Medway
Medway is a unitary authority and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to form Medway Towns. It is a unitary authority area run by Medway Council, independent of Kent County Council but remains part of the ceremonial county of Kent.
Medway | |
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Clockwise from top: Rochester Cathedral, HMS Ocelot, Rochester Castle, Royal Engineers Museum, Upnor Castle, Chatham Historic Dockyard | |
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Coat of arms Council logo | |
Shown within Kent | |
| Coordinates: 51°23′N 0°32′E | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Ceremonial county | Kent |
| Status | Unitary authority |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1998 |
| Admin HQ | Gun Wharf, Chatham |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unitary authority |
| • Body | Medway Council |
| • Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Labour) |
| • Mayor | Cllr Nina Gurung |
| • MPs | Kelly Tolhurst (C) Tracey Crouch (C) Rehman Chishti (C) |
| • Deputy Mayor | Cllr Marian Nestorov |
| • Council Leader | Cllr Vince Maple |
| Area | |
| • Total | 74.14 sq mi (192.03 km2) |
| • Rank | 148th (of 296) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 279,827 |
| • Rank | 56th (of 296) |
| • Density | 3,800/sq mi (1,500/km2) |
| • Ethnicity | 84.3% White 5.9% Asian 5.6% Black 2.8% Mixed 1.4% Other |
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 00LC (ONS) E06000035 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TQ768688 |
| Website | www |
Medway is one of the boroughs included in the Thames Gateway development scheme. It is also the home of Universities at Medway, a tri-partite collaboration of the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University on a single campus in Chatham, together with the University for the Creative Arts, which will have a campus in Rochester until its closure in September 2023, when it will be replaced by Medway School of Arts.