Photo: Terryjoyce · CC BY-SA 3.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Chelmsford City Council
Rettendon is run by Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council, with Rettendon parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Chelmsford City Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Essex County Council. Its MP is Sir John Whittingdale (Conservative), member for Maldon.
£2,306
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Rettendon’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Chelmsford City Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Chelmsford City Council: 32 of its 57 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 22, independents 3. 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 Rettendon is £2,306 for 2026–27; Chelmsford City 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 holds the seats on Rettendon’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 29 of Chelmsford’s 57 or 38 of Essex’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat32
- Conservative22
- Independent3
Latest election: May 2023.
- Conservative52
- Liberal Democrat8
- Labour5
- Independent4
- Canvey Island Independent Party2
- Residents for Uttlesford2
- Green1
- Rochford District Residents1
Latest election: May 2021.
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.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Rettendon has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
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 Rettendon’s residents · Band D precept £62
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Who to ask
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.
From the parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Rettendon, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierRettendon parish council
- 2Chelmsford City Council1 ward · 2 councillorsPaul ClarkSteve Davis
- 3Essex County Council1 division · 1 councillorSue Dobson
- 4Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024Roger Charles Hirst
- 5House of CommonsMaldon
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.
- Paul ClarkIndependent · May 2023
- Steve DavisIndependent · May 2023
Show as a table, with Essex County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rettendon and Runwell4% in Rettendon · 286 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Paul ClarkSteve Davis | May 2023 |
Essex County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock ED1% in Rettendon · 286 residents1 seat · December 2024 | 1 | Sue Dobsonby-election | December 2024 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Chelmsford City 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).
Chelmsford council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Rettendon, 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 Rettendon’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,871 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.
Rettendon is in Maldon constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Rettendon).
49,841 votes for candidates · majority 6,906
Conservative, MP since 9 April 1992.
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.
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.
Rettendon’s Band D council tax is £2,306 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Chelmsford City Council keeps £234.85 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Rettendon parish council, Essex County Council, the Essex Police and the Essex PCC-Fire.
Band D since 1993
Chelmsford’s Band D bill has risen 47% in ten years, from £1,563.07 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £538.88 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Rettendon, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Essex’s councils
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
Show as a table, with Essex
| Chelmsford + Essex | Rettendon’s councils | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £487 | £473 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £187 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £34 | £51 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £69 | £45 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £112 | £127 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £59 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £25 | £19 | £26 |
| Public health | £62 | £67 | £78 |
| Running the council | £65 | £69 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £4 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,098 | £1,118 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Chelmsford 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.
Having a say in how Rettendon 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.
chelmsford.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
chelmsford.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Rettendon is run
Which council runs Rettendon?
Rettendon is run by Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Rettendon have a town council?
Yes: Rettendon has its own parish-tier council (Rettendon parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £62 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Rettendon?
Sir John Whittingdale (Conservative) is the MP for Maldon, which covers Rettendon.
How many councillors does Rettendon have?
2 ward councillors represent Rettendon’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Rettendon?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Rettendon’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Rettendon?
Band D council tax in Rettendon is £2,306 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Chelmsford City Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 32 of 57 seats as elected. 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 Rettendon?
In Rettendon’s wards on 4 May 2023, Independent 2 of the 2 seats up. Independents had the largest share of votes, 53.3%.
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.