Heathfield voters prepare for county council election as parties set out local priorities
Roads, schools, SEND provision and countryside protection are emerging as key issues for voters in Heathfield and Mayfield ahead of the local elections on Thursday, 7 May.
Residents in Heathfield and across the wider Wealden district will go to the polls on Thursday, 7 May 2026, but it is important to be clear about what is being contested. This year’s election is for East Sussex County Council, not for Wealden District Council. The county council elections cover the Wealden divisions, including Heathfield & Mayfield, while Wealden District Council’s next scheduled full election is listed separately in the district’s forthcoming elections information. County councillors are elected for four-year terms and oversee major services including roads, schools, libraries, and child and adult social care. Voters will also need to bring photo ID to polling stations.
For people in Heathfield, Cross in Hand, Broad Oak, Mayfield and surrounding villages, the election will be fought in the Heathfield & Mayfield division, where five candidates are standing. They are Anne Barbara Blake-Coggins for the Liberal Democrats, Teresa Jane Blaxland for the Conservatives, Jessika Simone Hulbert for the Green Party, Steve Taylor for Labour, and Andy Woolley for Reform UK. The ballot therefore offers voters a full spread of the main parties now competing in local politics across Sussex.
All the main parties are fielding candidates
The Conservative candidate, Teresa Jane Blaxland, is presenting herself as an experienced local figure with deep ties to the area. In her statement to voters, she says she has lived in Broad Oak, Heathfield for more than 30 years, is a former district councillor, a recently retired magistrate, and a former chairman of the Heathfield Partnership. Her campaign focuses on protecting the countryside, while also arguing that a future unitary authority could help deliver savings to support roads and schools.
The Green Party candidate, Jessika Simone Hulbert, is already known locally as a Wealden district councillor and has published one of the most detailed public platforms in the contest. Her priorities include improving SEND provision, pushing for greater public control of highways, improving road safety, lowering speed limits near schools and in villages, expanding cycleways, tackling fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, and protecting the countryside and rivers from pollution.
Labour’s Steve Taylor is campaigning on long-standing local involvement and community service. His published statement says he has lived in the Heathfield and Mayfield area for more than 30 years, became involved through the parent-teacher committee at Cross in Hand School, later served as a school governor, spent seven years on Heathfield & Waldron Parish Council, and continues volunteering to maintain woodland saved from development.
For Reform UK, Andy Woolley is stressing local experience and a practical approach. A Heathfield resident for 26 years, he says he served 16 years on the parish council, including six as chairman. His platform highlights better education, safer roads, visible policing, health and social care, and support for jobs and housing for local people, alongside backing both the town and the surrounding rural and farming communities.
The Liberal Democrat candidate, Anne Barbara Blake-Coggins, is confirmed on the ballot, although in the public sources reviewed there is currently no detailed candidate statement setting out a local platform.
Taken together, the contest suggests a familiar set of local concerns for Heathfield voters: road conditions, school provision, public services, rural identity and environmental protection. On 7 May, residents will
