Maldon District | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | England |
Region | East of England |
Non-metropolitan county | Essex |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Maldon |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Maldon District Council |
• MPs | Priti Patel John Whittingdale |
Area | |
• Total | 138.53 sq mi (358.78 km2) |
• Rank | 112th (of 314) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 66,208 |
• Rank | 296th (of 314) |
• Density | 480/sq mi (180/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 96.9% White 1.1% S.Asian 2.0% Other |
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 22UK (ONS) E07000074 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TL848070 |
Maldon District Council | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Richard Siddall, Maldon Independents since 8 June 2023 | |
Richard Holmes since August 2018 [2] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 31 |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Council Offices, Princes Road, Maldon, CM9 5DL | |
Website | |
www |
Maldon District is a local government district [3] [4] in Essex, England. The council is based in the town of Maldon, after which the district is named. The district also includes the town of Burnham-on-Crouch and numerous villages, including Heybridge, Wickham Bishops, Southminster, Tolleshunt D'Arcy and Tollesbury. The district covers the Dengie peninsula in the south, as well as the Thurstable Hundred area to the north of the Blackwater Estuary, a total area of 358.78 km2. [5]
The majority of people live in the small rural villages, many of which have their origins in connections with the coast or agricultural economy. The district has a long association with sailing, as is referenced in the council's logo.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: [6]
The new district was named Maldon after its largest town. [7]
Maldon district is a non-metropolitan district, with Maldon District Council forming the middle layer of a three-tier structure of local government. Above the district level, Essex County Council provides county-level services. At the lower level the district is divided into civil parishes. [8]
The council has been under no overall control since 2020. The council remained under no overall control following the 2023 election.
The first election to Maldon District 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: [9]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
No overall control | 1974–1976 | |
Conservative | 1976–1983 | |
No overall control | 1983–1999 | |
Conservative | 1999–2020 | |
No overall control | 2020–present |
The leaders of the council since 2006 have been: [10]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Cheshire | Conservative | 2006 | 2008 | |
Penny Channer | Conservative | 15 May 2008 | 19 May 2011 | |
John Archer [11] | Conservative | 19 May 2011 | 10 May 2012 | |
Bob Boyce | Conservative | 10 May 2012 | 21 May 2015 | |
Miriam Lewis | Conservative | 21 May 2015 | 11 May 2017 | |
Mark Durham | Conservative | 11 May 2017 | 9 Aug 2018 | |
Adrian Fluker | Conservative | 9 Aug 2018 | 17 Aug 2020 | |
Elaine Bamford | Conservative | 1 Oct 2020 | 5 Nov 2020 | |
Wendy Stamp | Independent | 5 Nov 2020 | 11 Nov 2021 | |
Penny Channer | Conservative | 18 Jan 2022 | 7 May 2023 | |
Richard Siddall | Maldon Independents | 8 Jun 2023 |
Former leader of Maldon district council John Smith, who led the council between 1991 and 1993, was killed along with two family members while he commanded a light aircraft flight from Oban bound for Andrewsfield, Essex on 9 April 2007. [12] [13]
Following the 2023 election and one subsequent change of allegiance in June 2023, the composition of the council was: [14]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 9 | |
Independent | 9 | |
Liberal Democrats | 6 | |
Maldon District Independent Group | 6 | |
Labour | 1 | |
Total | 31 |
Of the independent councillors, six form the "District Support Group" and the other three do not belong to a group. [15] The next election is due in 2027.
The council is based at the Council Offices on Princes Road in Maldon. [16] The original building was previously an orphanage called "The Retreat", which had been purchased in 1939 by the Maldon Rural District Council for £4,500. [17] Large extensions were added in the 1980s to the north and south of the original building.
Since the last boundary changes in 2003, the council has comprised 31 councillors elected from 17 wards. Elections are held every four years. [18]
The area is part of the parliamentary constituency of Maldon.
The first evidence of a settlement to the north of Maldon at Elms Farm is from the Middle Bronze Age 3500 years ago. From 500 BC onwards the red hills of the Crouch and Blackwater show us that there was a continuous and extensive activity in the salt making which still prospers today.
Later, during the Iron Age, about 100 BC, there was a port, set among the marshlands at the junction of the Blackwater and Chelmer rivers. This settlement may have been of regional religious significance, and there is evidence that it traded luxury goods with Europe.
Elms Farm continued as a port and market place but was clearly superseded in importance by Colchester in the 1st century AD, when Colchester became the first capital of the Roman administration.
The Romans founded Othona in the 3rd century. It was a Saxon Shore fort at the mouth of the Blackwater, built to protect the estuary from Saxon pirates. It was here in 654 AD that St Cedd founded the church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the oldest church in England to retain much of its original fabric.
In 664 AD St Cedd attended the Synod of Whitby which merged the Anglo-Celtic Church with the Church of Rome. Recent changes in the coastline have revealed the remains of extensive Saxon 5-7th century fish traps. The Church stands today overlooking the North Sea from whence came further invaders in the 10th century - the Danes.
In 912 AD and 914 AD King Edward the Elder camped at Maldon to organise defences in the desperate fight against the Danes. In 917 AD the Saxons were defeated at Colchester and besieged at Maldon, but eventually, the Danes were defeated.
In 991 AD there was a major battle between the pillaging Danes led by Olaf Trygvassen who had already attacked Ipswich, and Earl Byrhtnoth’s men who were defending Maldon on the instruction of the Saxon King Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth was in his sixties. The battle was recorded in a poem which is regarded as one of the finest examples of early English literature.
The famous Battle of Maldon took place beside the River Blackwater on 10 August 991, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. The Anglo-Saxons, led by Byrhtnoth and his thegns, fought against a Viking invasion, a battle which ended in defeat for the Anglo-Saxons.
The district is in the east of Essex ( 51°41′N0°45′E / 51.683°N 0.750°E ). Most of the district is the Dengie peninsula. Still, a significant area is also the area above the Blackwater Estuary, bounded by the River Blackwater to the west until near Kelvedon, the boundary then continues south of Tiptree to the Salcott inlet on the Blackwater Estuary. There are very few settlements on the boundary of the district with the North Sea, in contrast with other coastal districts of Essex, due to the Dengie Marshes.
The district has a rural character ranging from the tidal salt marshes to farmland and rolling wooded ridges. A network of country lanes provides access to the countryside from the towns and villages. A remote area of tidal mud-flats and saltmarshes at the eastern end of the Dengie peninsula forms the Dengie Special Protection Area. The River Blackwater and River Crouch are of international importance for nature conservation particularly for their extensive population of wildfowl and waders.
The district is divided into 34 civil parishes. The parish councils of Burnham-on-Crouch and Maldon take the style of "Town Council". Some of the parishes share grouped parish councils, such that there are 31 parish councils. The parishes are: [19]
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The Battle of Maldon took place on 11 August 991 AD near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion. The battle ended in an Anglo-Saxon defeat. After the battle Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces advised King Æthelred to buy off the Vikings rather than continue the armed struggle. The result was a payment of Danegeld of 10,000 Roman pounds (3,300 kg) of silver.
Maldon is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced in the area.
Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting.
The River Blackwater is a river in Hampshire, England. It rises as the River Pant in the northwest of the county, just east of Saffron Walden, and flows in a generally southeast direction to Bocking, near Braintree, via Great Sampford and Great Bardfield. At Bocking, it becomes the River Blackwater, and veers east to flow past Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall. It then veers south, flowing past Kelvedon and Witham, before reaching Maldon. There, it veers east again and empties into the Blackwater Estuary, which in turn meets the North Sea at Mersea Island.
Wickham Bishops is a village and civil parish in the Maldon district of Essex, England. It is located around three miles north of the town of Maldon and around two miles south-east of Witham, in whose post town it lies.
Tillingham is a small village and civil parish with 1,015 inhabitants in 2001, increasing to 1,058 at the 2011 Census, located 8 miles (13 km) from Burnham-on-Crouch and 3 miles (4.8 km) from Bradwell-on-Sea, in Maldon District and the ceremonial county of Essex in England. It is one of the villages that make up the ancient Dengie Hundred, which is bounded by the River Blackwater and River Crouch.
Dengie is a peninsula in Essex, England, that once formed a hundred of the same name.
Asheldham is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about 14 km (8.7 mi) southeast of Maldon and is 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Maldon and the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & East Chelmsford. The village is part of the combined Asheldham and Dengie Parish Council.
Heybridge is a large village and civil parish in the Maldon district of Essex, England. It is adjacent to the town of Maldon, near the River Blackwater. The village had a population of 8,175 according to the 2011 Census.
Maldon is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its recreation in 2010 by Sir John Whittingdale, a Conservative.
Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about 9 km (5.6 mi) north-northeast of Southminster and is 30 km (19 mi) east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Maldon in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon whose boundaries were last varied at the 2010 general election. In 2011 it had a population of 863, a decline from 877 in the previous census.
Southminster is a village and civil parish on the Dengie Peninsula in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Burnham-on-Crouch and 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Maldon; it is approximately 52 miles (84 km) east-north-east of London. To the north is the River Blackwater, which is tidal, and, since Roman times, has been the gateway to trading in the area.
Woodham Mortimer is a village on the Dengie peninsula about three miles west-south-west of Maldon in the English county of Essex. The village is part of the Wickham Bishops and Woodham ward of the Maldon district.
St Lawrence is a parish in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England on the Dengie peninsula. The village of St Lawrence Bay, which takes its name from the parish, is situated on the south shore of the Blackwater Estuary, 4 miles (6.5 km) from Southminster and is also known by local residents as “Stone”. The village contains areas known as Ramsey Island and St Lawrence Bay.
Tolleshunt D'Arcy is a village situated on the Blackwater estuary in the Maldon District of Essex, England. The village is 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Colchester, 19 miles (31 km) east of Chelmsford and 30 miles (48 km) north of Southend-on-Sea.
The River Chelmer flows entirely through the county of Essex, England; it runs 40 miles (64 km) from the north-west of the county through Chelmsford to the River Blackwater, near Maldon.
Asheldham Brook is a river that flows entirely through the Maldon district in Essex, United Kingdom. It has its main source near Batts Road in the St Lawrence parish, and its mouth at Grange Outfall on the Dengie marshes, flowing out into the North Sea.
Heybridge Basin is a village and civil parish about 1 mile from Maldon, in the Maldon district, in the county of Essex, England. In 2018 the built up area had an estimated population of 732. The parish was formerly part of Heybridge parish, on 1 April 2020 it became a separate parish.