Thanet is a local government district in Kent, England. The council is based in Margate and the district also contains the towns of Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Westgate-on-Sea, along with several villages. It takes its name from the Isle of Thanet, a former island which gradually became connected to the mainland between the 12th and 16th centuries.
The district lies on the north-eastern tip of Kent, bordering the City of Canterbury to the west and Dover District to the south. It is predominantly coastal, with north, east and southeast-facing coastlines.
History
The Isle of Thanet is the major part of the district. This was formerly an island separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel. The channel gradually closed between the 12th and 16th centuries through a combination of natural silting and artificial land reclamation. An Isle of Thanet Rural District covering the rural parts of the isle had existed from 1894 until it was abolished in 1935 to form part of Eastry Rural District.
The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the whole area of three former districts and part of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time: Margate Municipal Borough Ramsgate Municipal Borough Broadstairs and St Peter's Urban District Eastry Rural District (parishes of Acol, Minster, Monkton, St Nicholas-at-Wade and Sarre only, rest went to Dover District) The new district was named Thanet, after the isle which covered approximately the same area.
Governance
Thanet District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.
Political control
The council has been under Labour majority control since the [[2023 Thanet District Council election|2023 election.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:
Composition
Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:
The independent councillor and the Greens sit together as the "Green and Independent Group". The next elections are due in 2027.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 56 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.
The district straddles two constituencies, both of which extend beyond the district boundary to include parts of neighbouring districts: North Thanet, represented by Roger Gale, Conservative. South Thanet, represented by Craig MacKinlay, Conservative.
Premises
The council is based at the Council Offices on Cecil Street in the centre of Margate. The building was originally designed in the early 1970s to be a new headquarters for Margate Borough Council, but by the time the building was finished in 1974 that council had been abolished and absorbed into the larger Thanet District Council. The building was formally opened on 9 April 1975.
Towns and parishes
The district contains 11 civil parishes, covering most of the area. The parish councils for Broadstairs and St Peter's, Ramsgate, and Westgate-on-Sea have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the title "town council". The two parishes of Sarre and St Nicholas-at-Wade share a grouped parish council. Acol Birchington Broadstairs and St Peter's Cliffsend Manston Minster Monkton Ramsgate Sarre St Nicholas-at-Wade Westgate-on-Sea
The town of Margate comprises an unparished area. The Thanet councillors representing the wards covering Margate act as charter trustees, choosing one of their number to be the mayor of Margate each year.
Demography
According to the 2011 census, the population of Thanet was 134,186, an increase of about 6000 in the ten years since the previous census.