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Arun District

Coordinates: 50°48′29.7″N 0°32′18.6″W / 50.808250°N 0.538500°W / 50.808250; -0.538500
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Arun District
Non-metropolitan district
River Arun at Littlehampton
River Arun at Littlehampton
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
 • MPsPeter Bottomley (C)
Nick Gibb (C)
Andrew Griffith (C)
Area
 • Total221.0 km2 (85.3 sq mi)
 • Rank138th (of 296)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total166,366
 • Rank123rd (of 296)
 • Density750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code45UC (ONS)
E07000224 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTQ029020

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. Parts of the district fall within the South Downs National Park.

The district is on the coast, facing the English Channel. The neighbouring districts are Chichester, Horsham, Adur and Worthing.

History

[edit]

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:[2]

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.[3][4]

Geography

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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

[edit]
Arun District Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
James Walsh,
Liberal Democrat
since 15 May 2024[5]
Martin Lury,
Liberal Democrats
since 15 May 2024
Structure
Seats54 councillors
Arun
Political groups
Administration (32)
  Liberal Democrats (14)
  Labour (8)
  Green (6)
  Independents (4)
Other parties (22)
  Conservatives (19)
  Independents (3)
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 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.[6]

Political control

[edit]

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, Greens and some of the independents took control of the council, appointing a Liberal Democrat leader and Labour deputy leader of the council, to replace the previous Conservative minority administration.[7][8]

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:[9]

Party in control Years
Conservative 1974–2019
No overall control 2019–present

Leadership

[edit]

The leaders of the council since 2002 have been:[10]

Councillor Party From To
Norman Dingemans Conservative 2002 2006
Gillian Brown[11] Conservative 2006 5 May 2019
James Walsh[12] Liberal Democrats 22 May 2019 19 May 2021
Shaun Gunner[13] Conservative 19 May 2021 31 May 2023
Matt Stanley Liberal Democrats 31 May 2023 15 May 2024
Martin Lury Liberal Democrats 15 May 2024

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in June 2024, the composition of the council was:[14]

Party Councillors
Conservative 19
Liberal Democrats 14
Labour 8
Independent 7
Green 6
Total 54

Four of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group", which forms part of the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens. The other three independents do not form part of a group.[15] The next election is due in 2027.[16]

Premises

[edit]
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.[17] It also maintains an area office at the Town Hall on Clarence Road in Bognor Regis.[18]

Elections

[edit]
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.[19][20]

Wards

[edit]

The wards are:[19]

  • 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

[edit]
Further information: List of civil parishes in West Sussex
Arundel, the district's third town.

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".[21] The following 31 civil parishes are located within the district:[22]

Parish Type Area (Hectare) Population (2001) Pop Density /Hectare
Aldingbourne Parish Council 1253 3612 2.88
Aldwick Parish Council 425 10884 25.61
Angmering Parish Council 1782 5639 3.16
Arundel Town Council 1227 3408 2.78
Barnham Parish Council 373 1372 3.68
Bersted Parish Council 713 8443 11.85
Bognor Regis Town Council 486 22555 46.44
Burpham Parish Meeting 1245 193 0.15
Clapham Parish Council 515 317 0.62
Climping Parish Council 691 600 0.87
East Preston Parish Council 241 5919 24.53
Eastergate Parish Council 371 3107 8.39
Felpham Parish Council 426 9611 24.53
Ferring Parish Council 431 4361 10.13
Findon Parish Council 1614 1848 1.14
Ford Parish Council 415 1358 3.27
Houghton Parish Meeting 743 76 0.10
Kingston Parish Council 229 702 3.07
Littlehampton Town Council 1135 25593 22.55
Lyminster Parish Council 587 351 0.60
Madehurst Parish Meeting 766 105 0.14
Middleton-on-Sea Parish Council 412 5105 12.41
Pagham Parish Council 1059 5729 5.41
Patching Parish Council 846 230 0.27
Poling Parish Meeting 320 173 0.54
Rustington Parish Council 432 13210 30.60
Slindon Parish Council 1286 590 0.46
South Stoke Parish Meeting 535 44 0.08
Walberton Parish Council 1044 1941 1.86
Warningcamp Parish Meeting 378 161 0.43
Yapton Parish Council 791 3522 4.46
Arun Total 22770 140759 6.18

Economy

[edit]

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.[23] 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.[24] 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

[edit]

In 2008, the district council won an Ashden Award for their work on energy efficiency.[25]

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.[26]

Football clubs

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Arun Local Authority (E07000224)". 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. ^ "Arun" in The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 609.
  5. ^ Hanway, Thomas (17 May 2024). "New Arun District Council leader elected for 2024/25". Sussex World. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  7. ^ "Council meeting, 31 May 2023". Arun District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  8. ^ Dunn, Karen (1 June 2023). "Coalition of Lib Dems, Labour, Greens and Independents to run Arun District Council". Sussex World. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Council minutes". Arun District Council. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Arun District Council leader Gillian Brown to be made an OBE in birthday honours list". Sussex World. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Arun". BBC News Online. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Conservatives regain control of Arun District Council after two-year hiatus". Bognor Regis Observer.
  14. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  15. ^ "Your Councillors by Party". Arun District Council. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Arun". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  17. ^ Harris, Roland B. (April 2009). Littlehampton Historic Character Assessment Report (PDF). West Sussex County Council. p. 22. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Find us". Arun District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  19. ^ a b "The Arun (Electoral Changes) Order 2013", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2013/2794, retrieved 31 May 2023
  20. ^ "Ward Profiles". Arun District Council. Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  21. ^ "Parish councils contact information". Arun District Council. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ "Index of Multiple Deprivation". West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  24. ^ "Littlehampton Coastguards". Blue Flag. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  25. ^ "District council brings energy efficiency throughout its operations". Ashden Awards. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  26. ^ Council, Arun District. "News Archive". Arun District Council. Retrieved 26 December 2018.

50°48′29.7″N 0°32′18.6″W / 50.808250°N 0.538500°W / 50.808250; -0.538500

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