Rother District | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Non-metropolitan county | East Sussex |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Bexhill-on-Sea |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Rother District Council |
• Leadership | Leader and Cabinet |
• MPs | Kieran Mullan Helena Dollimore |
Area | |
• Total | 197.6 sq mi (511.8 km2) |
• Rank | 77th (of 296) |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 94,162 |
• Rank | 256th (of 296) |
• Density | 480/sq mi (180/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 21UG (ONS) E07000064 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TQ7388508555 |
Rother is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Bexhill-on-Sea. The district is named after the River Rother which flows within its boundaries.
The neighbouring districts are Wealden, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, Folkestone and Hythe, and Hastings. Aside from its coast, Hastings is surrounded by Rother.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: [2]
The new district was named Rother after the River Rother which flows through the district. [4]
Rother District Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Lorna Ford since May 2023 [7] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 38 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Town Hall, London Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN39 3JX | |
Website | |
www |
Rother District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by East Sussex County Council. [8] The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [9]
The council has been under no overall control since the 2019 election, being led by a coalition called the 'Rother Alliance' comprising Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens and some of the independent councillors. [10] The independents in the Rother Alliance formed a local political party in January 2023 called the 'Rother Association of Independent Councillors' (RAOIC). [11]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [12] [13]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Independent | 1974–1979 | |
No overall control | 1979–1983 | |
Conservative | 1983–1991 | |
No overall control | 1991–1999 | |
Conservative | 1999–2019 | |
No overall control | 2019–present |
The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ivor Brampton [14] [15] | Conservative | 1999 | 17 Jan 2001 | |
Graham Gubby [16] | Conservative | 2001 | May 2007 | |
Carl Maynard [17] [18] | Conservative | 23 May 2007 | 22 May 2019 | |
Doug Oliver [19] [11] | Independent | 22 May 2019 | 31 Jan 2023 | |
RAOIC | 31 Jan 2023 |
Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: [20]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 10 | |
Rother Association of Independent Councillors | 8 | |
Labour | 8 | |
Liberal Democrats | 7 | |
Green | 3 | |
Independent | 2 | |
Total | 38 |
The next election is due in 2027.
The council is based at Bexhill Town Hall on London Road in Bexhill, which was built in 1895 for the Bexhill Urban District Council, which became Bexhill Borough Council in 1902. The building continued to serve as the seat of local government following the reorganisation in 1974 which created Rother District.
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 38 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years. [21]
The lowest level of local government is the civil parish; there are 34 within Rother. The parish councils for the three parishes of Battle, Bexhill-on-Sea and Rye take the style "town council". The two parishes of Ashburnham and Penhurst share a grouped parish council. The parish of East Guldeford has a parish meeting rather than a parish council due to its small population. [22] [23]
Rother District covers two areas of relief: to the south, a section of the High Weald; and to the north the lower land, named the Rother Levels, across which flow the River Rother, which rises on the Weald and flows easterly towards Rye Bay, and its tributaries. For much of the course of the main river it constitutes the boundary between East Sussex and Kent, and is given the alternative title of the ’’Kent Ditch’’. Tributaries of the river include the Rivers Dudwell, Tillingham and Brede.
The district reaches the coast in the vicinity of Bexhill, and on the shores of Rye Bay.
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate). [24]
Climate data for Rother, UK | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8 (46) | 8 (46) | 11 (52) | 13 (55) | 17 (63) | 19 (66) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 18 (64) | 14 (57) | 10 (50) | 7 (45) | 14 (57) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1 (34) | 1 (34) | 3 (37) | 4 (39) | 6 (43) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 11 (52) | 9 (48) | 6 (43) | 3 (37) | 1 (34) | 6 (43) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 43 (1.7) | 30 (1.2) | 28 (1.1) | 43 (1.7) | 28 (1.1) | 41 (1.6) | 89 (3.5) | 38 (1.5) | 61 (2.4) | 48 (1.9) | 43 (1.7) | 66 (2.6) | 550 (21.8) |
Average precipitation days | 21 | 19 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 232 |
Source: Weatherbase [25] |
Rother has one of the oldest populations (with a median age of 52 years) [26] and the lowest per capita income [27] in the UK. A study using 2011 census data found that 47% of the resident population lived in urban areas, 23% in rural towns and their fringes, and 29% in rural villages or dispersed. [28]
There are several main roads crossing the district. The major trunk road is the A21, London to Hastings road; it is joined by the A28 road from Ashford road near Hastings; which in turn is crossed by the A268 Hawkhurst to Rye road. There is also the A259 coastal route
The Hastings Line, East Coastway Line and the Marshlink Line are the three railway lines in the District; The Kent and East Sussex Railway tourist line terminates at Bodiam.
Long-distance footpaths include the Sussex Border Path; and the Saxon Shore Way, which links with the 1066 Country Walk.
Major landmarks include Bodiam and Camber Castles; and Battle Abbey.
East Sussex is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the northeast, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the northwest, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Brighton and Hove, and the county town is Lewes.
Bexhill-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings and Eastbourne.
Battle is a town and civil parish in the district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies 50 miles (80 km) south-east of London, 27 miles (43 km) east of Brighton and 20 miles (32 km) east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Battle is in the designated High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish population was 6,673 according to the 2011 Census and 6,800 in the 2021 census. Battle contains the site of, and is named after, the Battle of Hastings, where William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II to become William I of England in 1066. For some 250 years after 1066, official documents referred to the town as (Latin) Bellum or (French) Bataille.
Bexhill and Battle is a constituency in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Kieran Mullan of the Conservative Party.
Hastings and Rye is a constituency in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Helena Dollimore of the Labour and Co-operative Party.
Peasmarsh is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in the county of East Sussex in England. It is located on the A268 road between Rye and Beckley, some 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Rye.
Crowhurst is an isolated village situated five miles (8 km) north-west of Hastings in East Sussex. It has a parish council and is located within the Rother District Council.
Ashburnham is a civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, situated to the west of Battle. It includes the settlements of Brownbread Street and Ponts Green; Ashburnham Forge is also within the parish. Ashburnham shares a parish council with the neighbouring parish of Penhurst.
Beckley is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located on the B2088 minor road above the Rother Levels five miles (8 km) northwest of Rye and ten miles (16 km) from Hastings. The northern border follows the river Rother.
Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother. The A28 road to Canterbury and Hastings passes through it.
Penhurst is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located on the Weald, 4 miles (7km) west of Battle. The parish borders Ashburnham, Battle, Brightling and Catsfield, and shares a parish council with Ashburnham.
Whatlington is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is seven miles (11 km) north of Hastings, just off the A21 road.
The 1999 Rother District Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.
The 2003 Rother District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by 7. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2007 Rother District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2015 Rother District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2023 Rother District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. This would be on the same day as other local elections in England.