Sovereign state United Kingdom Region South East England Admin HQ Addlestone Administrative center Addlestone | Constituent country England Non-metropolitan county Surrey Area 78 km² | |
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Status Non-metropolitan district University Royal Holloway, University of London Points of interest Thorpe Park, Runnymede, Savill Garden, Virginia Water Lake, Colossus | ||
The Borough of Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in the English county of Surrey. It is a very prosperous part of the London commuter belt, with some of the most expensive housing in the United Kingdom outside of central London, such as the Wentworth Estate.
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Map of Runnymede District, UK
Runnymede is entirely unparished and is largely built-up, although with expanses of countryside. Places in the district include Addlestone, Egham, Egham Hythe, Chertsey, Thorpe, Virginia Water and Englefield Green.
The district is named after Runnymede, a water meadow on the banks of the River Thames near Egham. Runnymede is celebrated in connection with the signature of Magna Carta by King John in 1215, and is the site of several significant monuments.
The district was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of the Chertsey and Egham urban districts. Chertsey UD had been created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 consisting of all of the ancient parish of Chertsey, whilst Egham UD had been created by the same Act, and then had the parish of Thorpe added to it in 1933 after a County Review Order dissolved the Chertsey Rural District.
Adjacent boroughs include Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Elmbridge, Woking and Windsor and Maidenhead.
Served by the Waterloo to Reading Line and Chertsey Branch Line.
The M4 via M25 offers a very short journey into West London, Runnymede has junctions at Egham and Chertsey on the M25.
At the 2007 elections, the borough was a Conservative hold with 36 seats and the Runnymede Residents Association obtained 6 seats. This result was unchanged from the last election.
Twinning
Runnymede is twinned with Bergisch Gladbach, situated 10 miles east of Cologne; Herndon, Virginia, about 20 miles west of Washington, D.C.; and Joinville-le-Pont, located to the east of Paris.
Borough Council Committees
The budgetary strategy and political agenda are set by The Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council.
The role of the Mayor of Runnymede is to chair full council meetings and perform ceremonial duties.