Categories: Boroughs and Districts of Kent

Dartford (borough)

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Borough of Dartford
Shown within Kent
Geography
Status:	Borough
Region:	South East England
Admin. County:	Kent
Area: - Total	Ranked 278th 72.77 km²
Admin. HQ:	Dartford
ONS code:	29UD
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 264th 86,440 1,188 / km²
Ethnicity:	94.5% White 2.7% S.Asian
Politics
Dartford Borough Council http://www.dartford.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative + Independent
MP:	Howard Stoate

Dartford is a local government district and borough in Kent, England. It has a population of 80,000 and is part of the London commuter belt. The town of Dartford is the administrative capital: it is so named because the River Darent flows through the town northwards to the River Thames, the northern border of the borough. To the west lies the London Borough of Bexley; Sevenoaks Borough is to the south; and Gravesham Borough to the east.

It gives its name to the Dartford Crossing, a pair of road tunnels below the river, opened in 1963 and 1980 respectively; and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (October 1991) over the River Thames, linking Kent and Essex and forming part of the M25 motorway.

As of October, 2003, Dartford's MP is Howard Stoate (Labour).

The current borough was formed on April 1, 1974 as a merger of the old borough of Dartford, the Swanscombe urban district, and part of Dartford Rural District . The parish councils listed below also come within its authority.

A large area of heathland - Dartford Heath - lies to the west of the town. It is the original home of the Dartford Warbler, a small bird. North of the town are the Dartford Salt Marshes, bordering the River Thames where Joyce Green Hospital once stood. In August 1909 the Vickers Company tentatively diversifying into aircraft production at nearby factories in Bexleyheath, Crayford and Erith, began to create a rudimentary airfield at Joyce Green . A road name in this low-lying area commemorates one time Dartford MP Bob Dunn.

There are five railway stations in the borough: at Stone (Stone Crossing); at Longfield; at Greenhithe for Bluewater; Swanscombe (Swanscombe Halt) and Dartford (town centre). From Dartford there are three lines serving London and one to Gravesend and beyond; although, for many of the services, Dartford acts as the terminus. A new high speed international railway station is being constructed at Ebbsfleet that should serve commuters to London and Channel Tunnel passengers to Paris and Brussels by 2007. When this expensive route to St Pancras is operational Eurostar train services from Waterloo Station are likely to cease.