Rother District

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

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]

• Battle Rural District
• Bexhill Municipal Borough
• Rye Municipal Borough

The new district was named Rother after the River Rother which flows through the district.^[3]

Rother District Council
Type
Type	District Council
Leadership
Chair	Richard Thomas, Liberal Democrat since 20 May 2024[4]
Leader	Doug Oliver, RAOIC since 22 May 2019[5]
Chief Executive	Lorna Ford since May 2023[6]
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.^[7] The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[8]

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.^[9] The independents in the Rother Alliance formed a local political party in January 2023 called the 'Rother Association of Independent Councillors' (RAOIC).^[10]

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:^[11][12]

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:^[13]

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:^[17]

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.^[18]

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.^[19][20]

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).^[21]

Rother has one of the oldest populations (with a median age of 52 years)^[23] and the lowest per capita income^[24] in the UK.

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.

50°50′59.24″N 0°28′13.81″E / 50.8497889°N 0.4705028°E / 50.8497889; 0.4705028