South Gloucestershire

Local Authority District in England

Gloucestershire, South West

§ This page gives an overview of the South Gloucestershire 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 ⁞ South Gloucestershire lies north of Bristol, with market towns, rural villages, and suburban communities. Yate and Thornbury are key centres, the latter with its Tudor castle. The Severn Estuary forms the western boundary, crossed by the Severn Bridges, while the Cotswold Edge rises to the east with scenic hills and villages. The district’s landscape is a mix of farmland, rivers, and historic sites, blending rural charm with proximity to urban Bristol.

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

Map of South Gloucestershire — Administrative Boundary of South Gloucestershire (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about South Gloucestershire

What region is South Gloucestershire in? South Gloucestershire is in the South West of England, a region within the UK.

What county is South Gloucestershire in? South Gloucestershire is in the county of Gloucestershire.

Is South Gloucestershire a city? No, South Gloucestershire is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)

Who governs South Gloucestershire? The local government for this district is: South Gloucestershire Council (Unitary Authority).

▶ Official website of South Gloucestershire Council 🔗 southglos.gov.uk

Which police force covers South Gloucestershire? Policing in South Gloucestershire is provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary 🔗 avonandsomerset.police.uk, which serves 5 local authority districts: Bath and North East Somerset ⁞ Bristol, City of ⁞ North Somerset ⁞ Somerset ⁞ South Gloucestershire.

South Gloucestershire in International Geographies

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, South Gloucestershire is within an ITLs Level 3 area:

(ITL 1) South West
(ITL 2) ⇒ West of England
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire

The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.

This district page, South Gloucestershire, is a sub-page of this county page: Gloucestershire and this region page: South West. 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 South Gloucestershire

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 South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is divided into 28 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

Bitton & Oldland Common
Boyd Valley
Bradley Stoke North
Bradley Stoke South
Charfield
Charlton & Cribbs
Chipping Sodbury & Cotswold Edge
Dodington
Emersons Green
Filton
Frampton Cotterell
Frenchay & Downend
Hanham
Kingswood
Longwell Green
New Cheltenham
Parkwall & Warmley
Patchway Coniston
Pilning & Severn Beach
Severn Vale
Staple Hill & Mangotsfield
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Thornbury
Winterbourne
Woodstock
Yate Central
Yate North

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 South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is part-parished: 50 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 1 unparished areas.

Acton Turville
Almondsbury
Alveston
Aust
Badminton
Bitton
Bradley Stoke
Charfield
Charlton Hayes
Cold Ashton
Cromhall
Dodington
Downend and Bromley Heath
Doynton
Dyrham and Hinton
Emersons Green
Falfield
Filton
Frampton Cotterell
Hanham
Hanham Abbots
Hawkesbury
Hill
Horton
Iron Acton
Kingswood
Marshfield
Oldbury-upon-Severn
Oldland
Olveston
Patchway
Pilning and Severn Beach
Pucklechurch
Rangeworthy
Rockhampton
Siston
Sodbury
Staple Hill and Mangotsfield
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Lodge and The Common
Stoke Park and Cheswick
Thornbury
Tormarton
Tortworth
Tytherington and Itchington
Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath
Wick and Abson
Wickwar
Winterbourne
Yate

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 South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire covers 47 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

Acton Turville
Almondsbury
Alveston
Avonmouth *
Badminton
Bitton
Bradley Stoke
Bristol *
Charfield *
Chipping Sodbury
Coalpit Heath
Easter Compton
Engine Common
Falfield
Filton *
Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne
Hambrook (South Gloucestershire)
Hawkesbury Upton
Heath End
Iron Acton
Keynsham *
Kingswood and Fishponds *
Marsh Common
Marshfield (South Gloucestershire)
Old Sodbury
Oldbury Naite
Oldbury-on-Severn
Olveston
Patchway
Pilning
Pucklechurch
Rangeworthy
Rudgeway
Severn Beach *
Stoke Gifford *
Thornbury
Tockington
Tormarton
Tortworth Green
Townwell
Tytherington
Upton Cheyney *
Westerleigh
Whiteshill
Wick (South Gloucestershire)
Wickwar *
Yate

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 South Gloucestershire.)

South Gloucestershire compared with other districts in the UK

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

South Gloucestershire has 28 electoral wards.

South Gloucestershire compared with other districts — ▮ Smaller: 276 ▮ Similar: 18 ▮ Larger: 67 (compared with 361 districts)

South Gloucestershire has a population of 306,332 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)

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

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