Adur District | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Adur shown within West Sussex | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Non-metropolitan county | West Sussex |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district |
| Admin HQ | Shoreham-by-Sea |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Adur District Council |
| • MPs | Tom Rutland(Lab) |
| Area | |
• Total | 16.14 sq mi (41.80 km2) |
| • Rank | 256th(of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 64,889 |
| • Rank | 290th(of 296) |
| • Density | 4,021/sq mi (1,552/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 45UB |
| GSS code | E07000223 |
| OS grid reference | TQ220051 |
Adur (/ˈeɪdər/) is alocal government district inWest Sussex, England. It is named after theRiver Adur which flows through the area. The council is based in the town ofShoreham-by-Sea, and the district also contains the town ofSouthwick, the large village ofLancing and a modest rural hinterland inland. The district had a population of 64,626 at the2021 census.
Sompting, Lancing, Shoreham and Southwick form a strip of settlements on the south coast, betweenWorthing andBrighton collectively known as theBrighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation.Shoreham Airport is located in the Adur district, west of Shoreham-by-Sea and just east of Lancing.
The Adur Festival is held in the first two weeks of June every year.
The district lies on the south coast, and parts of its area lie within theSouth Downs National Park. The neighbouring districts areWorthing,Arun,Horsham andBrighton and Hove.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. The new district covered the whole area of two former districts and parts of a third, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]
The new district was named Adur after the River Adur which flows through the area and reaches the sea at Shoreham.[3]
Since 2008 Adur District Council has worked in partnership with neighbouringWorthing Borough Council, asAdur and Worthing Councils, sharing a joint management structure, with a single chief executive.[4]
Adur District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Catherine Howe since 2021[7] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 29 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| The Shoreham Centre, Pond Road,Shoreham-by-Sea, BN43 5WU | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Adur District Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byWest Sussex County Council. Parts of the district are covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.[8][9]
The council has been underLabour majority control since the2024 election.[10]
The first elections to the council were 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:[11][12]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–1979 | |
| Conservative | 1979–1980 | |
| Liberal | 1980–1983 | |
| No overall control | 1983–1986 | |
| Alliance | 1986–1988 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1988–1999 | |
| No overall control | 1999–2002 | |
| Conservative | 2002–2024 | |
| Labour | 2024-current | |
Theleaders of the council since 2000 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Parkin[13][14] | Conservative | 2000 | May 2024 | |
| Jeremy Gardner[15] | Labour | 23 May 2024 | ||
Following the2024 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in July 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 17 | |
| Conservative | 7 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Green | 2 | |
| Total | 29 | |
Two of the independent councillors sit together as the "Shoreham Beach Residents' Association" group. The next election is due in 2026.[16]
Since the last boundary changes in 2004 the council has comprised 29councillors representing 14wards, with each ward electing two councillors except Widewater, which elects three. Elections are held in alternate years for roughly half the council each time to serve a four year term of office.[17]
The council is based at the Shoreham Centre on Pond Road, which was built in the 1970s as a community centre but was substantially extended in 2015 to also serve as the council's meeting place and offices.[18] Prior to 2015 the council was based at the Civic Centre on Ham Road, Shoreham, which was subsequently demolished.[19]
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There are threecivil parishes in the district, being Coombes, Lancing, and Sompting. Coombes has aparish meeting rather than a parish council due to its low population.[20] The rest of the district, corresponding to the area of the pre-1974 urban districts of Shoreham-by-Sea and Southwick, is anunparished area.[9]
In terms of television, Adur is served byBBC South East andITV Meridian broadcasting from theWhitehawk Hill transmitter.[21]
Radio stations for the area areBBC Radio Sussex,Heart South,Capital Brighton,More Radio Worthing andSeaside Hospital Radio that broadcast from theSouthlands Hospital in Shoreham.
Local newspapers are theShoreham Herald,West Sussex Gazette andThe Argus.[22]
Adur is twinned with
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. TheKöppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[26]
| Climate data for Adur District, UK | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8 (46) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 13 (55) | 16 (61) | 18 (64) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 19 (66) | 15 (59) | 11 (52) | 8 (46) | 14 (57) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3 (37) | 3 (37) | 5 (41) | 6 (43) | 10 (50) | 12 (54) | 14 (57) | 14 (57) | 12 (54) | 9 (48) | 6 (43) | 4 (39) | 8 (46) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 43 (1.7) | 30 (1.2) | 30 (1.2) | 28 (1.1) | 36 (1.4) | 18 (0.7) | 36 (1.4) | 36 (1.4) | 38 (1.5) | 51 (2) | 51 (2) | 48 (1.9) | 440 (17.4) |
| Average precipitation days | 14 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 135 |
| Source: Weatherbase[27] | |||||||||||||
Councillor Parkin, who became leader of the council in 2000...
| International | |
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| National | |
50°49′57″N0°16′08″W / 50.8326°N 0.2689°W /50.8326; -0.2689
