# Dover District

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.

## History

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.

## Governance

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.

### Political control

Following the 2023 election, the council was under Labour majority control. They subsequently lost their majority following changes of allegiance in January 2025, leaving the council under no overall 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 | 2023–2025 |
| No overall control | 2025–present |

### Leadership

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 | 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 | May 2023 |
| Kevin Mills | Labour | 17 May 2023 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election, and changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 15 |
| | Conservative | 15 |
| | Independent | 2 |
| Total | Total | 32 |
The next election is due in 2027.

### Premises

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.

### Elections

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.

## Geography

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.

## Parishes

There are 35 civil parishes covering the whole district. The parish councils of Deal, Dover, Sandwich and Walmer take the style "town council".
* Alkham
* Ash
* Aylesham
* Capel-le-Ferne
* Deal (town)
* Denton with Wootton
* Dover (town)
* Eastry
* Eythorne
* Goodnestone
* Great Mongeham
* Guston
* Hougham Without
* Langdon
* Lydden
* Nonington
* Northbourne
* Preston
* Ringwould with Kingsdown
* Ripple
* River
* Sandwich (town)
* Shepherdswell with Coldred
* Sholden
* St Margaret's at Cliffe
* Staple
* Stourmouth
* Sutton
* Temple Ewell
* Tilmanstone
* Walmer (town)
* Whitfield
* Wingham
* Woodnesborough
* Worth

## Communications

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.