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Coordinates: 50°59′56″N 0°12′43″E / 50.999, 0.212

Wealden District
—  Non-metropolitan district  —
Wealden UK locator map
Wealden shown within East Sussex
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region South East England
Non-metropolitan county East Sussex
Status Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ Crowborough, Hailsham
Incorporated 1 April 1974
Government
 • Type Non-metropolitan district council
 • Body Wealden District Council
 • Leadership Leader & Cabinet (Conservative)
 • MPs Norman Baker
Gregory Barker
Charles Hendry
Stephen Lloyd
Area
 • Total 322.4 sq mi (835.0 km2)
Area rank 42nd (of 326)
Population (2006 est.)
 • Total 149,400
 • Rank 125th (of 326)
 • Density 460/sq mi (180/km2)
 • Ethnicity 98.3% White
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
 • Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
ONS code 21UH (ONS)
E07000065 (GSS)
OS grid reference TQ5519524567
Website wealden.gov.uk

Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England: its name comes from the Weald, the area of high land that occupies the centre of its area.

History[]

Wealden District was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the Hailsham and Uckfield Rural District Councils (RDCs), both set up under the Local Government Act 1894, which also revived the parish councils. It is one of three Districts within the county and is the central one: the other two being Lewes to the west, and Rother to the east.

Governance[]

Crowborough Library and WDC

Council office and library in Crowborough.

Wealden District Council is elected every 4 years, with the Conservative party having had a majority on the council since the first election in 1973, apart from a couple of years after 1995 when no party had a majority. As of the last election in 2011 the council is composed of the following councillors:-[1]

Party Councillors
  Conservative Party 47
  Independent 5
  Liberal Democrats 3

The district is second-level in local government. There are 55 members of the Council, representing 35 wards.[2][3] The towns have more than one ward: Crowborough has five; Hailsham, three; Heathfield, two; Polegate, two; and Uckfield, four. The ward boundaries are regularly redrawn in an attempt to maintain a standard elector per councillor ratio throughout the district. The ward boundaries as at 2007 are:

Ward Population (2007) Councillors Ratio
Alfriston 2481 1 2481
Buxted and Maresfield 5052 2 2526
Chiddingly and East Hoathly 2934 1 2934
Cross in Hand/Five Ashes 2291 1 2291
Crowborough East 5202 2 2601
Crowborough Jarvis Brook 2698 1 2698
Crowborough North 5035 2 2517
Crowborough St. Johns 2262 1 2262
Crowborough West 4791 2 2395
Danehill/Fletching/Nutley 5003 2 2501
East Dean 2186 1 2186
Forest Row 5356 2 2678
Framfield 2611 1 2611
Frant/Withyham 4767 2 2383
Hailsham Central and North 5591 2 2795
Hailsham East 2769 1 2769
Hailsham South and West 8401 3 2800
Hartfield 2606 1 2606
Heathfield East 2349 1 2349
Heathfield North and Central 7832 3 2610
Hellingly 5117 2 2558
Herstmonceux 2826 1 2826
Horam 2583 1 2583
Mayfield 2615 1 2615
Ninfield and Hooe with Wartling 2362 1 2362
Pevensey and Westham 8981 3 2993
Polegate North 4811 2 2405
Polegate South 2245 1 2245
Rotherfield 2402 1 2402
Uckfield Central 2984 1 2984
Uckfield New Town 2604 1 2604
Uckfield North 5317 2 2658
Uckfield Ridgewood 2968 1 2968
Wadhurst 5085 2 2542
Willingdon 7121 3 2373
Total Wealden 142238 55 2586

The lowest level of local government is the civil parish. The parishes are formed on a geographical basis.

Those within the Wealden District are:[3][4]

Parish Type Area (sq mi) Population (2007) Pop Density /sq mi
Alciston Parish Meeting 2.7 146 53.7
Alfriston Parish Council 3.6 774 214.2
Arlington Parish Council 7.1 490 69.2
Berwick Parish Council 1.9 289 149.4
Buxted Parish Council 8.4 3145 376.4
Chalvington with Ripe Parish Council 4.3 1082 252.0
Chiddingly Parish Council 6.8 1006 147.9
Crowborough Town Council 5.2 19988 3812.1
Cuckmere Valley Parish Council 6.8 197 28.9
Danehill Parish Council 8.7 1927 220.3
East Dean and Friston Parish Council 3.3 1577 474.9
East Hoathly with Halland Parish Council 5.8 1343 229.9
Fletching Parish Council 9.9 1041 104.7
Forest Row Parish Council 12.6 5054 402.4
Framfield Parish Council 7.6 1855 243.3
Frant Parish Council 12.3 1367 110.9
Hadlow Down Parish Council 6.6 715 109.1
Hailsham Town Council 7.5 19836 2652.3
Hartfield Parish Council 16.2 2157 132.9
Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council 20.4 11514 564.5
Hellingly Parish Council 7.6 1552 205.1
Herstmonceux Parish Council 9.5 2598 272.8
Hooe Parish Council 3.9 446 115.4
Horam Parish Council 4.0 2583 643.3
Isfield Parish Council 3.0 564 190.7
Laughton Parish Council 7.3 585 79.7
Little Horsted Parish Meeting 4.1 168 40.8
Long Man Parish Council 6.2 412 66.2
Maresfield Parish Council 10.1 3246 319.9
Mayfield and Five Ashes Parish Council 16.4 3562 217.6
Ninfield Parish Council 4.1 1520 371.7
Pevensey Parish Council 6.8 3152 463.8
Polegate Town Council 2.8 8021 2853.6
Rotherfield Parish Council 17.8 3151 177.0
Selmeston Parish Meeting 2.6 190 73.1
Uckfield Town Council 2.9 13873 4810.0
Wadhurst Parish Council 15.5 4818 311.0
Warbleton Parish Council 11.2 1262 112.3
Wartling Parish Council 4.3 396 92.7
Westham Parish Council 5.5 5829 1066.9
Willingdon and Jevington Parish Council 4.1 6156 1511.3
Withyham Parish Council 14.2 2651 186.7
Total Wealden 321.7 142238 442.2

Geography[]

Wealden District covers two main upland areas: the section of the High Weald within East Sussex; and the eastern end of the South Downs, between which lies the Vale of Sussex. The River Ouse, some of the tributaries of which originate in the district, forms the border with the Lewes District; and the River Cuckmere is entirely within its boundaries. The south-western border is on the Pevensey Levels. Both flow into the English Channel. The River Rother rises on the Weald and flows easterly towards Rye Bay.

Transport[]

There are several main roads crossing the district. The major trunk road is the A22, London to Eastbourne; it is crossed by the A26 MaidstoneLewes road at Uckfield; and the A267 Tunbridge Wells to Eastbourne road. There are also three west-east roads: the A259 coastal route; next inland is the A27 Pevensey–Brighton trunk road; and further to the north the A272 cross-country route to Winchester.

The East Coastway Line, serving Eastbourne and Hastings, uses the Vale of Sussex. The only other railway line in the district is the Oxted Line branch terminating at Uckfield.

Long-distance footpaths include the South Downs Way; the Monarch's Way; the Sussex Border Path; and the Wealdway.

Landmarks[]

Major landmarks include Beachy Head, the Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Haven along the coast; and the Long Man of Wilmington together with various high points along the South Downs.

See also[]

  • List of current places of worship in Wealden
  • List of former places of worship in Wealden

References[]


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Wealden. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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