Dover is a local government district in Kent, England. It is named after its largest town, the port town of Dover. The council is based in Whitfield on the outskirts of Dover. The district also covers the towns of Deal, Sandwich and Walmer as well as the surrounding rural areas.

The district borders Thanet District to the north, the City of Canterbury to the west, and Folkestone and Hythe District to the south-west. To the south and east, it faces the Strait of Dover.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of four former districts and part of a fifth, all of which were abolished at the same time:

• Deal Municipal Borough
• Dover Municipal Borough
• Dover Rural District
• Eastry Rural District (except five parishes which went to Thanet)
• Sandwich Municipal Borough

The new district was named Dover after its largest town.

Dover District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Gordon Cowan, Labour since 17 May 2023
Leader	Kevin Mills, Labour since 17 May 2023
Chief Executive	Nadeem Aziz since April 2002
Structure
Seats	32
Political groups	Administration (17)   Labour (17) Other parties (15)   Conservatives (14)   Independent (1)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Last election	2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, Honeywood Close, White Cliffs Business Park, Whitfield, Dover, CT16 3PJ
Website
www.dover.gov.uk

Dover District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Since the 2023 election the council has been under Labour majority control.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Party in control		Years
	Conservative	1974–1991
	No overall control	1991–1995
	Labour	1995–1999
	No overall control	1999–2007
	Conservative	2007–2023
	Labour	2023-present

The leaders of the council (formally the chair of the policy and resources committee prior to 2001) have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Alexander Greenway-Stanley		Conservative	1974	1976
Raymond Norley		Conservative	1976	1977
Alexander Greenway-Stanley		Conservative	1977	1978
Gwladys Payne		Conservative	1978	1986
Graham Forster		Conservative	1986	Sep 1986
Paul Watkins		Conservative	Sep 1986	1989
George Tyler		Conservative	1989	Oct 1989
Christopher Smith		Conservative	Oct 1989	1992
Paul Watkins		Conservative	1992	Dec 1993
Tony Sansum		Labour	Dec 1993	Nov 1995
Terry Birkett		Labour	Nov 1995	1998
Reg Hansell		Labour	Nov 1998	1999
Terry Birkett		Labour	1999	2001
Peter Wells		Labour	2001	14 May 2003
Paul Watkins		Conservative	14 May 2003	30 Sep 2017
Keith Morris		Conservative	18 Oct 2017	14 Oct 2019
Trevor Bartlett		Conservative	30 Oct 2019	17 May 2023
Kevin Mills		Labour	17 May 2023

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Labour	17
	Conservative	14
	Independent	1
Total		32

The next election is due in 2027.

The council's main offices are at the White Cliffs Business park in the parish of Whitfield, to the north of the town of Dover itself.

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 32 councillors representing 17 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

The northern boundary of the district is the River Stour; on its western side is the district of Canterbury; to the south the parish of Capel-le-Ferne; and to the east the Straits of Dover. The southern part of the latter is the point where the North Downs meets the sea, at the White Cliffs of Dover. Further north along the coast, from Deal onwards, the land is at sea level, where the River Stour enters the sea by a circuitous route. It is here, on the sand-dunes, that the Royal St George's Golf Club, founded in 1887, and of international repute, is situated.

In the district are industrial remains of the erstwhile Kent coalfield, situated around Tilmanstone and Betteshanger. Half of the underwater section of the Channel Tunnel is under British Sovereignty and thus part of the district.

There are 35 civil parishes covering the whole district. The parish councils of Deal, Dover, Sandwich and Walmer take the style "town council".

Deal Timeball is a Victorian maritime Greenwich Mean Time signal located on the roof of a waterfront four-storey tower. It was established in 1855 by the Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy in collaboration with Charles V. Walker.

Crossing Dover district are the Roman roads of Watling Street and that leading from Richborough. Today the main road, the A2, closely follows Watling Street to Dover.

• Dover District Council website
• Parish listing
• Deal High Street winner of the Telegraph's first High Street of the Year award
• Kent coalfield history
• Dover pictorial website
• Dover Community Radio (DCR)

51°07′48″N 1°18′40″E / 51.130°N 1.311°E / 51.130; 1.311