Berwick-upon-Tweed (borough)

Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Shown within Northumberland
Geography
Status:	Borough
Region:	North East England
Admin. County:	Northumberland
Area: - Total	Ranked 27th 971.80 km²
Admin. HQ:	Berwick-upon-Tweed
ONS code:	35UC
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 351st 26,132 27 / km²
Ethnicity:	99.6% White
Politics
Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council http://www.berwick-upon-tweed.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Alternative - Sec.31
Control:	Conservative + Liberal Democrats + Independent
MP:	Alan Beith

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a local government district and borough in Northumberland in the north-east of England, on the border with Scotland. The district had a resident population of 25,949 according to the 2001 census, which also notes that it is the least ethnically diverse area in the country, with 99.6% of the population recording themselves in the 2001 census as White.

Its main town is Berwick-upon-Tweed, sited immediately to the north of the Tweed estuary. The town is ancient, the scene of a number of battles; it has perhaps the best remaining example of a (almost completely intact) City Wall, built for defensive purposes.

On the south of the estuary, the port of Tweedmouth is the point of export of diverse goods, but especially grain and roadstone. The remainder of the borough is rural, bordered to the west by the Cheviot Hills, and to the east by a stunningly beautiful coastline.

The borough was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of the previous borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed with Belford Rural District, Glendale Rural District and Norham and Islandshire Rural District.

Berwick was the first district in the UK to have a referendum on whether to have a directly-elected mayor. This election took place on June 7, 2001, and was a decisive victory for the status quo.