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27-558: Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex , England. Its council is based in Hailsham , the district's second largest town. The district also includes the towns of Crowborough , Polegate and Uckfield , along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The district's name comes from the Weald , the landscape and ancient woodland which occupies much of the centre and north of

54-511: A Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, a Ramsar site and a Special Area of Conservation . An area of 183.5 hectares (453 acres) is a national nature reserve and an area of 150 hectares (370 acres) is a nature reserve called Pevensey Marshes which is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust . This is a large area of wetland grazing meadows intersected by a network of ditches. It has many nationally rare invertebrates. It may be

81-806: A parish meeting rather than a parish council. The major trunk road is the A22 , London to Eastbourne; it is crossed by the A26 Maidstone – Lewes 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

108-434: A borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them the right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues

135-502: A coalition of the Liberal Democrats and Greens . The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 2001 have been: Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2024,

162-425: A district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have a two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with

189-457: A style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system

216-486: A type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially shire counties ) in a two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs , able to appoint a mayor and refer to itself as a borough council. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically

243-399: A unitary authority or those that transferred from one county to another, including those that changed name. Nor does it include unitary authorities that have been abolished ( Bournemouth and Poole ). Pevensey Levels Pevensey Levels is a 3,603.2-hectare (8,904-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Bexhill-on-Sea and Hailsham in East Sussex . It is

270-571: Is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. In the parts of the district within the South Downs National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the South Downs National Park Authority . The district council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 27-person National Park Authority. The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by

297-465: Is required to achieve these objectives, which has been opposed by environmental groups. At the 2011 census the district had the highest proportion of home ownership of the 37 local authorities in Surrey, Sussex and Kent. This district is entirely divided into civil parishes . The parish councils for Crowborough, Hailsham, Polegate and Uckfield take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have

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324-806: Is the terminus of the Bluebell Railway , a heritage, steam railway line. A late medieval castle construction, moated Herstmonceux Castle , was begun in 1440. It is open to visitors and there are organised tours on a few summer days. The north of the district includes Ashdown Forest , which provided the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood in the Winnie the Pooh stories by A. A. Milne , who lived in Hartfield. Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are

351-584: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with

378-543: The Forest Way and Cuckoo Trail paths along disused railway lines https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-21/ Long-distance footpaths include the: South Downs Way Monarch's Way Sussex Border Path Wealdway . Wealden is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian broadcasting from the Heathfield TV transmitter which is situated near Heathfield . Radio stations for

405-777: The South Downs , between which lies the Vale of Sussex, the lowlands of which are named the Pevensey Levels . The River Ouse , some of the tributaries of which originate in the district, is the border with the Lewes District ; and the River Cuckmere is wholly in Wealden. The district's coastline to the English Channel to the south is interrupted by Eastbourne . The River Rother rises on

432-621: The Hailsham building and sold the Crowborough building to Crowborough Town Council in 2016. Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 45 councillors representing 41 wards , with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years. Wealden District covers two main upland areas: the section of the High Weald within East Sussex; and the eastern end of

459-592: The Vale of Sussex and has two station serving different sides of Pevensey in the district, which forms a generally suburban conurbation with Westham and a largely rural holiday and visitor coastline, Pevensey Bay . The other railway line is the Uckfield Branch Line from London Bridge. Wealden is crossed by a number of National Cycle Network routes: Route 2 (South Coast Cycle Route) https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-2/ Route 21 (London to Eastbourne) which makes use of

486-449: The Weald and flows easterly to the east of Rye Bay. The Wealden basin contains significant reserves of shale oil, totalling 4.4 billion barrels of oil in Wealden and surrounding areas according to a 2014 study, which then Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and significantly help with UK energy self-sufficiency. Fracking in the area

513-692: The area are: Major landmarks include the Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Haven along the coast; and the Long Man of Wilmington together with all of the paths over the South Downs National Park . Roman fortified hills can be found in the north of the area and Uckfield has a large architectural conservation area . Sheffield Park Garden is an informal landscape garden now owned by the National Trust but laid out by Capability Brown . Near to this

540-466: The area. Much of the district's landscape is recognised for its beauty; the south of the district includes part of the South Downs National Park , and the north of the district includes part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The district has two sections of coastline, lying east and west of the neighbouring authority of Eastbourne , with the western section of coastline including

567-449: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by

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594-621: The cliffs known as the Seven Sisters . The neighbouring districts are Eastbourne, Lewes , Mid Sussex , Tandridge , Sevenoaks , Tunbridge Wells and Rother . The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . It covered the area of two former districts, which were both abolished at the same time: The new district was named Wealden after the landscape and woodland. Wealden District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by East Sussex County Council . The whole district

621-484: The composition of the council was: The Liberal Democrats and Greens sit together as the "Alliance for Wealden" group, which forms the council's administration. Of the independent councillors, five sit as the "Independent Group", four form the "Independent Democrats" and two do not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2027. The council is based at the Council Offices on Vicarage Lane in Hailsham. The building

648-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming

675-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since

702-611: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in

729-500: Was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1982. When created in 1974 the council inherited two main offices from its predecessors: The council's staff were initially divided between the two buildings. The council moved its Hailsham office from Cortlandt to the new Council Offices on Vicarage Lane in 1982. The Crowborough office moved to a new building on Pine Grove in 1988, with Starfield subsequently being redeveloped for housing. The council subsequently consolidated its offices at

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