’s smallest cities by population. The award applies to the community’s administrative area, with local governance delivered by St Asaph City Council at community level and by Denbighshire County Council, a principal (unitary) authority created in 1996 after the end of the two-tier county/district system.
City Council Status
St Asaph City Council is a community council holding the city’s civic status (granted 2012); principal services are provided by Denbighshire County Council (unitary).
In the UK, a small group of cities hold their city status at the lowest tier of local government. In England, there are eight such cases where the status is vested in a civil parish whose council styles itself a City Council: Chichester, Ely, Hereford, Lichfield, Ripon, Salisbury, Truro, and Wells. In Wales, there are three where the status is vested in a community with a City Council at that community tier: Bangor, St Asaph, and St Davids. In these places, the parish/community council carries the civic identity and raises a small precept for hyper-local functions, while most public services are delivered by the relevant principal authority (district or unitary council).
In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.
