Dartford
§ This page gives an overview of the Dartford 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 ⁞ Dartford lies on the Thames estuary in north-west Kent, with a town centre known for its historic churches, markets, and parks. The River Darent flows through, with Dartford Heath and Darenth Valley offering green landscapes. Nearby Bluewater, one of Europe’s largest shopping centres, is a regional landmark. The district includes suburban communities and riverside landscapes, with a mix of urban life, parkland, and proximity to the Thames shaping its geography.
The administrative boundary of Dartford can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Dartford.
Key Facts about Dartford
What region is Dartford in? Dartford is in the South East of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Dartford in? Dartford is located in the county of Kent.
Is Dartford a city? No, Dartford is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Dartford? The local authority for this district is: Dartford Borough Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Kent is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Kent County Council.
▶ Official website of Dartford Borough Council 🔗 dartford.gov.uk
Which police force covers Dartford? Policing in Dartford is provided by Kent Police 🔗 kent.police.uk, which serves 13 local authority districts: Ashford ⁞ Canterbury ⁞ Dartford ⁞ Dover ⁞ Folkestone and Hythe ⁞ Gravesham ⁞ Maidstone ⁞ Medway ⁞ Sevenoaks ⁞ Swale ⁞ Thanet ⁞ Tonbridge and Malling ⁞ Tunbridge Wells.
Constituencies in Dartford
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 Dartford
Dartford is divided into 20 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bean & Village Park
- Brent
- Bridge
- Burnham
- Darenth
- Ebbsfleet
- Greenhithe & Knockhall
- Heath
- Joyden's Wood
- Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet
- Maypole & Leyton Cross
- Newtown
- Princes
- Stone Castle
- Stone House
- Swanscombe
- Temple Hill
- Town
- West Hill
- Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley
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 Dartford
Dartford is part-parished: 8 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 3 unparished areas.
- Bean
- Darenth
- Longfield and New Barn
- Southfleet
- Stone
- Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley
- Swanscombe and Greenhithe
- Wilmington
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 Dartford
Dartford covers 15 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bean
- Bexley *
- Darenth
- Dartford *
- Ebbsfleet Valley *
- Hawley (Dartford)
- Hextable *
- Joyden's Wood *
- Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley *
- Northfleet *
- South Darenth and Sutton at Hone *
- Southfleet
- Stone (Dartford)
- Swanley *
- Swanscombe *
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 Dartford.)
Dartford compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Dartford compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Dartford has 20 electoral wards.
Dartford has a population of 125,011 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Dartford can be found on the ONS statistics for Dartford.