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Town Hall & politics · Maldon District Council

No party holds a majority on Maldon District Council

Cold Norton is run by Maldon District Council and Essex County Council, with Cold Norton parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Maldon District Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Essex County Council. Its MP is Sir John Whittingdale (Conservative), member for Maldon.

Council tax 2026–27

£2,346

Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.

Where it goes →
Band D council tax
£2,346
2026–27, a year
Ward councillors
2
1 ward · Maldon
MP
Sir John Whittingdale
Conservative · Maldon
Turnout, July 2024
64%
Maldon · England 60%
What stands out · In brief

How Cold Norton’s politics has changed since 2021

No majority on Maldon District Council

The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 10 of its 30 seats as elected, 6 short of the 16 needed. The Liberal Democrats hold 7, independents 6, The Maldon District Independent Group 6 and Labour 1. Who’s in charge ↓

Essex in 2021

Essex County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Conservative majority at the May 2021 election: the Conservatives won 52 of 75 seats. Essex ↓

Council tax

A Band D bill in Cold Norton is £2,346 for 2026–27; Maldon District Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 47% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓

Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.

Who’s in charge

Who holds the seats on Cold Norton’s councils

Seats by party as elected. A party needs 16 of Maldon’s 30 or 38 of Essex’s 75 seats to run the council alone.

District council · 30 councillorsMaldon District CouncilNo overall control
LabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeThe Maldon District Independent GroupThe Maldon District Independent GroupThe Maldon District Independent GroupThe Maldon District Independent GroupThe Maldon District Independent GroupThe Maldon District Independent Group30seats
  • Conservative10
  • Liberal Democrat7
  • Independent6
  • The Maldon District Independent Group6
  • Labour1

Latest election: May 2023.

County council · 75 councillors · Cold Norton elects 1Essex County CouncilConservative majority
GreenLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeCanvey Island Independent PartyCanvey Island Independent PartyResidents for UttlesfordResidents for UttlesfordRochford District Residents75seats
  • Conservative52
  • Liberal Democrat8
  • Labour5
  • Independent4
  • Canvey Island Independent Party2
  • Residents for Uttlesford2
  • Green1
  • Rochford District Residents1

Latest election: May 2021.

GreenLabourLiberal DemocratIndependentConservativeOther parties

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.

Who runs Cold Norton

Two tiers of council, and a parish tier

Cold Norton has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.

Town or parish councilCold Norton parish council

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 Cold Norton’s residents · Band D precept £97

District councilMaldon District Council

Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.

Website ↗
County councilEssex County Council

Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.

Website ↗

Who to ask

Bins and recyclingMaldon District Council
Planning applicationsMaldon District Council
Council housing and homelessnessMaldon District Council
Council tax billsMaldon District Council
Parks and leisure centresMaldon District Council
Allotments, play areas, benchesCold Norton parish council
Potholes, roads and streetlightsEssex County Council
Schools and school placesEssex County Council
Adult and children’s social careEssex County Council
LibrariesEssex County Council
Tips and recycling centresEssex County Council
Police priorities and budgetEssex Police police and crime commissioner
Fire safety visitsEssex PCC-Fire

From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.

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.

Who represents Cold Norton

From the parish to Westminster

Every elected tier that speaks for Cold Norton, from the most recent elections.

  1. 1
    Town or parishParish tier
    Cold Norton parish council
  2. 2
    Maldon District Council1 ward · 2 councillors
    Sue WhiteLisa Louisa Wiffen
  3. 3
    Essex County Council1 division · 1 councillor
    Jane Lisa Fleming
  4. 4
    Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024
    Roger Charles Hirst
  5. 5
    House of CommonsMaldon
Conservative

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.

Councillors

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.

Purleigh
1,161 residents · 33% in Cold Norton
  • Sue WhiteConservative · May 2023
  • Lisa Louisa WiffenConservative · May 2023
Conservative
Show as a table, with Essex County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
WardSeatsElectedWhen
Purleigh33% in Cold Norton · 1,161 residents2 seats · May 20232
Sue WhiteLisa Louisa Wiffen
May 2023

Essex County Council: county divisions

DivisionSeatsElectedWhen
Maldon ED5% in Cold Norton · 1,161 residents1 seat · May 20211
Jane Lisa Fleming
May 2021

Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Maldon District 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).

Local elections

Maldon council election, May 2023

Results in the wards that make up Cold Norton, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.

Seats won in Cold Norton’s wards2 seats · 4 May 2023
Conservative2

1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.

Next elections

No election is scheduled yet for Cold Norton’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.

Who can I vote for? ↗
Purleigh4 May 2023
Sue White ElectedConservative33.7%
Lisa Louisa Wiffen ElectedConservative29.0%
Pamela CalabroLabour11.2%
Lynne HarringtonLiberal Democrat10.9%
Ashley JonesThe Maldon District Independent Group7.5%
Neil PageIndependent5.2%
Bridget Frances EyreIndependent2.5%

1,656 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratIndependentOther parties

Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.

Parliament

Cold Norton is in Maldon constituency

The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Cold Norton).

Maldon · general election4 July 2024
John Whittingdale ElectedConservative38.9%
Pamela WalfordReform UK25.0%
Onike GolloLabour19.7%
Simon BurwoodLiberal Democrat11.8%
Isobel DoubledayGreen4.6%

49,841 votes for candidates · majority 6,906

MP for Maldon

Sir John Whittingdale

Conservative, MP since 9 April 1992.

64%

turnout in July 2024: 49,841 votes from 78,282 registered voters. England: 60%.

Majority 6,906 of 49,841 votes (13.9%): the 270th-narrowest of 543 in England.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreen

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.

Council money

Cold Norton’s Band D council tax is £2,346 a year

Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.

COUNCIL TAXBand D · 2026–27 · a Band D home in Cold Norton
Cold Norton parish councilparish precept£97.02
Maldon District Councildistrict council£238.95
Essex County Councilcounty council£1,641.96
Essex Policepolice and crime£275.31
Essex PCC-Firefire and rescue£92.52
A year£2,345.76
Bills by band run from 6/9 of Band D (Band A) to 18/9 (Band H). Discounts and support reduce many bills.

Maldon District Council keeps £238.95 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Cold Norton parish council, Essex County Council, the Essex Police and the Essex PCC-Fire.

Band D since 1993

£0£500£1K£1.5K£2K£2.5K1995200020052010201520202025England, 1993–94: £567.95England, 1994–95: £580.11England, 1995–96: £609.00England, 1996–97: £646.00England, 1997–98: £688.00England, 1998–99: £747.00England, 1999–00: £798.00England, 2000–01: £847.00England, 2001–02: £901.33England, 2002–03: £975.56England, 2003–04: £1,101.75England, 2004–05: £1,166.56England, 2005–06: £1,213.81England, 2006–07: £1,267.91England, 2007–08: £1,321.32England, 2008–09: £1,373.08England, 2009–10: £1,413.84England, 2010–11: £1,439.22England, 2011–12: £1,439.33England, 2012–13: £1,444.13England, 2013–14: £1,455.60England, 2014–15: £1,467.98England, 2015–16: £1,483.58England, 2016–17: £1,529.56England, 2017–18: £1,590.55England, 2018–19: £1,671.46England, 2019–20: £1,749.88England, 2020–21: £1,817.67England, 2021–22: £1,898.48England, 2022–23: £1,965.71England, 2023–24: £2,065.05England, 2024–25: £2,170.99England, 2025–26: £2,280.21England, 2026–27: £2,391.52Maldon, 1993–94: £516.38Maldon, 1994–95: £524.25Maldon, 1995–96: £544.50Maldon, 1996–97: £581.46Maldon, 1997–98: £621.61Maldon, 1998–99: £717.10Maldon, 1999–00: £764.42Maldon, 2000–01: £823.92Maldon, 2001–02: £885.64Maldon, 2002–03: £982.54Maldon, 2003–04: £1,141.18Maldon, 2004–05: £1,215.27Maldon, 2005–06: £1,258.23Maldon, 2006–07: £1,316.89Maldon, 2007–08: £1,374.74Maldon, 2008–09: £1,434.43Maldon, 2009–10: £1,465.06Maldon, 2010–11: £1,494.98Maldon, 2011–12: £1,494.95Maldon, 2012–13: £1,502.35Maldon, 2013–14: £1,510.41Maldon, 2014–15: £1,518.48Maldon, 2015–16: £1,525.81Maldon, 2016–17: £1,586.04Maldon, 2017–18: £1,635.11Maldon, 2018–19: £1,713.46Maldon, 2019–20: £1,792.88Maldon, 2020–21: £1,858.29Maldon, 2021–22: £1,893.67Maldon, 2022–23: £1,970.19Maldon, 2023–24: £2,046.51Maldon, 2024–25: £2,144.73Maldon, 2025–26: £2,232.83Maldon, 2026–27: £2,328.37Maldon £2,328England £2,392

Maldon’s Band D bill has risen 47% in ten years, from £1,586.04 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £516.38 in 1993–94.

Your bill by band

Band A 6/9£1,564
Band B 7/9£1,824
Band C 8/9£2,085
Band D 9/9£2,346
Band E 11/9£2,867
Band F 13/9£3,388
Band G 15/9£3,910
Band H 18/9£4,692

A Band D home in Cold Norton, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.

Essex’s councils

Tendring£2,270
Epping Forest£2,277
Braintree£2,280
Colchester£2,283
Harlow£2,299
Chelmsford£2,300
Castle Point£2,319
Basildon£2,327
Maldon£2,328
Uttlesford£2,334
Rochford£2,363

Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included; the 11 nearest of 14. Bars start at £2,100.

Council budgets per resident, 2026–27

ServiceMaldon + Essexvs England
Adult social care£487±£0
Children’s social care£187−£103
Roads and transport£52+£11
Housing (not council homes’ rents)£12−£49
Bins, street cleaning, environment£135+£16
Libraries, leisure, culture£39−£5
Planning and development£22−£4
Public health£63−£15
Running the council£125+£66
Other£-2−£21
Cold Norton’s councils, per residentEngland, all councils
Show as a table, with Essex
Maldon + EssexCold Norton’s councilsEssexEngland
Adult social care£487£473£487
Children’s social care£187£217£290
Roads and transport£52£51£41
Housing (not council homes’ rents)£12£45£61
Bins, street cleaning, environment£135£127£119
Libraries, leisure, culture£39£47£44
Planning and development£22£19£26
Public health£63£67£78
Running the council£125£69£59
Other£-2£4£19
Total, schools apart£1,120£1,118£1,234

Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Maldon per its residents plus Essex per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Essex 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.

Get involved

Having a say in how Cold Norton is run

Register to vote

It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.

gov.uk ↗
Contact your councillors or MP

Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.

WriteToThem ↗
Report a pothole or a broken streetlight

GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.

gov.uk ↗
Watch or speak at a council meeting

Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.

maldon.gov.uk ↗
Comment on a planning application

Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.

maldon.gov.uk ↗
Stand for election

The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.

Electoral Commission ↗

Questions about how Cold Norton is run

Which council runs Cold Norton?

Cold Norton is run by Maldon District Council and Essex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.

Does Cold Norton have a town council?

Yes: Cold Norton has its own parish-tier council (Cold Norton parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £97 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.

Who is the MP for Cold Norton?

Sir John Whittingdale (Conservative) is the MP for Maldon, which covers Cold Norton.

How many councillors does Cold Norton have?

2 ward councillors represent Cold Norton’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.

When are the next elections in Cold Norton?

No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Cold Norton’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.

How much is council tax in Cold Norton?

Band D council tax in Cold Norton is £2,346 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).

Who controls Maldon District Council?

No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 10 · Liberal Democrat 7 · Independent 6 · The Maldon District Independent Group 6 · Labour 1 of 30 seats; a majority needs 16. The council’s website lists who leads it now.

Who controls Essex County Council?

The Conservatives have a majority: 52 of 75 seats as elected.

Who won the 2023 council election in Cold Norton?

In Cold Norton’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 62.7%.

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.