North Somerset | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South West England |
Ceremonial county | Somerset |
Admin HQ | Weston-super-Mare |
Area first created | 1 April 1974 |
Unitary status | 1 April 1996 |
Government | |
• Type | Unitary authority |
• Governing body | North Somerset Council |
• MPs:[1] | Dan Aldridge (Labour, Weston-super-Mare constituency) Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour, North Somerset constituency) |
Area | |
• Total | 144.66 sq mi (374.68 km2) |
Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 219,145 (Ranked 86th) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ISO 3166 code | GB-NSM |
Website | n-somerset |
North Somerset is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea and Portishead, along with a number of villages and surrounding rural areas. Some southern parts of the district fall within the Mendip Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The district was formed in 1974 as the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. Avon was abolished in 1996, when the district was renamed North Somerset and its council took on county-level functions from the abolished county council.
The district is on the coast, facing the Bristol Channel to the west. The neighbouring districts are Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and Somerset.