Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution. Well, the government has changed its mind again and .as many may know, we are to have County Council elections on May 7th. Whether this will be for a one-year term or more is not yet clear. The current plan is to have elections for a new Unitary Authority in…
Local Update January 2026 Highways The bread and butter of my County Council work is trying to resolve local highways issues. There are times when I’m involved with care problems whether children or adults but roads are the big topic. In the last 12 months or so we have made quite a lot of progress…
Crowborough Training Camp. Wealden District Council was informed on October 10th 2025 that the Home Office intended to use the Crowborough Training Camp (which is an MOD site and thus “Crown Land”) for the purpose of asylum seeker accommodation. A letter was sent to Mike Tapp, the current Minister for Migration and Citizenship on October 22nd.…
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Declaration of a Protection Zone and a Surveillance Zone (H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) –near Uckfield, Wealden, East Sussex (AIV 2025/77) 1. The Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed that highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 is present in England and has taken into account the criteria set out in…
Local Update September 2025 Commemorations Commemorating historical events has been a big theme this summer. We did not have any major local celebrations of VJ Day. That is fraught with ethical issues but without that war ending many more lives would have been lost. As Chairman of the County Council, I attended a memorial of…
OWLSBURY Most residents will now be aware of the proposal to build 1700 houses west of the A22 between Isfield, Piltdown and Little Horsted. There are very good reasons to oppose this; The accumulated housing in our area from this and other developments is totally unsustainable. The roads could not cope with the traffic even…
There does seem to be some confusion about what the Labour Government are planning to do to Local Government. Their plans have been set out quite fully but they could change. Often only politicians are concerned about government organization and management. Most voters just want efficient services to be delivered. However, it is important to…
Council Tax increase for 2025 A Council Tax increase of £6.42 a year (for a band D property) has been approved by Wealden District Council. The 2.99% increase in Council Tax was recommended to Full Council by Wealden’s Cabinet Committee which met earlier in the month. The decision to increase the Council Tax was ratified…
The December edition of the Isfield Newsletter is now out – you can download a pdf version by Clicking here
‘GMB members are planning industrial action from 1st June 2023. Updates about which can be found here: Waste Collection Disruptions – Wealden District Council – Wealden District Council