Bath and North East Somerset

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Bath and North East Somerset District
Image:Bath and North East Somerset in England.png
Geography
Status:	Unitary district
Region:	South West England
Traditional county:	Somerset
Ceremonial county:	Somerset
Area: - Total	Ranked 137th 351.12 km²
Admin. HQ:	Bath
ONS code:	00HA
Demographics
Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density	Ranked 87th 173,700 495 / km²
Ethnicity:	97.2% White
Politics
Bath and North East Somerset Council http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Liberal Democrats / Conservative / Independent
MPs:	Don Foster, Dan Norris

Bath and North East Somerset (commonly referred to as BANES or B&NES) is a unitary authority that was created on April 1, 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset.

The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. The geographical area covered is 351.12 km² (135 mi²). There are a total of 72,000 dwellings within the area, 6,408 are listed buildings, 662 Grade 1and 145 Grade 2 and classified as of historical or architectural importance. 170,238 people live in the area and approximately half live in the City of Bath making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the area.

Since BANES was created, no political party has been in overall control of the council. The Liberal Democrats quickly became the dominant party, but in the local elections on May 1, 2003 the Conservative Party won ten seats and are almost level with the Liberal Democrats. The Labour Party has only six seats, none of which are in Bath.

Local issues include traffic calming measures, graffiti, council tax and the escalating cost of the new (and much delayed) Thermae Bath Spa development.

BANES is often criticised for being divided between its distinct component parts, the urban Bath and rural North East Somerset, with Bath getting most of the investment and attention from the council. However, it is predominantly Bath residents who are campaigning for a return to a separate Bath city council as it existed under the former Avon County. The district was formed as a merger of the former Avon districts of Bath and Wansdyke.

The district borders Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire local government areas.

On December 10, 2003, Bath and North East Somerset was granted Fairtrade Zone status.

[edit] Towns and villages

The major towns and villages in the district are:

See also: list of civil parishes in Somerset

[edit] Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of North and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added^[1]	Agriculture^[2]	Industry^[3]	Services^[4]
1995	5,916	125	1,919	3,872
2000	8,788	86	2,373	6,330
2003	10,854	67	2,873	7,914

↑ includes hunting and forestry

↑ includes energy and construction

↑ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

↑ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

[edit] External links

Districts of South West England	Image:Flag of England.svg
Bath and North East Somerset \| Bournemouth \| Bristol \| Caradon \| Carrick \| Cheltenham \| Christchurch \| Cotswold \| East Devon \| East Dorset \| Exeter \| Forest of Dean \| Gloucester \| Isles of Scilly \| Kennet \| Kerrier \| Mendip \| Mid Devon \| North Cornwall \| North Devon \| North Dorset \| North Somerset \| North Wiltshire \| Penwith \| Plymouth \| Poole \| Purbeck \| Restormel \| Salisbury \| Sedgemoor \| South Gloucestershire \| South Hams \| South Somerset \| Stroud \| Swindon \| Taunton Deane \| Teignbridge \| Tewkesbury \| Torbay \| Torridge \| West Devon \| West Dorset \| West Somerset \| West Wiltshire \| Weymouth and Portland
Counties with multiple districts: Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Gloucestershire - Somerset - Wiltshire