Colchester

Local Authority District in England

Essex, East of England

§ This page gives an overview of the Colchester local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.

Overview ⁞ Colchester, Britain’s oldest recorded town, is steeped in Roman history, with landmarks such as Colchester Castle, the Roman Walls, and the remains of a Roman theatre. Today it is a thriving town with a busy centre, cultural attractions like Colchester Zoo, and green spaces such as Castle Park. The town blends heritage with modern living, and surrounding villages and countryside in north Essex add to its appeal. The coast is nearby, with Mersea Island offering beaches and seafood, while Dedham Vale and Constable Country lie to the north. Colchester’s combination of history, culture, and landscapes makes it a significant destination.

The administrative boundary of Colchester can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Colchester.

Map of Colchester — Administrative Boundary of Colchester (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about Colchester

What region is Colchester in? Colchester is in the East of England of England, a region within the UK.

What county is Colchester in? Colchester is located in the county of Essex.

Is Colchester a city? Yes, Colchester is a city. Colchester holds official city status as one of the 76 designated cities in the UK.

Who governs Colchester? The local authority for this district is: Colchester City Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Essex is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Essex County Council.

▶ Official website of Colchester City Council 🔗 colchester.gov.uk

Which police force covers Colchester? Policing in Colchester is provided by Essex Police 🔗 essex.police.uk, which serves 14 local authority districts: Basildon ⁞ Braintree ⁞ Brentwood ⁞ Castle Point ⁞ Chelmsford ⁞ Colchester ⁞ Epping Forest ⁞ Harlow ⁞ Maldon ⁞ Rochford ⁞ Southend-on-Sea ⁞ Tendring ⁞ Thurrock ⁞ Uttlesford.

This district page, Colchester, is a sub-page of this county page: Essex and this region page: East of England. It zooms in to local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, and provides a list of wards in this district. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK local authority districts: List of Local Authority Districts.

Constituencies in Colchester

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.

Wards in Colchester

Colchester is divided into 17 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

Berechurch
Castle
Greenstead
Highwoods
Lexden and Braiswick
Marks Tey and Layer
Mersea and Pyefleet
Mile End
New Town and Christ Church
Old Heath and The Hythe
Prettygate
Rural North
Shrub End
St Anne's and St John's
Stanway
Tiptree
Wivenhoe

In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.

Parishes in Colchester

Colchester is part-parished: 35 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 2 unparished areas.

Abberton
Aldham
Birch
Boxted
Chappel
Copford
Dedham
East Donyland
East Mersea
Eight Ash Green
Fingringhoe
Fordham
Great and Little Wigborough
Great Horkesley
Great Tey
Langenhoe
Langham
Layer Breton
Layer Marney
Layer-de-la-Haye
Little Horkesley
Marks Tey
Messing-cum-Inworth
Mount Bures
Myland
Peldon
Salcott
Stanway
Tiptree
Virley
Wakes Colne
West Bergholt
West Mersea
Wivenhoe
Wormingford

A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.

Built-up Areas in Colchester

Colchester covers 34 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

Berechurch
Boxted
Boxted Cross
Chappel
Colchester *
Copford
Dedham *
Dedham Heath
East Mersea
Eight Ash Green
Fingringhoe
Fordham (Colchester)
Fordstreet
Foxash Estate *
Great Horkesley
Great Tey
Heckfordbridge
High Park Corner
Lamb Corner *
Langenhoe and Abberton
Langham (Colchester)
Layer Breton
Layer-de-la-Haye
Marks Tey
Nayland *
Peldon
Rowhedge
Stratford St Mary *
Tiptree *
Tolleshunt Knights *
Tye Green (Colchester)
West Bergholt
West Mersea
Wivenhoe *

In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Colchester.)

Colchester compared with other districts in the UK

This section shows how Colchester compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.

Colchester has 17 electoral wards.

Colchester compared with other districts — ▮ Smaller: 79 ▮ Similar: 57 ▮ Larger: 225 (compared with 361 districts)

Colchester has a population of 200,222 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)

Population of Colchester compared with other districts — Population of Colchester, compared with other districts in England and Wales

More local statistics and data for Colchester can be found on the ONS statistics for Colchester.