Photo: David Long · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Canterbury City Council
Rough Common is run by Canterbury City Council and Kent County Council, with Harbledown and Rough Common parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Canterbury City Council. Reform UK has a majority on Kent County Council. Its MP is Rosie Duffield (Independent), member for Canterbury.
£2,436
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Rough Common’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Canterbury City Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 18 of its 39 seats as elected, 2 short of the 20 needed. The Liberal Democrats hold 8, the Conservatives 8 and the Greens 5. Who’s in charge ↓
Kent in 2025
Kent County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Reform UK majority at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 56 of 82 seats. Kent ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Rough Common is £2,436 for 2026–27; Canterbury City Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 55% 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 Rough Common’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 20 of Canterbury’s 39 or 42 of Kent’s 82 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour18
- Conservative8
- Liberal Democrat8
- Green5
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK56
- Liberal Democrat12
- Conservative6
- Green6
- Labour2
Latest election: May 2025.
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
Rough Common 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 Rough Common’s residents · Band D precept £38
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 Rough Common, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierHarbledown and Rough Common parish council
- 2Canterbury City Council1 ward · 3 councillorsAlex RickettsSteph JupeDan Smith
- 3Kent County Council1 division · 1 councillorAlex Ricketts
- 4Police and crime commissionerKent Police · elected May 2024Matthew Scott
- 5House of CommonsCanterbury
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.
3 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.
- Alex RickettsLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Steph JupeLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Dan SmithLiberal Democrat · May 2023
Show as a table, with Kent County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blean Forest13% in Rough Common · 1,291 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Alex RickettsSteph JupeDan Smith | May 2023 |
Kent County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury North ED7% in Rough Common · 1,291 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Alex Ricketts | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Canterbury 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).
Canterbury council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Rough Common, 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 Rough Common’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗5,694 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Rough Common is in Canterbury constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Rough Common).
47,231 votes for candidates · majority 8,653
Independent, MP since 8 June 2017.
turnout in July 2024: 47,231 votes from 71,155 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 8,653 of 47,231 votes (18.3%): wider than in 63% 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.
Rough Common’s Band D council tax is £2,436 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Canterbury City Council keeps £254.43 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Harbledown and Rough Common parish council, Kent County Council, the Kent police and crime commissioner and the Kent Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Canterbury’s Band D bill has risen 55% in ten years, from £1,565.67 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £544.50 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Harbledown and Rough Common, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Kent’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included; the 11 nearest of 13. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Kent
| Canterbury + Kent | Rough Common’s councils | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £505 | £492 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £262 | £266 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £34 | £49 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £18 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £138 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £64 | £49 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £25 | £29 | £26 |
| Public health | £58 | £61 | £78 |
| Running the council | £70 | £74 | £59 |
| Other | £36 | £6 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,211 | £1,200 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Canterbury per its residents plus Kent 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. Kent 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 Rough Common 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.
canterbury.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
canterbury.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Rough Common is run
Which council runs Rough Common?
Rough Common is run by Canterbury City Council and Kent County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Rough Common have a town council?
Yes: Rough Common has its own parish-tier council (Harbledown and Rough Common parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £38 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Rough Common?
Rosie Duffield (Independent) is the MP for Canterbury, which covers Rough Common.
How many councillors does Rough Common have?
3 ward councillors represent Rough Common’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Rough Common?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Rough Common’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Rough Common?
Band D council tax in Rough Common is £2,436 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Canterbury City Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 18 · Liberal Democrat 8 · Conservative 8 · Green 5 of 39 seats; a majority needs 20. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Kent County Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 56 of 82 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Rough Common?
In Rough Common’s wards on 4 May 2023, Liberal Democrat 3 of the 3 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 56.1%.
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.