Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based in Sittingbourne, the borough's largest town. The borough also contains the towns of Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It includes the Isle of Sheppey and is named after The Swale, the narrow channel which separates Sheppey from the mainland part of the borough. Some southern parts of the borough lie within the Kent Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The borough borders the Medway unitary authority area to the west, the Borough of Maidstone to the south-west, the Borough of Ashford to the south-east, and the City of Canterbury to the east.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Faversham Municipal Borough
• Queenborough-in-Sheppey Municipal Borough (which covered the whole Isle of Sheppey)
• Sittingbourne and Milton Urban District
• Swale Rural District

The new district was named Swale, after the waterway which divides the mainland part of the district from the Isle of Sheppey. The district was awarded borough status on 20 January 1978, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

Governance

Swale Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Sarah Stephen, Swale Independents since 17 May 2023
Leader	Tim Gibson, Labour since 17 May 2023
Chief Executive	Larissa Reed since January 2021
Structure
Seats	47 councillors
Political groups	Administration (31)   Labour (16)   Swale Independents (11)   Green (3)   Independent (1) Other parties (16)   Conservative (11)   Liberal Democrats (5)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Motto
Known By Their Fruits
Meeting place
Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, ME10 3HT
Website
www.swale.gov.uk

Swale Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. Most of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 election a coalition of Labour, local party the Swale Independents, the Greens and an independent councillor have formed the council's administration.

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:

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1974–1976
	Conservative	1976–1986
	No overall control	1986–2002
	Conservative	2002–2019
	No overall control	2019–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Swale is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Andrew Bowles		Conservative	2002	5 May 2019
Roger Truelove		Labour	22 May 2019	27 Apr 2022
Mike Baldock		Swale Ind.	27 Apr 2022	19 May 2023
Tim Gibson		Labour	19 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, a subsequent by-election in September 2023, and a defection from the Swale Independents Alliance to the Labour Party, the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Labour	16
	Swale Ind.	10
	Conservative	11
	Liberal Democrats	5
	Green	3
	Independent	1
Total		47

The independent councillor and the Swale Independents sit together as the "Swale Independents Alliance". The next elections are due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 47 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at Swale House on East Street in Sittingbourne.

Economy

Swale is a mainly rural borough, containing a high proportion of the UK's apple, pear, cherry and plum orchards (the North Kent Fruit Belt), as well as many of its remaining hop gardens. Faversham has the Shepherd Neame brewery. Founded in 1698 it is claimed to be oldest brewery in the UK.

Sheerness is a busy port and previously produced steel. Sittingbourne has a variety of smaller industrial sites.

Transport

The Roman Watling Street passed through the area, as witness the straightness of the A2 main road, now by-passed by the M2 motorway.

There are two railway lines in Swale: the Chatham Main Line and the Sheerness Branch Line, which meet at Sittingbourne.

Two adjoining bridges across The Swale link the Isle of Sheppey to the mainland: Kingsferry Bridge and the Sheppey Crossing.

In 2022, the council implemented a low-emission car club in the town of Faversham, in partnership with car sharing company Hiyacar. After a successful first year, the council expanded the Swale Car Club offering to the town of Sittingbourne.

Media

In terms of television, Swale is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian (East) broadcasting from the Bluebell Hill transmitter.

Local radio stations are:

• BBC Radio Kent on 96.7 FM
• Heart South on 103.1 FM
• SFM Radio (for Sittingbourne) on 106.9 FM
• BRFM 95.6 FM on 95.6 FM and Sheppey FM 92.2 on 92.2 FM (for the Isle of Sheppey)

Local newspapers are Sittingbourne News Extra, yourswale, and Sheerness Times Guardian that serves the Isle of Sheppey.

Parishes

Most of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness take the style "town council". The former Sittingbourne and Milton Urban District is an unparished area, as is the Halfway Houses area on Sheppey, being the only part of the pre-1974 borough of Queenborough-in-Sheppey not to have been subsequently added to a parish.

Mayors

For the council's first four years it had a chairman rather than a mayor. The chairmen were:

• 1974-75 R. D. Sharrock
• 1975-76 K. H. Burbidge
• 1976-78 R. W. Barnicott

From the grant of borough status in January 1978 onwards the chairman of the council has taken the title of mayor. The mayors have been:

Honorary Freemen of the Borough

• 1978 D. Allen
• 1982 D. M. Elvy
• 1986 Bob Geldof
• 2004 Gerald David Thomsett
• 2004 Peter James Salmon
• 2018 Stephen Mark Brown
• 2021 Peter Morgan
• 2021 Robin Castle