North Somerset

North Somerset
Unitary authority
North Somerset within Somerset
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West England
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Admin HQ	Weston-super-Mare
Area first created	1 April 1974
Unitary status	1 April 1996
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Governing body	North Somerset Council
• MPs:	John Penrose C Liam Fox C
Area
• Total	144.66 sq mi (374.68 km2)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	219,145 (Ranked 86th)
Ethnicity (2021) [2]
• Ethnic groups	List 95.7% White 1.7% Mixed 1.5% Asian 0.6% other 0.5% Black
Religion (2021) [2]
• Religion	List 46.6% Christianity 45.3% no religion 7.5% other 0.6% Islam
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 code	GB-NSM
Website	n-somerset.gov.uk

North Somerset is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea and Portishead, along with a number of villages and surrounding rural areas. Some southern parts of the district fall within the Mendip Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The district was formed in 1974 as the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. Avon was abolished in 1996, when the district was renamed North Somerset and its council took on county-level functions from the abolished county council.

The district is on the coast, facing the Bristol Channel to the west. The neighbouring districts are Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and Somerset.