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 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 the cliffs known as the Seven Sisters.
The neighbouring districts are Eastbourne, Lewes, Mid Sussex, Tandridge, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Rother.
History 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: Hailsham Rural District Uckfield Rural District The new district was named Wealden after the landscape and woodland.
Local government reorganisation is being considered for the area. In July 2026, the government announced reforms across East Sussex which included abolishing Wealden district and creating an East Sussex unitary authority covering most of the county council's current area. In September 2026 these proposals were paused for further review.
Governance
Wealden District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by East Sussex County Council. The whole district 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.
Political control The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats and Greens. The two Labour councillors subsequently joined the coalition in November 2024.
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: (Put "Wealden" in search box to see specific results.) Party in control Years 1974–1995 1995–1997 1997–2023 2023–present
Leadership The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:
Councillor Party From To Rupert Thornely-Taylor 1999 May 2003 Nigel Coltman 21 May 2003 May 2007 Pam Doodes 23 May 2007 May 2010 Bob Standley 19 May 2010 May 2022 Ann Newton 18 May 2022 May 2023 James Partridge 24 May 2023 15 May 2024 Rachel Millward 15 May 2024 14 May 2025 James Partridge 14 May 2025 14 May 2026 Rachel Millward 14 May 2026
Composition Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2026, the composition of the council was:
The Liberal Democrats, Greens and Labour 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 one does not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2027.
Premises The council is based at the Council Offices on Vicarage Lane in Hailsham. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1982.
When created in 1974 the council inherited two main offices from its predecessors: Cortlandt, 18 George Street, Hailsham, an eighteenth century house which had been bought by Hailsham Rural District Council in 1932. Starfield, Beacon Road, Crowborough, formerly the home and observatory of astronomer Isaac Roberts, which had been bought by Uckfield Rural District Council in 1928.
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 the Hailsham building and sold the Crowborough building to Crowborough Town Council in 2016.
Elections
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.
WardPopulation(2021 Census)Arlington2,963Buxted3,892Chiddingly, East Hoathly and Waldron3,309Crowborough Central4,125Crowborough Jarvis Brook4,305Crowborough North3,286Crowborough South East3,804Crowborough South West3,237Crowborough St. Johns2,935Danehill & Fletching3,886Forest Row4,135Framfield & Cross-in-Hand3,243Frant & Wadhurst (2 seats)6,941Hadlow Down & Rotherfield3,257Hailsham Central3,545Hailsham East4,785Hailsham East4,785Hailsham North2,914Hailsham North West3,738Hailsham South3,327Hailsham West4,232Hartfield3,284Heathfield North3,913Heathfield South4,163Hellingly5,011Herstmonceux & Pevensey Levels (2 seats)6,931Horam & Punnetts Town (2 seats)6,902Lower Willingdon3,314Maresfield 3,659Mayfield & Five Ashes3,654Pevensey Bay2,890Polegate Central5,107Polegate North3,868Polegate South & Willingdon Watermill3,450South Downs2,977Stone Cross3,685Uckfield East3,225Uckfield New Town (2 seats)5,744Uckfield North3,131Uckfield Ridgewood & Little Horsted3,152Upper Willingdon3,266Withyham2,956Total Wealden160,151
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 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 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 has been opposed by environmental groups, due to concerns over sustainability, safety and economic viability.
At the 2011 census the district had the highest proportion of home ownership of the 37 local authorities in Surrey, Sussex and Kent.Office for National Statistics 2011 Census Key Statistics: Tenure
Towns and parishes 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 a parish meeting rather than a parish council. Parish Type Area(sq mi) Population(2007) Pop. density(/sq mi)AlcistonParish Meeting2.714653.7AlfristonParish Council3.6774214.2ArlingtonParish Council7.149069.2BerwickParish Council1.9289149.4BuxtedParish Council8.43145376.4Chalvington with RipeParish Council4.31082252.0ChiddinglyParish Council6.81006147.9CrowboroughTown Council5.2199883812.1Cuckmere ValleyParish Council6.819728.9DanehillParish Council8.71927220.3East Dean and FristonParish Council3.31577474.9East Hoathly with HallandParish Council5.81343229.9FletchingParish Council9.91041104.7Forest RowParish Council12.65054402.4FramfieldParish Council7.61855243.3FrantParish Council12.31367110.9Hadlow DownParish Council6.6715109.1HailshamTown Council7.5198362652.3HartfieldParish Council16.22157132.9Heathfield and WaldronParish Council20.411514564.5HellinglyParish Council7.61552205.1HerstmonceuxParish Council9.52598272.8HooeParish Council3.9446115.4HoramParish Council4.02583643.3IsfieldParish Council3.0564190.7LaughtonParish Council7.358579.7Little HorstedParish Meeting4.116840.8Long ManParish Council6.241266.2MaresfieldParish Council10.13246319.9Mayfield and Five AshesParish Council16.43562217.6NinfieldParish Council4.11520371.7PevenseyParish Council6.83152463.8PolegateTown Council2.880212853.6RotherfieldParish Council17.83151177.0SelmestonParish Meeting2.619073.1UckfieldTown Council2.9138734810.0WadhurstParish Council15.54818311.0WarbletonParish Council11.21262112.3WartlingParish Council4.339692.7WesthamParish Council5.558291066.9Willingdon and JevingtonParish Council4.161561511.3WithyhamParish Council14.22651186.7Total Wealden 321.7142238442.2
Transport 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 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.
Bus service is provided by Wealdlink.
Wealden is crossed by a number of National Cycle Network routes:
Route 2 (South Coast Cycle Route)
Route 21 (London to Eastbourne) which makes use of the Forest Way and Cuckoo Trail paths along disused railway lines
Long-distance footpaths include the South Downs Way, the Monarch's Way, the Sussex Border Path and the Wealdway.
Media Wealden is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian broadcasting from the Heathfield TV transmitter which is situated near Heathfield.
Radio stations for the area are: BBC Radio Sussex Heart South Ashdown Radio (serving Uckfield and Crowborough) Seahaven FM (covering Polegate) More Radio Eastbourne (covering Hailsham)
Landmarks 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 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.Scheduled monument:
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.
See also List of current places of worship in Wealden List of former places of worship in Wealden
References