| City of Brighton and Hove | |
|---|---|
| — Unitary authority & City — | |
| Brighton and Hove shown within England | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Ceremonial county | East Sussex |
| Administrative seat | Hove |
| City status | 2000 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unitary authority & City |
| • Governing body | Brighton and Hove City Council |
| • Local government form | Leader & Cabinet |
| • Control | Green (council NOC) |
| • MPs | Simon Kirby (C) (Brighton Kemptown) Mike Weatherley (C) (Hove) Caroline Lucas (G) (Brighton Pavilion) |
| Area | |
| • Unitary authority & City | 33.80 sq mi (87.54 km2) |
| Population (2008 est.) | |
| • Unitary authority & City | 256,600 |
| • Density | 7,880/sq mi (3,040/km2) |
| • Urban | 461,181 |
| • Ethnicity (Office for National Statistics 2007 Estimate)[1] |
88.6% White 4.9% South Asian 2.3% Mixed Race 2.3% Black 2.0% Chinese and other |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) |
| Postcode span | |
| Grid ref. | |
| ONS code | 00ML |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-BNH |
| NUTS 3 | |
Brighton and Hove is a unitary authority area and city on the south coast of England. It is England's most populous seaside resort. The major part of the city consists of Brighton, with around 155,000 people of the total population of 251,000. Consequently, people usually refer to the city as just "Brighton". Brighton and Hove's urban area has a population of over 450,000 people. The city is famous for its history as a seaside town, and more recently for its reputation of having a large gay community. This has led to it sometimes being called the "Gay Capital of Europe". The city is also famous for its football team, Brighton & Hove Albion FC (commonly known as just "Brighton" or "Albion"). They currently play in the Football League Championship at the Amex Stadium, opened in 2011.
In 1997, the two large towns of Brighton and Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000.
Brighton and Hove forms part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation, the 12th largest conurbation in the United Kingdom. Along this area of the south coast, there is little or no gap of countryside between these large towns and city. Directly to the west is Shoreham-by-Sea, and a short distance to the east are Peacehaven and Newhaven. The city, district and urban areas of Brighton and Hove have the biggest populations in the South East England region.
Brighton and Hove themselves were results of amalgamations:
On 15 October 2004, Brighton and Hove was granted Fairtrade City status.
Contents |
Elections are held every four years, with the last elections occurring on May 5, 2011.[2]
| Party | Councillors | Change (on 2007) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 23 | +10 | |
| Conservative | 18 | −8 | |
| Labour | 13 | No Change | |
| Liberal Democrat | 0 | −2 | |
| Independent | 0 | No Change | |
| Total | 54 | - | |
| Source: Brighton & Hove City Council | |||
The leader of the council elected on 19 May 2011 is Councillor Bill Randall (Green Party), although the Greens only hold a minority of seats. The current mayor of Brighton and Hove is Councillor Anne Meadows.[3] John Barradell, OBE, started as Chief Executive on 1 October 2009.
Updated in October 2011, the council's corporate priorities are: • Tackling inequality • Creating a more sustainable city • Engaging people who live and work in the city • Being a responsible and empowering employer • Creating a council the city deserves
The city of Brighton and Hove comprises the following areas (not necessarily directly corresponding to administrative wards or parishes):
The first census of Brighton was in 1801.
The resident population of Brighton and Hove at the 2001 census was 247,817 persons, comprising 114,479 households: 48.4% male, 51.5% female.
In the same census, Brighton and Hove had the highest percentage of citizens indicating their religion as Jedi among all principal areas of England and Wales).[4] The next census was carried out on 27 March 2011.
The Letters Patent of 2000 that confers City status is worded thus:
ELIZABETH the SECOND BY THE GRACE OF GOD OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND & OF OUR REALMS & TERRITORIES QUEEN HEAD OF THE COMMON WEALTH DEFENDER OF THE FAITH.
To all to whom these Presents shall come Greeting. Whereas We for divers good causes and considerations Us thereunto moving are graciously pleased to confer on the Towns of Brighton and Hove the status of a city Now Therefore Know Ye that We of Our especial grace and favour and mere motion do by these Presents ordain declare and direct that the TOWNS OF BRIGHTON AND HOVE shall henceforth have the status of a CITY and shall have all such rank liberties privileges and immunities as are incident to a City. In witness whereof We have caused Our Letters to be made Patent Witness Ourself at Westminster the thirty first day of January in the forty ninth year of our reign.
By Warrant under The Queens Sign Manual Phillips.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Brighton and Hove 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[5] | Agriculture[6] | Industry[7] | Services[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,656 | 3 | 407 | 2,246 |
| 2000 | 3,101 | 3 | 378 | 2,721 |
| 2003 | 3,952 | 4 | 476 | 3,472 |
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