Rother District
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Rother is a
local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
in
East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
, England. Its council is based in
Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) 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, England, Hastings ...
. The district is named after the River Rother which flows within its boundaries. The neighbouring districts are Wealden,
Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
, Ashford, Folkestone and Hythe, and
Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
. Aside from its coast, Hastings is surrounded by Rother.


History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. It covered the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: * Battle Rural District was established in 1934 from a merger of Battle Urban District Council with the rural district councils of Battle, Hastings, Rye and Ticehurst. The council was based at Watch Oak on Chain Lane, Battle. * Bexhill
Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...
was established by Royal Charter in 1902 and was based at Bexhill Town Hall, built for Bexhill Urban District Council in 1895. *
Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
Municipal Borough Coucil met at Rye Town Hall. The new district was named Rother after the River Rother which flows through the district.


Governance

Rother District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by
East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove. East ...
. The whole district is also covered by
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es, which form a third tier of local government.


Political control

The council has been under
no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...
since the 2019 election, being led by a coalition called the 'Rother Alliance' comprising Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens and some of the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
councillors. The independents in the Rother Alliance formed a local political party in January 2023 called the 'Rother Association of Independent Councillors' (RAOIC). 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: (Put "Rother" in search box to see specific results.)


Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:


Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027.


Premises

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.


Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 38
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.


Parishes

The lowest level of local government is the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
; 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 A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...
rather than a parish council due to its small population. * Ashburnham *
Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
(town) * Beckley *
Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) 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, England, Hastings ...
(town) *
Bodiam Bodiam () is a small village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It lies in the valley of the River Rother, near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green. Geography South of the village of Bodiam and exte ...
* Brede *
Brightling Brightling is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located on the Weald north-west of Battle and west of Robertsbridge. The village lies in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty a ...
* Burwash * Camber * Catsfield * Crowhurst * Dallington * East Guldeford * Etchingham * Ewhurst * Fairlight * Guestling * Hurst Green * Icklesham (includes
Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...
and Rye Harbour) *
Iden Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a Trunked radio system, trunked radio and a mobile phone, cellular telephone. It was called ...
* Mountfield *
Northiam Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother, East Sussex, River Rother. The A28 road to Ashford, Kent, Ashford ...
* Peasmarsh * Penhurst * Pett * Playden *
Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
(town) * Rye Foreign * Salehurst and Robertsbridge * Sedlescombe * Ticehurst * Udimore * Westfield *
Whatlington Whatlington is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is north of Hastings, just off the A21 road (England), A21 road. The village is in two parts, one in the valley on the road ...


Geography

Rother District covers two areas of relief: to the south, a section of the High
Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...
; 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 East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
and
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, 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

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. The
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/
Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
).


Demographics

Rother has one of the oldest populations (with a median age of 52 years) and the lowest per capita income 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.


Transport

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 Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding N ...
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 The Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) refers to both a historical private railway company in Kent and East Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company. The railway runs b ...
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 The 1066 Country Walk is a waymarked long-distance footpath or recreational walk in Southern England, United Kingdom. Length of the route The 1066 Country Walk runs for . The route The route commemorates 1066, the year of the Battle of ...
.


Landmarks

Major landmarks include
Bodiam Bodiam () is a small village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It lies in the valley of the River Rother, near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green. Geography South of the village of Bodiam and exte ...
and Camber Castles; and Battle Abbey.


References

{{Coord, 50, 50, 59.24, N, 0, 28, 13.81, E, display=title, region:GB_type:adm3rd Non-metropolitan districts of East Sussex