Maldon District is a predominantly rural area of Essex, covering 139 square miles. The District’s rich natural and historic landscape is dominated by the Blackwater and Crouch estuaries and extensive flat and undulating plains set against 70 miles of coastline. The District is home to over 64,000 people who live in the main towns of Maldon, Heybridge and Burnham on Crouch and scattered villages and hamlets.

Economically, the District is home to a growing mixture of businesses across the agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors, including specialist marine services. Agriculture, fishing and marine trades remain strong despite national trends with crops including wheat, grapes and hops, as well as oysters and salt being harvested and processed around the District into a range of culinary produce sold throughout the world. Our natural environment, our connection with the estuaries and sea, as well as our cultural and historic links to our past make the District an attractive place to explore and the area welcomes over four million visitors annually, making tourism incredibly important for the local economy.

Like other places, our communities are changing too, becoming more diverse and increasingly ageing. We do face challenges however, which we need to tackle with our partners in areas like social isolation, physical and mental health and well-being, housing needs, pockets of deprivation, as well as supporting our young people in getting the best start in life. We know our residents value the strong sense of community spirit and pride people take in our District and many of them take an active role in helping make it the supportive place it is to live and work.