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Rochford District
Non-metropolitan district
Rochford, the administrative centre and one of the towns of the district
Rochford shown within Essex
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East of England
Non-metropolitan county	Essex
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Rochford
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Rochford District Council
• Leadership	Alternative - Sec. 31 (No overall control)
• MPs	James Duddridge Mark Francois
Area
• Total	65.44 sq mi (169.49 km)
• Rank	156th (of 296)
Population
• Total	87,216
• Rank	272nd (of 296)
• Density	1,300/sq mi (510/km)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 95.9% White 1.7% Mixed 1.4% Asian 0.7% Black 0.3% other
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 47.6% Christianity 44.9% no religion 7% other 0.5% Islam
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	22UL (ONS) E07000075 (GSS)
OS grid reference	TQ876904

Rochford is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named after one of its main settlements, Rochford, where the council is based. The largest town in the district is Rayleigh. Other places in the district include Hockley, Ashingdon, Great Wakering, Canewdon and Hullbridge.

The district borders Maldon District to the north, the City of Chelmsford to the north-west, the Borough of Basildon to the west, the Borough of Castle Point to the south-west, and the City of Southend-on-Sea to the south. To the east, it has a stretch of coast at Foulness Island.

Most of the built-up areas are in the western part of the district, along the railway line from Shenfield to Southend Victoria. Southend Airport straddles the district's border with the City of Southend-on-Sea. The eastern part of the district is more sparsely populated.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts, which were abolished at the same time:

• Rayleigh Urban District
• Rochford Rural District

Governance

Rochford District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Sarah-Jane Page, Liberal Democrat since 21 May 2024
Leader	James Newport, Liberal Democrat since 21 May 2024
Chief Executive	Jonathan Stephenson since 1 August 2021
Structure
Seats	39 councillors
Political groups	Administration (21)   Liberal Democrats (11)   Independent (9)   Green (1) Other parties (18)   Conservative (10)   Rochford Residents (8)
Elections
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Civic Suite, 2 Hockley Road, Rayleigh, SS6 8EB
Website
www.rochford.gov.uk

Rochford District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Essex County Council. The district is also entirely covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2023. Following the 2024 election a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and independents formed to run the council, led by Liberal Democrat councillor James Newport.

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:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:

The Green councillor sits with the independents as the "non-aligned group", which forms the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats. The next election is due in May 2026.

Premises

The council has its main offices on South Street in Rochford. When the council was created it inherited the former Rochford Rural District Council's offices at Roche House, 7 South Street, Rochford and the former Rayleigh Urban District Council's offices at Barringtons, 2 Hockley Road, Rayleigh. Both buildings were converted houses. The council acquired other properties along South Street in Rochford and combined them with Roche House to form the council's headquarters.

The civic suite wing of Barringtons in Rayleigh, including the council chamber, was retained by the council and serves as the council's main meeting place. It closed in 2020 but reopened in 2024 after a period of uncertainty about its future.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four for a third of the council at a time. Elections to Essex County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections.

Parishes

The district is divided into 14 civil parishes. The parish council for Rayleigh takes the style "town council".

• Ashingdon
• Barling Magna
• Canewdon
• Foulness
• Great Wakering
• Hawkwell
• Hockley
• Hullbridge
• Paglesham
• Rawreth
• Rayleigh (town)
• Rochford
• Stambridge
• Sutton

Arms

References

1. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Rochford Local Authority (E07000075)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
4. "Election of new Chairman for Rochford District Council". Rochford District Council. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
5. "New administration appointed at Rochford District Council". Rochford District Council. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
6. Ferris, Mick (29 July 2021). "Joint chief executive appointed to oversee Brentwood and Rochford councils". Yellow Advertiser. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
7. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
8. Dedman, Simon (24 February 2023). "Tories lose control of council after three quit". BBC News. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
9. "New administration appointed at Rochford District Council". Rochford District Council. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
10. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
11. "Council minutes". Rochford District Council. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
12. Lee, Matt (3 May 2024). "Essex local elections 2024: Rochford results in full as council remains in political limbo". Essex Live. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
13. "Rochford". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
14. "Rochford Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan". Rochford District Council. April 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
15. Emes, Toby (12 October 2021). "Protest held over plans to build on Civic Suite, Rayleigh". Southend Echo. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
16. "Council's Rayleigh reception moves to Mill Arts and Events Centre". Rochford District Council. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
17. "Rochford Council evening meetings returning to the council chamber at the Civic Suite in Rayleigh". Rochford District Council. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
18. "The Rochford (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2015/1860, retrieved 8 June 2023
19. "Parish and Town Council Clerks". Rochford District Council. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
20. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
21. "East of England Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 9 March 2021.

v t e Districts of the East of England
Bedfordshire	Bedford Central Bedfordshire Luton
Cambridgeshire	Cambridge East Cambridgeshire Fenland Huntingdonshire Peterborough South Cambridgeshire
Essex	Basildon Braintree Brentwood Castle Point Chelmsford Colchester Epping Forest Harlow Maldon Rochford Southend-on-Sea Tendring Thurrock Uttlesford
Hertfordshire	Broxbourne Dacorum East Hertfordshire Hertsmere North Hertfordshire St Albans Stevenage Three Rivers Watford Welwyn Hatfield
Norfolk	Breckland Broadland Great Yarmouth King's Lynn and West Norfolk North Norfolk Norwich South Norfolk
Suffolk	Babergh East Suffolk Ipswich Mid Suffolk West Suffolk

v t e Ceremonial county of Essex
Unitary authorities	Southend-on-Sea Thurrock
Boroughs or districts	Basildon Braintree Brentwood Castle Point Chelmsford Colchester Epping Forest Harlow Maldon Rochford Tendring Uttlesford
Major settlements (cities in italics)	Aveley Basildon Billericay Braintree Brentwood Brightlingsea Buckhurst Hill Burnham-on-Crouch Canvey Island Chadwell St Mary Chelmsford Chigwell Chipping Ongar Clacton-on-Sea Coggeshall Colchester Corringham Dovercourt Epping Frinton-on-Sea Grays Great Dunmow Hadleigh Halstead Harlow Harwich Leigh-on-Sea Loughton Maldon Manningtree Pitsea Purfleet Rayleigh Rochford Saffron Walden Shoeburyness South Benfleet South Ockendon Southend-on-Sea South Woodham Ferrers Stanford-le-Hope Thaxted Thundersley Tilbury Waltham Abbey Walton-on-the-Naze West Mersea West Thurrock Wickford Witham Wivenhoe See also: List of civil parishes in Essex
Rivers	Blackwater Brain Cam Can Chelmer Ching Cobbins Brook Colne Crouch River Lea River Lee Flood Relief Channel Mardyke Pincey Brook Prittle Brook Roach Roding Roman Stort Stour Stour Brook Ter
Category

51°34′54″N 0°42′30″E / 51.5817°N 0.7082°E / 51.5817; 0.7082

• Rochford District
• Non-metropolitan districts of Essex