Rother District

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.

Rother District
Non-metropolitan district
Rother 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	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) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 95.6% White 1.8% Mixed 1.5% Asian 0.6% Black 0.5% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 50.9% Christianity 40.7% no religion 6.6% not stated 0.6% Islam 0.6% other 0.4% Buddhism 0.2% Hinduism 0.2% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	21UG (ONS) E07000064 (GSS)
OS grid reference	TQ7388508555

The neighbouring districts are Wealden, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, Folkestone and Hythe, and Hastings. Aside from its coast, Hastings is surrounded by Rother.

History

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]

• 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.^[3]
• Bexhill Municipal Borough was established by Royal Charter in 1902 and was based at Bexhill Town Hall, built for Bexhill Urban District Council in 1895.^[3]
• Rye Municipal Borough Council met at Rye Town Hall.^[3]

The new district was named Rother after the River Rother which flows through the district.^[4]

Governance

Rother District Council
Type
Type	District Council
Leadership
Chair	Andrew Mier, Liberal Democrat since 19 May 2025[5]
Leader	Doug Oliver, RAOIC since 22 May 2019[6]
Chief Executive	Lorna Ford since May 2023[7]
Structure
Seats	38 councillors
Political groups	Rother Alliance (24)   RAOIC (8)   Labour (8)   Liberal Democrat (7)   Green (3) Other parties (12)   Conservative (10)   Independents (2)
Elections
Voting system	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.gov.uk

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]

Political control

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

Leadership

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

Composition

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.^[21]

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

See also: Rother District Council elections

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.^[22]

Parishes

See also: List of civil parishes in East Sussex

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.^[23][24]

• Ashburnham
• Battle (town)
• Beckley
• Bexhill-on-Sea (town)
• Bodiam
• Brede
• Brightling
• Burwash
• Camber
• Catsfield
• Crowhurst
• Dallington
• East Guldeford
• Etchingham
• Ewhurst
• Fairlight
• Guestling
• Hurst Green
• Icklesham (includes Winchelsea and Rye Harbour)
• Iden
• Mountfield
• Northiam
• Peasmarsh
• Penhurst
• Pett
• Playden
• Rye (town)
• Rye Foreign
• Salehurst and Robertsbridge
• Sedlescombe
• Ticehurst
• Udimore
• Westfield
• Whatlington

Geography

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

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).^[25]

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[26]

Demographics

Rother has one of the oldest populations (with a median age of 52 years)^[27] and the lowest per capita income^[28] 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.^[29]

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 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.

Landmarks

Major landmarks include Bodiam and Camber Castles; and Battle Abbey.