Uttlesford District | |
|---|---|
 Saffron Walden, the administrative centre of the district | |
 Uttlesford shown within Essex | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East of England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Essex |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district |
| Admin HQ | Saffron Walden |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Uttlesford District Council |
| • Leadership | Alternative - Sec. 31 (Independent) |
| • MPs | Kemi Badenoch |
| Area | |
• Total | 247.56 sq mi (641.18 km2) |
| • Rank | 54th(of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 95,106 |
| • Rank | 259th(of 296) |
| • Density | 384.17/sq mi (148.33/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 22UQ (ONS) E07000077 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TL541387 |
Uttlesford is alocal government district inEssex, England. Its council is based in the town ofSaffron Walden. The district also includes the town ofGreat Dunmow and numerous villages, includingStansted Mountfitchet,Takeley,Elsenham,Thaxted, andNewport. The district covers a largely rural area in the north-west of Essex.London Stansted Airport lies within the district.
The neighbouring districts areBraintree,Chelmsford,Epping Forest,East Hertfordshire,North Hertfordshire andSouth Cambridgeshire.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972 as one of 14 districts within Essex. The new district covered the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]
The new district was named after the ancienthundred ofUttlesford, which had covered much of the area.[3]
The hundred had been named after aford on the London Road (now the B1383, formerly theA11) atWendens Ambo, since replaced by a bridge. The ford appears to derive its name from "Udel's ford". The stream at the ford is sometimes informally called the River Uttle as aback-formation from the name of the ford.[4][5][6]
Hundreds gradually lost their functions to other bodies from the seventeenth century onwards, with their final administrative function ceasing in 1886. The name Uttlesford continued to have occasional use in the area between then and 1974, such as the Uttlesford Orchestra, founded in 1956, which played in and around Saffron Walden.[7]
Uttlesford District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Peter Holt since October 2021[9] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 39 councillors |
Political groups | Administration (21)
Other parties (18)
|
Length of term | Whole council elected every four years |
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council Offices, London Road,Saffron Walden, CB11 4ER | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Uttlesford District Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byEssex County Council. The whole district is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[10]
The council has been controlled by local partyResidents for Uttlesford (R4U) since the2019 election.
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:[11]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1995 | |
| No overall control | 1995–2003 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2003–2007 | |
| Conservative | 2007–2019 | |
| Residents for Uttlesford | 2019–present | |
Theleaders of the council since 1995 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Chambers[12] | Conservative | 16 May 1995 | ||
| Alan Dean[12] | Liberal Democrats | 16 May 1995 | 13 May 1997 | |
| Robert Chambers[13][14] | Conservative | 13 May 1997 | May 2003 | |
| Alan Dean[15][16] | Liberal Democrats | 20 May 2003 | 19 Jul 2005 | |
| Mark Gayler[16] | Liberal Democrats | 19 Jul 2005 | May 2007 | |
| Jim Ketteridge[17][18] | Conservative | 22 May 2007 | 15 Jul 2014 | |
| Howard Rolfe[19][20] | Conservative | 15 Jul 2014 | 21 May 2019 | |
| John Lodge[21][22] | Residents for Uttlesford | 21 May 2019 | 7 Dec 2021 | |
| Petrina Lees[23] | Residents for Uttlesford | 7 Dec 2021 | ||
Following the2023 election,[24] and a subsequent change of allegiance in March 2025, the composition of the council was:[25]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents for Uttlesford | 21 | |
| Conservative | 11 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Reform | 1 | |
| Total | 39 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[25]
The council is based at the Council Offices on London Road in Saffron Walden.[26] When the council was created in 1974 it inherited offices at 46 High Street, Dunmow from the Dunmow Rural District Council, at 5 Hill Street, Saffron Walden from Saffron Walden Borough Council and at 52 Debden Road, Saffron Walden from the Saffron Walden Rural District Council. In 1988 the former Saffron Walden General Hospital on London Road closed and the site was bought by the council. The original hospital building of 1865 was renovated and a large extension built to its west to become a new headquarters for the council, which opened in May 1990.[27]
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015 the council has comprised 39councillors representing 22wards, each electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[28]
The district is entirely covered bycivil parishes. The parish councils for Great Dunmow and Saffron Walden are styled "town councils". The four parishes of Chickney, Lindsell, Strethall and Wicken Bonhunt haveparish meetings rather than parish councils due to their small populations. The two parishes of Elmdon and Wenden Lofts share a parish council called "Elmdon, Duddenhoe End and Wenden Lofts", and the two parishes of Great Easton and Tilty also share a grouped parish council. Great Sampford and Little Sampford share a parish council called "The Sampfords". The parishes are:[29]
Apart from considerable agriculture, retail and office premises in towns, Uttlesford District includesLondon Stansted Airport, which is its largest employer. For more detailed analysis of strengths and specializations in the economy see individual settlements, for instance the article:Saffron Walden. In October 2008, the airport won a 40% increase in permitted flights under the flight cap which operates in relation to the airport, from the UK government.[30]
Aside from countryside hotels close to andaircraft maintenance vital to Stansted Airport, airlines have also used a small adjoining business park.Titan Airways has its head office in the Enterprise House in the grounds inStansted Mountfitchet.[31]
Several airlines, includingBuzz,[32]AirUK (laterKLM uk),[33][34]AB Airlines,[35]Go Fly had its head office at the Enterprise House.[36] andLloyd International Airways had their head offices on the property of Stansted Airport.[37]
In terms of television, the area is served byBBC East andITV Anglia broadcasting from theSudbury[38] andSandy Heath transmitters.[39] However, some southern parts of the district such asStansted Mountfitchet andTakeley includingStansted Airport is also served byBBC London andITV London which broadcast from theCrystal Palace transmitter.[40]
Radio stations for the area are:
TheWest Anglia Main Line passes through Uttlesford. There are stations at:
From all stations, there are regular services northbound towardsCambridge, operated byGreater Anglia. At certain times, trains continue towardsEly andKing's Lynn.CrossCountry also operates northbound trains from Stansted Airport and Audley End to Cambridge,Peterborough,Leicester andBirmingham New Street.
From Stansted Airport, a southbound train is operated towardsBishop's Stortford,Harlow,Tottenham Hale andLondon Liverpool Street, operated by Greater Anglia under theStansted Express brand. This train sometimes calls at Stansted Mountfitchet.
Greater Anglia operates southbound trains from other stations in the district to Bishop's Stortford, Harlow, Tottenham Hale and Liverpool Street. A southbound hourly fast-train also calls at Audley End, with additional services at peak times towards London from this station.[41]
Roads in the district are managed byEssex County Council, with some routes controlled byNational Highways.[42]
TheM11 motorway between London and Cambridge passes through the district, with junctions at Stansted Airport (junction 8) and Stump Cross, near Saffron Walden (9). This places the district in theM11 corridor for innovation.[43] Northbound from Stump Cross, theA11 forms part of the northern boundary of the district, carrying traffic toNewmarket andNorwich.
TheA120 runs east-west through the district between Stansted Airport andBraintree, via Great Dunmow. This connects the district toHertford,Colchester andHarwich.
Other roads in the district areB-class roads. This includes:
Charity Uttlesford Community Travel[44] provides road transport services to the residents of Uttlesford who find it difficult to access normal public transport: they support the over 60s, the disabled and those who are rurally isolated.
Stansted Airport is in the district. Stansted is thefourth-busiest UK airport, with flights to over 200 destinations.[45]
There are several bus routes which cross the district and which connect the district to neighbouring destinations,[46] including:
Great Dunmow and Stansted Airport are on theFirst Essex andArriva Shires & Essex networks. First bus 42A calls operates from both destinations to Chelmsford, and X10 and X30 connect Stansted Airport to Chelmsford, Basildon and Southend-on-Sea. Arriva bus 133 connects Stansted and Great Dunmow to Colchester.
Arriva Bus 510 links Stansted Mountfitchet and Stansted Airport to Bishop's Stortford and Harlow.[47][48]
Saffron Walden is on theStagecoach Cambridge network, served by the Citi 7, although Megarider tickets are not valid in the district.[49]
Stansted Airport is served byNational Express and Airport Bus Express coaches to destinations in London and across the UK.[50]
Several cycle routes cross the district, linking towns in the district to theNational Cycle Network.
National Cycle Route 11 (NCR 11) crosses the district north-south, fromIckleton toStansted Mountfitchet, running mostly on rural lanes. NCR 11 eventually links the district to theRiver Storttowpath inBishop's Stortford (towardsHarlow,NCR 1 andLondon). Northbound, the route continues towardsCambridge,Ely andDownham Market. A spur of the route leads intoSaffron Walden, running for much of its length on asegregated cycle route.
National Cycle Route 16 runs east-west between Stansted Mountfitchet andBraintree, viaGreat Dunmow town centre. The route runs for much of its length onsegregated cycle track converted from the course of the formerBishop's Stortford to Braintree railway, and it runs unbroken through the district, mostly parallel to the A120.
National Cycle Network 50 runs north-south betweenTakeley andQuendon in Uttlesford. The route ultimately runs between Quendon andUlting (nearMaldon) running entirely oncountry lanes.
The district is the only British local authority (excludingparishes) to begin with the letter 'u'. The only other initial letter used by only one UK local authority is 'y' forYork.[51]
Media related toUttlesford at Wikimedia Commons
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52°01′08″N0°14′12″E / 52.0190°N 0.2367°E /52.0190; 0.2367
