1-4, The High Street · Photo: Pugsarethebest1234 · CC BY-SA 4.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Dorset Council
Ashley Heath is run by Dorset Council, with St. Leonards and St. Ives parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Dorset Council. Its MP is Sir Christopher Chope (Conservative), member for Christchurch.
£2,652
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Ashley Heath’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Dorset Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Dorset Council: 42 of its 82 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 30, the Greens 4, Independents for Dorset 3, Labour 2 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
Who holds the seats
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 42 of Dorset’s 82 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat42
- Conservative30
- Green4
- Independents for Dorset3
- Labour2
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2024.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
The councils that run Ashley Heath
One council runs every main service here.
Local matters: allotments, play areas, halls, footpaths and benches; it is consulted on planning and adds a precept to the council tax bill. A town council is a parish council by another name.
100% of Ashley Heath’s residents · Band D precept £27
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Ashley Heath, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierSt. Leonards and St. Ives parish council
- 2Dorset Council1 ward · 2 councillorsMargaret Elizabeth GoringeRay BryanBarry Peter Goringe
- 3Police and crime commissionerDorset Police · elected May 2024David Sidwick
- 4House of CommonsChristchurch
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
2 councillors for 1 ward
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Margaret Elizabeth GoringeConservative · July 2026 · by-election
- Ray BryanConservative · May 2024
- Barry Peter GoringeConservative · May 2024
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Leonards & St Ivesmostly in Ashley Heath · 7,151 residents2 seats · July 2026, May 2024 | 2 | Margaret Elizabeth Goringeby-electionRay BryanBarry Peter Goringe | July 2026, May 2024 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Dorset Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Dorset Council council election, May 2024
Results in the wards that make up Ashley Heath, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Ashley Heath’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,752 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Ashley Heath is in Christchurch constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Ashley Heath).
47,335 votes for candidates · majority 7,455
Conservative, MP since 1 May 1997.
turnout in July 2024: 47,335 votes from 71,060 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 7,455 of 47,335 votes (15.7%): wider than in 55% of England’s 543 constituencies.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Ashley Heath’s Band D council tax is £2,652 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Dorset Council keeps £2,205.90 of a Band D bill (83%); the rest goes to the St. Leonards and St. Ives parish council, the Dorset police and crime commissioner and the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in St. Leonards and St. Ives, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Dorset
| Dorset | Ashley Heath’s councils | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £506 | £497 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £260 | £273 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £42 | £30 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £29 | £46 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £107 | £111 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £25 | £36 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £20 | £25 | £26 |
| Public health | £48 | £58 | £78 |
| Running the council | £63 | £54 | £59 |
| Other | £77 | £57 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,177 | £1,188 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Dorset and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Ashley Heath is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
dorsetcouncil.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
dorsetcouncil.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Ashley Heath is run
Which council runs Ashley Heath?
Ashley Heath is run by Dorset Council.
Does Ashley Heath have a town council?
Yes: Ashley Heath has its own parish-tier council (St. Leonards and St. Ives parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £27 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Ashley Heath?
Sir Christopher Chope (Conservative) is the MP for Christchurch, which covers Ashley Heath.
How many councillors does Ashley Heath have?
2 ward councillors represent Ashley Heath’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Ashley Heath?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Ashley Heath’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Ashley Heath?
Band D council tax in Ashley Heath is £2,652 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Dorset Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 42 of 82 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2024 council election in Ashley Heath?
In Ashley Heath’s wards on 2 May 2024, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 63.9%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.