Tendring

§ This page gives an overview of the Tendring local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.

Overview ⁞ Tendring is a coastal district in north-east Essex, centred on the seaside resort of Clacton-on-Sea, with its pier, beaches, and holiday facilities. Other coastal towns include Walton-on-the-Naze, with its sandy beaches and nature reserves, and Harwich, a historic port town with maritime heritage. Inland villages and countryside contrast with the busy coast, and the district’s peninsular geography means it is surrounded by water on three sides, bordered by the North Sea, River Stour, and River Colne. Its coastline, historic towns, and seaside attractions make it a diverse and distinctive district.

The administrative boundary of Tendring can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Tendring.

Map of Tendring
Administrative Boundary of Tendring (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about Tendring

What region is Tendring in? Tendring is in the East of England of England, a region within the UK.

What county is Tendring in? Tendring is located in the county of Essex.

Is Tendring a city? No, Tendring is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)

Who governs Tendring? The local authority for this district is: Tendring District Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Essex is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Essex County Council.

▶ Official website of Tendring District Council 🔗 tendringdc.gov.uk

Website of Tendring District Council
Website of Tendring District Council (captured on 2025-09-20)

Which police force covers Tendring? Policing in Tendring is provided by Essex Police 🔗 essex.police.uk, which serves 14 local authority districts: Basildon ⁞ Braintree ⁞ Brentwood ⁞ Castle Point ⁞ Chelmsford ⁞ Colchester ⁞ Epping Forest ⁞ Harlow ⁞ Maldon ⁞ Rochford ⁞ Southend-on-Sea ⁞ Tendring ⁞ Thurrock ⁞ Uttlesford.

This district page, Tendring, is a sub-page of this county page: Essex and this region page: East of England. It zooms in to local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, and provides a list of wards in this district. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK local authority districts: List of Local Authority Districts.

Constituencies in Tendring

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.

Wards in Tendring

Tendring is divided into 32 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Alresford & Elmstead
  • Ardleigh & Little Bromley
  • Bluehouse
  • Brightlingsea
  • Burrsville
  • Cann Hall
  • Coppins
  • Dovercourt All Saints
  • Dovercourt Bay
  • Dovercourt Tollgate
  • Dovercourt Vines & Parkeston
  • Eastcliff
  • Frinton
  • Harwich & Kingsway
  • Homelands
  • Kirby Cross
  • Kirby-le-Soken & Hamford
  • Lawford, Manningtree & Mistley
  • Little Clacton
  • Pier
  • St Bartholomew's
  • St James
  • St John's
  • St Osyth
  • St Paul's
  • Stour Valley
  • The Bentleys & Frating
  • The Oakleys & Wix
  • Thorpe, Beaumont & Great Holland
  • Walton
  • Weeley & Tendring
  • West Clacton & Jaywick Sands

In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.

Parishes in Tendring

Tendring is part-parished: 27 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 1 unparished areas.

  • Alresford
  • Ardleigh
  • Beaumont-cum-Moze
  • Bradfield
  • Brightlingsea
  • Elmstead
  • Frating
  • Frinton and Walton
  • Great Bentley
  • Great Bromley
  • Great Oakley
  • Harwich
  • Lawford
  • Little Bentley
  • Little Bromley
  • Little Clacton
  • Little Oakley
  • Manningtree
  • Mistley
  • Ramsey and Parkeston
  • St Osyth
  • Tendring
  • Thorpe-le-Soken
  • Thorrington
  • Weeley
  • Wix
  • Wrabness

A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.

Built-up Areas in Tendring

Tendring covers 36 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Alresford
  • Ardleigh
  • Bradfield (Tendring)
  • Brightlingsea
  • Bromley Cross
  • Clacton-on-Sea
  • Colchester *
  • Elmstead Market
  • Fox Street
  • Foxash Estate *
  • Frating Green
  • Frinton-on-Sea
  • Great Bentley
  • Great Holland
  • Great Oakley
  • Hare Green
  • Harwich
  • Jaywick
  • Kirby Cross
  • Kirby-le-Soken
  • Lamb Corner *
  • Lawford
  • Little Clacton
  • Manningtree
  • Mistley
  • Parkeston
  • Point Clear
  • Seawick
  • St Osyth
  • Thorpe-le-Soken
  • Thorrington
  • Walton-on-the-Naze
  • Weeley
  • Weeley Heath
  • Wivenhoe *
  • Wix

In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Tendring.)

Tendring compared with other districts in the UK

This section shows how Tendring compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.

Tendring has 32 electoral wards.

Tendring compared with other districts
Smaller: 299  Similar: 14  Larger: 48 (compared with 361 districts)

Tendring has a population of 156,759 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)

Population of Tendring compared with other districts
Population of Tendring, compared with other districts in England and Wales

More local statistics and data for Tendring can be found on the ONS statistics for Tendring.