North Somerset covers an area of 145 square miles
in the South West of England.
More than two thirds of the district is rural with the majority of
our 204,700 residents living in the main towns of
Weston-super-Mare, Portishead, Clevedon and Nailsea.
Our boundary stretches from the Severn Estuary and River Avon in
the north to the Mendip Hills in the south with our 27 miles of
coastline and areas of outstanding natural beauty making us a
significant draw for holidaymakers.
More than 5 million tourists visit us each year travelling down the
M5 motorway which links us to Bristol,
Birmingham, London and the rest of the UK.
Bristol International Airport also lies within our boundaries
which means we are open to visitors from Europe and the rest of the
world as well.
We are relatively prosperous area with low unemployment and where
36% of our earners commuting out of the area each day to
neighbouring towns and cities such as Bath and Bristol.
However, we also have significant pockets of deprivation with two
of our Weston wards falling within the most deprived in
England.
We have a comparatively elderly population with the over-60s
accounting for 25%, compared to the national average of 21%, of the
population.
Overall our population has doubled since the 1950s and is forecast
to grow by a further 8% over the next decade.
As an organisation, we are based at a variety of
locations across
the district.
For more detailed information about the district as a whole
please download our
North Somerset Profile. Or find out more
about the different areas of North Somerset in our
ward profiles.
