A council is to change its district's name next week after saying no-one knew where it was.

Shepway District Council will be renamed Folkestone and Hythe District Council, at a cost of £10,000 as of Sunday (April 1).

The change was proposed by council leader David Monk and voted through at an extraordinary meeting in January.

Cllr Monk said: “I regularly meet people who, after 40 years, still have no idea where Shepway is and for many years businesses have been complaining about the relevance of our name.

“We needed a stronger geographical identity to support the district’s regeneration and reflect Folkestone’s growing international reputation – which benefits the whole district.

“The new name mirrors that of the parliamentary constituency and identifies the two main towns where nearly two-thirds of the population live.”

Shepway adopted the name in 1974 when it absorbed former borough and rural councils.

It included a merger of the boroughs of Folkestone, Hythe, Lydd and New Romney, along with Elham and Romney Marsh.

Cllr Monk continued: “"It is true that the district also includes Hawkinge, Romney, Walland and Denge Marsh and the North Downs but having a name that includes every area of the district is impractical and is not the case in the neighbouring councils of Ashford, Canterbury or Dover."

A spokesman for the council added the re-branding will come in phases to keep costs down.

She also explained changes will be made to the council’s logo, however the recognisable white horse emblem will remain.

“We have set aside a budget of £10,000 because we do not intend to do a ‘wide sweep’ and rebrand everything all in one go.

“We’ve made minor changes to our logo and our ‘white horse’ will remain immediately recognisable.

“However, people may still see our old name on signs, vehicle livery or letterheads because we’re changing these only on an ‘as and when’ basis - when they need replacing or run-out,” she said.

Residents’ direct debits to the council won’t need changing however, the email suffix will change to @folkestone-hythe.gov.uk rather than @shepway.gov.uk.

But as residents becomes familiar with the new name emails to the old address will still work.