The local authorityCouncil · district · England · 1 of 164 councils (district)

Wealden.

Liberal Democrats-controlled district. £22m net revenue. 40 wards across 4 parliamentary constituencies.

Typedistrict
Seats50 councillors · 40 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Net revenue · 2025-26
£22m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,608
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
13/50
Liberal Democrats 26%
Westminster
4
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Liberal Democrats chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Wealden is a district controlled by Liberal Democrats (13 of 50 seats). Net revenue is £22m for 2025-26. It covers 40 wards spanning 4 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.50 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

LD 13Green 12Independent Berwick Hills Resident 12Con 11Lab 2

Liberal Democrats 26% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Alison Jane WilsonGrnArlington2023
Graham ShawGrnBuxted2023
Geoffrey Joseph DraperConChiddingly East Hoathly Waldron2023
Carolyn Jane Huntington ClarkLDCrowborough Central2023
Gareth Huw Owen-WilliamsLDCrowborough Jarvis Brook2023
James PartridgeLDCrowborough North2023
Kay Jane MossConCrowborough North2019
Alison Clare ArthurLDCrowborough South West2023
Andrew James Ashton WilsonLDCrowborough St Johns2023
Martyn Douglas EverittGrnCrowborough St Johns2023
Christina Nanna Mary ColemanGrnDanehill Fletching2023
Patricia Patterson-VanegasGrnForest Row2023
Showing 12 of 50·All 50 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

69%
Council tax
£15.3m · median 61%
24%
Central grants
£5.3m · median 26%
8%
Business rates
£1.7m · median 11%

This is a high-council-tax councils (district): 69% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (61%).

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£221
County / upper-tier£1,867
Police£267
Fire & rescue£112
GLA precept£0
Parish average£141
Total Band-D£2,608

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.7 buckets · vs 163 other councils (district)

How does Wealden split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (district)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Waste & Recycling29.6% of net spend · cohort median 32%
102 of 158-7% vs median
Corporate & Central29.5% of net spend · cohort median 27%
64 of 158+10% vs median
Housing & Homelessness21.2% of net spend · cohort median 14%
26 of 158+51% vs median
Planning & Economic Development15.2% of net spend · cohort median 14%
73 of 158+6% vs median
Highways & Transport2.0% of net spend · cohort median -2%
16 of 158
Culture & Leisure1.3% of net spend · cohort median 13%
149 of 158-90% vs median
Children's Services1.1% of net spend · cohort median 1%
6 of 9-11% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.191 payments · £24.9m gross · 3 Dec 202531 Mar 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
BIFFA MUNICIPAL LTD£18.02m72.4%6
FACULTATIEVE TECHNOLOGIES LTD£0.47m1.9%2
EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL£0.35m1.4%13
PARAMOUNT INDEPENDENT PROPERTY SERVICES£0.28m1.1%1
PARITY TRUST£0.27m1.1%2
INSIGHT DIRECT UK LTD£0.24m1.0%1
DSI BILLING SERVICES LTD£0.24m1.0%1
TILE HILL£0.23m0.9%1
G M MONK LTD£0.22m0.9%1
MARK EDUCATION TRUST T/A BEACON ACADEMY£0.22m0.9%1

By service area · top supplier

Service-classified supplier data not yet ingested for this council.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.40 wards split across 4 parliamentary seats

Wealden’s territory crosses 4 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Sussex Weald2357% Nusrat GhaniCon
East Grinstead and Uckfield820% Mims DaviesCon
Lewes820% James MacClearyLD
Bexhill and Battle25% Kieran MullanCon
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 3 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Liberal Democrats-controlled district — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 163 other councils (district)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
191 payments · 3 Dec 202531 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level