Rother District Council

The Council welcomes petitions and recognises that they are one way in which people can let us know their concerns.

Rother District Council has adopted a Petitions Scheme in accordance with the requirements of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, which sets out how the Council will respond to the petitions that it receives. A copy of the full Scheme can be accessed here:  Petitions Scheme [WORD] [249kb].

Any Rother resident can submit a petition provided it includes 10 or more signatures. A petition may be signed by anyone living, working or studying in the Rother district.

Paper petitions should be sent to the Head of Corporate Services at the Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN39 3JX.

e.Petitions can be created and submitted through the Access East Sussex website.  This is a shared site, ran in partnership with East Sussex County Council and other local, East Sussex authorities.  Information on how to create and sign an e-petition can be found at the site.  e.petitions must follow the same guidelines as paper petitions as set out here.  The site can be accessed by clicking the external link to the right of this page. 

Petitions submitted to the Council must include:

• a clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioners wish the Council to take; and
• the name and address and signature or any person supporting the petition.

How will the Council respond to petitions?
The Council's response to a petition will depend on what a petition asks for and how many people have signed it, but may include one or more of the following:

• taking the action requested in the petition
• considering the petition at a Council meeting
• holding an inquiry into the matter
• undertaking research into the matter
• holding a public meeting
• holding a consultation
• holding a meeting with petitioners
• referring the petition for consideration by one of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees
• calling a referendum
• writing to the petition organiser setting out our views about the request in the petition

If a petition does not follow the guidelines as set out within the Petitions Scheme, the Council may decide not to do anything further with it.

Petitions Log
A copy of the Petitions Log, which provides summarised details of paper petitions received so far by the Council, can be viewed by clicking here: Petitions Log. The log is updated on a weekly basis.

Further Advice
For advice about petitioning, please telephone Democratic Services on 01424 787812 or email democraticservices@rother.gov.uk.

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