Broadstairs Castle, formerly part of the estate of Lord Holland but now converted into private residences. Broadstairs has a very mild maritime climate. The town is situated from both Dover and Canterbury, and about from the M25, London's orbital motorway. The town is also served by Southeastern train services to/from London, via either North Kent and Medway or Canterbury and High Speed 1. It is unusual in that trains to London can run either way through the station. As a seaside resort, the economy is mainly based around tourism; there are hotels and guest houses on and near the seafront to
Broadstairs far the most effective of the RNLI craft stationed there. Broadstairs' lifeboats were further supported by a fund established in the 1860s by Sir Charles Reed FSA. Broadstairs is within the Thanet local government district. The town contains the five electoral wards of Bradstowe, St Peter's, Beacon Road, Viking and Kingsgate. These wards have eleven of the fifty six seats on the Thanet District Council. At the 2007 local elections, all eleven of those seats were held by the Conservative Party. Broadstairs and St Peter's Town Council has 15 members, who are elected every four years, led by the mayor.