West Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council was based in Dorchester. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis, along with Sherborne urban district, and the rural districts of Beaminster, Bridport, Dorchester and Sherborne.
West Dorset District | |
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Non-metropolitan district | |
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Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South West England |
Non-metropolitan county | Dorset |
Status | Abolished |
Admin HQ | Dorchester |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | West Dorset District Council |
• Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Conservative) |
• MPs | Chris Loder |
Area | |
• Total | 417.6 sq mi (1,081.5 km2) |
• Rank | (of 309) |
Population (mid-2019 est.) | |
• Rank | (of 309) |
• Ethnicity | 98.7% White |
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 19UH (ONS) E07000052 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | SY5785299047 |
Website | www |
The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2019 and, together with the other four districts outside the greater Bournemouth area, formed a new Dorset unitary authority.[1]
This section does not cite any sources. (February 2022) |
In the Census 2001 West Dorset registered a population of 92,350, estimated to be 94,000 as of 2004[update]. The population structure reflected the rural nature of the district. 52% of the population are female. The area was a popular retirement area which also exported young people due to the lack of career options. This was reflected in the age structure, with 12.3% of the population over 75, compared to 7.5% in England; 51.7% were between 15 and 59, compared to 59.1% in England. 34.4% of dwellings were pensioner households, compared to 23.8% in England.
The district was an example of the low ethnic minority populations in rural areas, with 96.7% white British ethnicity, compared to 87.0% in England.
The district had a high level of car ownership, at 83.1% of households compared to 73.2% in England.
West Dorset is a county constituency, currently represented in the British House of Commons by the Conservative Chris Loder. Elections in this constituency are usually a two-party contest between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. It is almost identical in area with what was the West Dorset district, but a very small part of West Dorset District lay within the South Dorset county constituency, currently represented in the British House of Commons by the Conservative Party member Richard Drax.
The main settlements in West Dorset were Dorchester, Sherborne and Bridport. Dorchester, in the south of the district, is the county town of Dorset and has been an important settlement since Roman times. Sherborne, in the north, is an important market town which was, for a time, the capital of Wessex. Bridport, in the west, is popular with tourists visiting the Jurassic Coast, as is the smaller coastal town of Lyme Regis at the county border with Devon.
Former non-metropolitan districts of England | |
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Local elections |
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