Arun District

Arun is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in Littlehampton. The district's other towns are Arundel and Bognor Regis. The district is named after the River Arun, which runs through the centre of the district.

Arun District
Non-metropolitan district
Arun shown within West Sussex
Arun shown within West Sussex
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country England
RegionSouth East England
Historic county Sussex
CountyWest Sussex
Incorporated1 April 1974
Administrative HQLittlehampton
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyArun District Council
 • LeadershipCommittee system
 • ExecutiveNOC (Lib Dem-Labour-Green coalition)
 • MPsPeter Bottomley (C)
Nick Gibb (C)
Andrew Griffith (C)
Area
 • Total221.0 km2 (85.3 sq mi)
 • Rank138th (of 296)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total165,225
 • Rank123rd (of 296)
 • Density750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
 • Ethnicity
96.7% White
1.1% S.Asian
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code45UC (ONS)
E07000224 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTQ029020

History

Arun district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of seven districts within West Sussex. The new district covered the whole area of three former districts and parts of another two, all of which were abolished at the same time:[1]

The new district was named Arun, after the River Arun which flows through the centre of the district, passing through the town of Arundel and meeting the sea at Littlehampton.[2][3]

Geography

Arun District occupies the central southern area of West Sussex, and is bordered by Chichester District to the west, Horsham District to the north and Worthing borough and Adur District to the east. The district is bisected by the River Arun, and is divided between a broad rural area in the north of the district that contains Arundel and a host of small villages, part of which sits within the South Downs National Park, and an urban coastal strip that includes Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

Governance
Arun District Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Alison Cooper,
Conservative
since 31 May 2023
Matt Stanley,
Liberal Democrats
since 31 May 2023
Structure
Seats54
Arun
Political groups
Administration (32)
  Liberal Democrats (14)
  Labour (8)
  Green (6)
  Independents (4)
Opposition (22)
  Conservatives (20)
  Independents (2)
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Last election
2027
Meeting place

Civic Centre, 1 Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, BN17 5LF
Website
www.arun.gov.uk

Arun District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by West Sussex County Council. The district is also entirely divided into civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[4]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 election the Conservatives were the largest party, but a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens took control of the council, appointing a Liberal Democrat leader and Labour deputy leader of the council, to replace the previous Conservative minority administration.[5]

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:[6]

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–2019
No overall control2019–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2002 have been:[7]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Norman Dingemans Conservative20022006
Gillian Brown[8] Conservative20065 May 2019
James Walsh[9] Liberal Democrats22 May 201919 May 2021
Shaun Gunner[10] Conservative19 May 202131 May 2023
Matt Stanley Liberal Democrats31 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:[11]

Party Councillors
Conservative 20
Liberal Democrats 14
Labour 8
Green 6
Independent 6
Total 54

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises
Bognor Regis Town Hall, Arun's area office in Bognor Regis

The council has its headquarters at the Civic Centre on Maltravers Road in Littlehampton, which was purpose-built for the council in 1986.[12] It also maintains an area office at the Town Hall on Clarence Road in Bognor Regis.[13]

Elections
See also: Arun District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 54 councillors elected from 23 wards, with each ward electing either two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[14][15]

Wards

The wards are:[14]

  • Aldwick East
  • Aldwick West
  • Angmering & Findon
  • Arundel & Walberton
  • Barnham
  • Beach
  • Bersted
  • Brookfield
  • Courtwick with Toddington
  • East Preston
  • Felpham East
  • Felpham West
  • Ferring
  • Hotham
  • Marine
  • Middleton-on-Sea
  • Orchard
  • Pagham
  • Pevensey
  • River
  • Rustington East
  • Rustington West
  • Yapton

Civil parishes

The following 31 civil parishes are located within the district:[16]

ParishTypeArea (Hectare)Population (2001)Pop Density /Hectare
AldingbourneParish Council125336122.88
AldwickParish Council4251088425.61
AngmeringParish Council178256393.16
ArundelTown Council122734082.78
BarnhamParish Council37313723.68
BerstedParish Council713844311.85
Bognor RegisTown Council4862255546.44
BurphamParish Meeting12451930.15
ClaphamParish Council5153170.62
ClimpingParish Council6916000.87
East PrestonParish Council241591924.53
EastergateParish Council37131078.39
FelphamParish Council426961124.53
FerringParish Council431436110.13
FindonParish Council161418481.14
FordParish Council41513583.27
HoughtonParish Meeting743760.10
KingstonParish Council2297023.07
LittlehamptonTown Council11352559322.55
LyminsterParish Council5873510.60
MadehurstParish Meeting7661050.14
Middleton-on-SeaParish Council412510512.41
PaghamParish Council105957295.41
PatchingParish Council8462300.27
PolingParish Meeting3201730.54
RustingtonParish Council4321321030.60
SlindonParish Council12865900.46
South StokeParish Meeting535440.08
WalbertonParish Council104419411.86
WarningcampParish Meeting3781610.43
YaptonParish Council79135224.46
ArunTotal227701407596.18

Economy

Although set within the typically prosperous county of West Sussex, much of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton are ranked amongst the 20% most deprived areas in the UK as a whole on the Index of Multiple Deprivation.[17] The district contains a large tourism sector, attracting visitors to the South Downs in the north, and the beaches of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton in the south, the latter of which holds a prestigious Blue Flag Award.[18] Consequently, the district suffers from high amounts of seasonal employment, with the Office for National Statistics estimating that nearly 11% of the population of Arun is employed in the tourism sector, compared to 8% nationally, whilst 28% of people work in the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, compared to just 23% nationally. Arun also has a higher number of public sector workers than either the regional or national average, and a significantly smaller finance and IT sector than the rest of the South East and wider UK.

Awards

In 2008, the district council won an Ashden Award for their work on energy efficiency.[19]

The District Council is regularly awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award which is given for excellent parks. Currently five parks in the District are recognised as meeting the requirements of Green Flag; Mewsbrook Park, Hotham Park, Norfolk Gardens, Old Rectory Gardens and Marine Park Gardens.[20]

Football clubs

See also

References
  1. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  3. "Arun" in The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 609.
  4. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  5. "Council meeting, 31 May 2023". Arun District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  6. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. "Council minutes". Arun District Council. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  8. "Arun District Council leader Gillian Brown to be made an OBE in birthday honours list". Sussex World. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  9. "Arun". BBC News Online. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  10. "Conservatives regain control of Arun District Council after two-year hiatus". Bognor Regis Observer.
  11. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  12. Harris, Roland B. (April 2009). Littlehampton Historic Character Assessment Report (PDF). West Sussex County Council. p. 22. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  13. "Find us". Arun District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  14. "The Arun (Electoral Changes) Order 2013", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2013/2794, retrieved 31 May 2023
  15. "Ward Profiles". Arun District Council. Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  16. "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish" (PDF). West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  17. "Index of Multiple Deprivation". West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  18. "Littlehampton Coastguards". Blue Flag. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  19. "District council brings energy efficiency throughout its operations". Ashden Awards. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  20. Council, Arun District. "News Archive". Arun District Council. Retrieved 26 December 2018.

50°48′29.7″N 0°32′18.6″W

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