Swale
§ This page gives an overview of the Swale 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 ⁞ Swale in north Kent is named after the tidal channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from the mainland. Sittingbourne is the main town, while Faversham adds historic charm with its medieval streets, markets, and brewing heritage. The Isle of Sheppey is known for its beaches, nature reserves, and Sheerness as a port town. The district is rich in wetlands, salt marshes, and estuarine landscapes, particularly around Oare Marshes and Elmley. Its mix of coast, industry, and rural farmland makes it geographically diverse.
The administrative boundary of Swale can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Swale.
Key Facts about Swale
What region is Swale in? Swale is in the South East of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Swale in? Swale is located in the county of Kent.
Is Swale a city? No, Swale is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Swale? The local authority for this district is: Swale 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 Swale Borough Council 🔗 swale.gov.uk
Which police force covers Swale? Policing in Swale 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 Swale
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 Swale
Swale is divided into 24 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Abbey
- Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow
- Borden and Grove Park
- Boughton and Courtenay
- Chalkwell
- East Downs
- Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch
- Homewood
- Kemsley
- Milton Regis
- Minster Cliffs
- Murston
- Priory
- Queenborough and Halfway
- Roman
- Sheerness
- Sheppey Central
- Sheppey East
- St Ann's
- Teynham and Lynsted
- The Meads
- Watling
- West Downs
- Woodstock
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 Swale
Swale is part-parished: 39 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 2 unparished areas.
- Badlesmere
- Bapchild
- Bobbing
- Borden
- Boughton under Blean
- Bredgar
- Doddington
- Dunkirk
- Eastchurch
- Eastling
- Faversham
- Graveney with Goodnestone
- Hartlip
- Hernhill
- Iwade
- Leaveland
- Leysdown
- Lower Halstow
- Luddenham
- Lynsted with Kingsdown
- Milstead
- Minster-on-Sea
- Newington
- Newnham
- Norton, Buckland and Stone
- Oare
- Ospringe
- Queenborough
- Rodmersham
- Selling
- Sheerness
- Sheldwich
- Stalisfield
- Teynham
- Throwley
- Tonge
- Tunstall
- Upchurch
- Warden
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 Swale
Swale covers 28 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Borden
- Boughton under Blean
- Bredgar
- Broadoak
- Dunkirk
- Eastchurch
- Eastling
- Faversham
- Gillingham (Medway) *
- Halfway Houses
- Hartlip
- Highsted
- Iwade
- Leysdown-on-Sea
- Lower Halstow
- Lynsted
- Minster (Swale)
- Mud Row
- Newington
- Oversland
- Queenborough
- Sheerness
- Sittingbourne
- Teynham
- Upchurch
- Warden
- Waterham *
- Yorkletts *
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 Swale.)
Swale compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Swale compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Swale has 24 electoral wards.
Swale has a population of 158,379 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Swale can be found on the ONS statistics for Swale.