Tendring District

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: • Brightlingsea Urban District • Clacton Urban District • Frinton and Walton Urban District • Harwich Municipal Borough • Tendring Rural District The new district was named Tendring after the ancient Tendring Hundred, which was in turn named after the small village of Tendring at the centre of the area. The Tendring Poor Law Union, established in 1835, had covered the same area as the present district. During the English Civil War, the self-appointed Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins carried out many trials throughout this and the surrounding area, especially in the town of Manningtree and village of Mistley on the River Stour. ==Governance==

Tendring District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Essex County Council. Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. Political control The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by a coalition of independent councillors, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. 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: Leadership The leaders of the council since 2009 have been: Composition Since the last boundary changes in 2019 there have been 48 councillors representing 32 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was: The Tendring First councillor and ten of the independent councillors form the "Tendring Independents" group. The other five independents sit as the "Independent Group". The council's administration is a coalition of the Tendring Independents, the Independent Group, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The next full council election is due in 2027. ==Geography==

The highest part of the district is a low (115 feet; 35 metres) ridge running west to east only 2 miles (3 km) south of the River Stour. The greater part of the district is undulating land sloping very gently to the south which is traversed by a number of streams. In the extreme east of the district is an area formerly known as the Soken which was granted special privileges in Saxon times. It is remembered in the place names Kirby-le-Soken, Thorpe-le-Soken and Walton-le-Soken (an older name for Walton-on-the-Naze). ==Demography==

, a shanty settlement on the coast near Clacton Tendring district contains the most deprived part of England, in the Jaywick area. This area was ranked as the most deprived are in the government's indices of deprivation in 2010, 2015, 2019 and 2025. ==Media==

In terms of television, the district is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia with television signals received from the Sudbury TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: • BBC Essex • BBC Radio Suffolk • Heart East • Greatest Hits Radio Essex • Actual Radio Local newspapers are the Colchester Gazette, Essex County Standard, the Clacton, Frinton and Walton Gazette, and the Harwich and Manningtree Standard. ==Parishes==

There are 27 civil parishes in the district. The former Clacton Urban District is an unparished area. The parish councils of Brightlingsea, Frinton and Walton, Harwich, and Manningtree take the style "town council". • Alresford • Ardleigh • Beaumont-cum-Moze • Bradfield • Brightlingsea (town) • Elmstead • Frating • Frinton and Walton (town) • Great Bentley • Great Bromley • Great Oakley • Harwich (town) • Lawford • Little Bentley • Little Bromley • Little Clacton • Little Oakley • Manningtree (town) • Mistley • Ramsey and Parkeston • St Osyth • Tendring • Thorpe-le-Soken • Thorrington • Weeley • Wix • Wrabness ==Listed buildings==

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