{{Short description|Former non-metropolitan district in England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox settlement <!-- See {{Infobox settlement}} for the full list of available fields --> <!-- Elements common to United Kingdom --> | timezone = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]] | utc_offset = 0 | timezone_DST = [[British Summer Time|BST]] | utc_offset_DST = +1
<!-- Elements common to administrative division of this type (English two-tier district) --> | settlement_type = [[Non-metropolitan district]] | subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Sovereign state]] | subdivision_type1 = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Constituent country]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Regions of England|Region]] | subdivision_type3 = [[Non-metropolitan county]] | subdivision_type4 = Status | subdivision_type5 = Admin HQ | subdivision_name = [[United Kingdom]] | subdivision_name1 = [[England]] | subdivision_name4 = [[Non-metropolitan district]] | government_type = Non-metropolitan district council | leader_title = Leadership | established_title1 = Incorporated | population_density_km2 = auto | population_blank1_title = Ethnicity | blank1_name = [[ONS coding system|ONS code]] | blank2_name = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|OS grid reference]]
<!-- Elements unique to this article --> | official_name = Chiltern District | image_skyline = King George V House, King George V Road, Amersham.jpg | imagesize = | image_alt = | image_caption = King George V House, Amersham: Council headquarters, 1986-2020 | image_shield = | shield_size = | shield_alt = | shield_link = | image_map = Chiltern UK locator map.svg | mapsize = 150px | map_alt = | map_caption = Chiltern shown within Buckinghamshire | subdivision_name2 = [[South East England]] | subdivision_name3 = [[Buckinghamshire]] | subdivision_name5 = [[Amersham]] | established_date1 = 1 April 1974 | governing_body = Chiltern District Council | leader_name = Leader & Cabinet | area_total_km2 = 196.35 | population_total = {{formatnum:96985|R}} | population_as_of = 2025 | population_blank1 = 91.4% White<br />5.5% Asian<br />0.6% Black<br />2.2% Mixed Race<br />0.3% Other<br />(2011 Census)<ref>[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/rft---qs211ew-wm.xls 2011 Census: KS201EW Ethnic group, local authorities in England and Wales], Accessed 28 February 2013</ref> | blank1_info = 11UC (ONS)<br />E07000005 (GSS) | blank2_info = {{gbmappingsmall|SU965985}} | extinct_title = Abolished | extinct_date = 31 March 2020 }}
'''Chiltern District''' was a [[Non-metropolitan district|local government district]] of [[Buckinghamshire]] in south-central [[England]] from 1974 to 2020. It was named after the [[Chiltern Hills]] on which the region sits.
The two towns in the district were [[Amersham]], where the council was based, and [[Chesham]]. The district also included the villages of [[Chalfont St Peter]], [[Chalfont St Giles]], [[Little Chalfont]], [[Great Missenden]] and [[Prestwood]].
==History== {{see also|Chiltern District Council elections}} The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of [[Chesham Urban District]] and surrounding [[Amersham Rural District]], under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. In 1988 it was the first Council to take up [[stock transfer (housing)|stock transfer]].<ref name=LTF>{{cite web|title=Transfers - Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVT)|url=http://tenantshistory.leedstenants.org.uk/housingpolicy/transfers.htm|website=The Hidden History of Tenants|publisher=Leeds Tenants Federation|access-date=17 September 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070034/http://tenantshistory.leedstenants.org.uk/housingpolicy/transfers.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> 4,650 homes were transferred.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Hetherington |first=Peter |date=10 December 2008 |title=Voluntary transfer for social housing celebrates 10 years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/dec/10/housing-voluntary-transfer |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=17 September 2015}}</ref>
The district was abolished on 31 March 2020 and its area is now part of the unitary [[Buckinghamshire Council]].
==Parishes== The [[parish]]es that made up Chiltern District were:
* [[Amersham]] * [[Ashley Green]] * [[Chalfont St Giles]] * [[Chalfont St Peter]] * [[Chartridge]] * [[Chenies]] * [[Chesham]] * [[Chesham Bois]] * [[Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards]] * [[Coleshill, Buckinghamshire|Coleshill]] * [[Great Missenden]] * [[Latimer, Buckinghamshire|Latimer]] * [[Little Chalfont]] * [[Little Missenden]] * [[Penn, Buckinghamshire|Penn]] * [[Seer Green]] * [[The Lee]]
See also the [[list of civil parishes in Buckinghamshire]]
==Premises== Chiltern District Council was initially based at the former Amersham Rural District Council offices at Elmodesham House, 42 High Street, Amersham, with the former Chesham Urban District Council's offices at 80{{ndash}}82 The Broadway, High Street, Chesham serving as additional office space. In 1986 the council consolidated its offices into a purpose-built headquarters on King George V Road in Amersham, remaining there until its abolition in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=It's business as usual |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=24 April 2022 |work=Bucks Examiner |date=25 July 1986 |location=Chesham |page=4}}</ref>
== Transport == There were no motorways in Chiltern District, except for a very short section of the [[M25 motorway|M25]] in the south-eastern corner near Chalfont St Peter. The major roads through the district were the [[A413 road|A413]], running north-west towards [[Aylesbury]], and the [[A404 road|A404]], running west towards [[High Wycombe]]; both roads meet in Amersham.
Railway services were provided by [[Chiltern Railways]] and [[London Underground]]'s [[Metropolitan line]]. The [[Great Central Main Line]] carried traffic between London and Manchester until 1966; the section to [[Aylesbury railway station|Aylesbury]] is all that remains, and is now part of the [[London to Aylesbury Line]]. The railway stations in the district were [[Great Missenden railway station|Great Missenden]], [[Amersham station|Amersham]], [[Chalfont and Latimer]] and [[Chesham tube station|Chesham]], the furthest tube station from London.
==Law and order== Chiltern District fell within the Thames Valley Police area, with police stations in Amersham and Chesham.
Neighbourhood policing priorities were set on a quarterly cycle, at a public meeting. This was done in conjunction with Chiltern District Council's Community Safety Team and {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190508175124/https://www.chilterncommunityforum.org/ Chiltern Community Forum]}}, and in line with the obligation to consult laid down by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. In advance of the meeting, residents were invited to make their views and priorities known through a very short survey. Results from the survey were aggregated and presented at the meeting, and votes taken on the coming quarter's priorities.
The Magistrates' Court in Amersham was closed with its jurisdiction reassigned but reopened as a Crown Court dealing with either-way and more serious alleged offences.
==Home ownership and quality of rural life== The district had the highest proportion of [[owner-occupancy|home ownership]] of the 18 local authorities in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire: combining the social (housing association and local authority provided) and private rented sectors, Stevenage's returns recorded in 2011 that its rented sector comprised 33.2% of its housing, whereas 10.0% of Chiltern's residents rented their homes.
In May 2008, the district was assessed by [[Halifax (bank)|Halifax]] as having the best rural quality of life anywhere in Britain.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey |url=http://www.hbosplc.com/economy/includes/05_05_08RuralQOLUK.doc |work=[[Halifax (bank)|Halifax Estate Agents]] |publisher=[[HBOS|HBOS plc]] |date=5 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627171039/http://www.hbosplc.com/economy/includes/05_05_08RuralQOLUK.doc |archive-date=27 June 2008 |access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref><!-- could likely posit this is as this lender likes large loans and low default rate. Second source also welcomed for similar, but more independent, findings-->
{| class="wikitable" id="toc" |+'''Form of home ownership in Beds, Bucks and Herts compared'''<ref name="ons">[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |date=11 February 2003 }}[[Office for National Statistics]] 2011 Census Key Statistics: Tenure. Shared ownership forms the small remainder of each proportion.</ref> |- !Local Authority!!Owned!!Owned with a loan!!Socially rented!!Privately rented!!Other |- |Chiltern ||41.1||35.8|| 1.8||8.2||1 |- |South Bucks ||38.1 ||35.3 ||12.3 ||10||1.4 |- |St Albans ||34.6 ||38.2||8.5||12.6||1.1 |- |Three Rivers ||34.1 ||38.6 ||4.8|| 9.3||1 |- |Broxbourne ||32.6 ||40.4||2.9|| 10.4|| 0.8 |- |Wycombe ||32.3 ||37.4 ||8.5 ||13.1 ||1.4 |- |East Hertfordshire ||32.1 ||39.7||2||12.2 ||1.4 |- |Central Bedfordshire ||31.6 ||40.9 ||5.2||10.5||1.1 |- |Bedford ||31.4 ||34.3 ||1.8 ||14.6||1.3 |- |Hertsmere ||31.4 ||36.2 ||1.9 ||11.3||1.2 |- |Aylesbury Vale ||31.1 ||40.5||3.4|| 11.7|| 1.3 |- |North Hertfordshire ||30.3 ||35.3 ||7.1||12.1||1.1 |- |Dacorum ||29.1 ||35.7 ||17.4||10.9|| 0.9 |- |Welwyn Hatfield||26.5 ||30.8||19.9|| 12.7||1.3 |- |Luton ||25.1 ||35.1 ||10.7 ||21.3||1 |- |Watford ||24.4 ||37.2||4||18.9 ||0.8 |- |Stevenage ||22.2 ||36.1 ||22.8 ||10.4 ||0.7 |- |Milton Keynes ||21.5 ||36.3||11||16.2||0.9 |}
==Energy consumption== In May 2006, a report commissioned by [[Centrica|British Gas]]<ref>[http://www.britishgasnews.co.uk/managed_content/files/pdf/greenCity.pdf British Gas news] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626020736/http://www.britishgasnews.co.uk/managed_content/files/pdf/greenCity.pdf |date=2008-06-26 }}</ref> showed that housing in Chiltern produced the 4th highest average [[greenhouse gas emissions|carbon emissions]] in the country at 7,421 kg of [[carbon dioxide]] per dwelling.
==Coat of arms== {{Table to prose|section|date=October 2024}} {{Emblem table |name = Chiltern District Council |crest = On a Wreath Or and Gules out of a Circlet per pale Gules and Sable charged with six Plates three being manifest a Mount Vert thereon a Wyvern wings expanded Gules and gorged with a Ducal Coronet Or. |escutcheon = Or on a Mount in base with Chalk Outcrops two Beech Trees in fess their interior leaves merging proper a Chief chequy Argent and Sable. |motto = Freely We Serve |badge = On a Bezant environed of a Torse Or and Gules a Mount thereon two Beech Trees as in the arms. |notes = Granted 10 June 1975 <ref>{{cite web|url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/south_central.html#chiltern%20dc |title= CHILTERN DISTRICT COUNCIL (BUCKINGHAMSHIRE) |publisher=Robert Young |access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref>}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Chiltern District|Chiltern}} *[http://www.bucksinfo.net/search/search?q=chiltern List of organisations within the district]
{{Chiltern}} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|51.6606|N|0.6409|W|source:dewiki_region:GB-BKM_type:landmark|format=dms|display=title}}
[[Category:Chiltern District| ]] [[Category:Former non-metropolitan districts of Buckinghamshire]] [[Category:Districts of England established in 1974]] [[Category:2020 disestablishments in England]]