Known as ‘The Gateway to the West Country’, Wiltshire is a beautiful county of great diversity. Covering an area of almost 3,500 sq km it is the largest inland county in southern England. With much of the county designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Wiltshire’s rich and unique heritage makes it special.
Attractions include world heritage sites, white horses, canals, country houses and estates, historic churches and abbeys, bustling market towns and rolling countryside.
Wiltshire has 20 recognised ‘community areas’ and serving these communities are 4 district councils, and 256 town and parish councils. In addition around 20 community partnerships and development trusts and thousands of voluntary and community groups are active, demonstrating the vibrancy of community life in Wiltshire.
North Wiltshire has a population of approximately 125,000, and covers around 300 square miles of outstanding natural beauty and expanding urban areas . The district includes many picturesque villages, six diverse bustling market towns - Calne, Chippenham, Corsham, Cricklade, Malmesbury and Wootton Bassett. It is made up of 5 thriving community areas.
The district of Kennet covers 370 square miles and is one of the most sparsely populated districts in England with a population in 2005 of 77,400. The district includes in the south, Salisbury Plain and to the north the Marlborough Downs. Scattered round the district are over 70 villages and hamlets and the towns of Devizes, Marlborough and Tidworth.
Almost two-thirds of the district lies in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there are over 70 designated conservation areas and more than 4,500 listed buildings. The Avebury area and some of its surrounds have been designated as part of the Avebury and Stonehenge World Heritage Site.
The district of West Wiltshire covers an area of 200 square miles with a population of some 121,000 people. It has 37 conservation areas and more than 3,000 listed buildings across the five market towns of Bradford on Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury and over 50 villages and hamlets.
The historic industries of the area included agricultural and cloth manufacture, and this has influenced much of the traditional architecture in the towns and countryside.West Wiltshire is home to a number of designated wildlife and heritage sites, including two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, three Special Areas for Conservation, 19 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, nearly 200 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, and numerous sites of archaeological interest and value.
covering the community areas of Amesbury, Downton, Mere, Salisbury City, Tisbury and Wilton
