West Berkshire - Definition and Overview

West Berkshire District
Geography
Status:	Unitary, District
Region:	South East England
Ceremonial County:	Berkshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 55th 704.17 km²
Admin. HQ:	Newbury
ONS code:	00MB
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 114th 143,965 204 / km²
Ethnicity:	97.4% White
Politics
West Berkshire Council http://www.westberks.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Liberal Democrats
MPs:	John Redwood, David Rendel, Martin Salter

West Berkshire is an local government district in Berkshire, South East England, governed by a unitary authority (West Bershire Council). Its administrative capital is Newbury and it is approximately coterminous with the parliamentary constituency of Newbury.

Apart from Newbury, other places in the district include Hungerford and Thatcham.

Until April 1, 1998, Newbury District Council and Berkshire County Council were responsible for the region at local government level. On April 1, 1998, Bershire County Council was abolished and Newbury District Council changed its name to West Berkshire Council and took on the former County Council's responsibilities.