Our District

Shepway is situated on the Channel coast about 75 miles from London. It occupies a key strategic position on the M20 as a gateway to continental Europe with the high speed Rail Link, the Channel Tunnel and Lydd Airport.

The District has an area of 140 sq miles (35,700 hectares) and its natural environment is of high quality, comprising a number of distinct landscapes and communities and places of interest. The district is complex, often contrasting in terms of relative affluence and  deprivation, with dense urban environments and rural isolation, and it is always changing.

Shepway boasts a rich variety of attractive landscape, fringed by the sea. More than 33% of the district falls within the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty. It abounds with valuable wildlife sites and there are at least 15 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. There is a wealth of notable heritage assets spanning the whole of British history such as Iron Age & Roman settlements; medieval churches; Tudor castles and Napoleonic fortifications.

Shepway is home to almost 100,000 people (National Statistics 2003 mid year estimate),47% of the population live in Folkestone and 22% live in the towns of Hythe and New Romney, the remainder in the rural areas covered by the District. The number of households is currently in the region of 47,500.

23% of the population is aged 65 or over and there are 52% females as opposed to 48% males. Ethnic minority groups make up 2.7% of the local population.

Unemployment at 3.1% is higher than the County average of 2.1% and the national average of 2.5% (Kent County Council Monthly Unemployment Bulletin January 2007).