City status in the United Kingdom council areas and have their own city councils. The cities of Perth, Stirling and Inverness are part of council areas which do not have city status, and have no city councils. Stirling Council's application for city status was specifically for the urban area of the (now former) Royal Burgh of Stirling and included proposed city boundaries which are much smaller than Stirling council area. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are principal areas and have city councils. The city councils of Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids are community councils with limited powers. Belfast City Council is a local government district council.
City status in the United Kingdom three had been cities since time immemorial before the loss of city status. Charters originated as charters of incorporation, allowing a town to become an incorporated borough, or to hold markets. Some of these charters recognised officially that the town involved was a city. Apart from that recognition, it became accepted that such a charter could make a town into a city. The formal definition of a city has been disputed, in particular by inhabitants of towns that have been regarded as cities in the past such as Colchester and Dunfermline but are not generally considered cities today. Additionally, although