City Status in The United Kingdom - Large Towns

Large Towns

As noted above, in ordinary discourse, city can refer to any large settlement, with no fixed limit.

There are certain towns with large urban areas that could qualify for city status on the grounds of population size. Some have applied for city status and had the application turned down. Northampton is one of the most populous urban districts not to be a London Borough, metropolitan borough, unitary authority or city; on this basis, the council claims that it is the largest town in England.

The government-published "Key Statistics for Urban Areas 2001" show that the following are the ten largest urban areas in the United Kingdom not having a city as a component. The name shown is the largest town in the area:

• Bournemouth – 383,713
• Reading – 369,804
• Teesside – 365,323
• Birkenhead – 319,675
• Southend – 269,415
• Blackpool – 261,088
• Aldershot – 243,344
• Luton – 236,318
• Medway – 231,659 (The former city of Rochester is part of this area)
• Barnsley – 207,726

See List of urban areas in the United Kingdom for further examples.

The largest local authorities to have applied for city status in the recent competitions are:

• London Borough of Croydon – 330,587
• Metropolitan Borough of Wirral – 312,293
• Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster – 286,866
• Metropolitan Borough of Stockport – 284,528
• Metropolitan Borough of Bolton – 261,037
• Borough of Medway – 249,488
• London Borough of Southwark – 244,866
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets – 220,500
• London Borough of Greenwich – 214,403 (became a Royal Borough on 3 February 2012)
• Borough of Milton Keynes – 207,057
• Borough of Northampton – 194,458
• Borough of Warrington – 191,084
• Borough of Luton – 184,371
• Borough of Swindon – 180,051
• Borough of Telford and Wrekin – 161,600
• Borough of Southend-on-Sea – 159,600
• County Borough of Wrexham – 133,068
• Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham – 95,896 (borough abolished on 1 April 2009 in local government reforms)