Government consults on late changes to Sussex reorganisation plans

The new consultation for East Sussex asks for views on moving four wards and one parish from Lewes into an expanded Brighton and Hove.

The plan, which was formally requested by Brighton and Hove Council, would reduce the size of the East Sussex unitary council as initially submitted by East Sussex.

The Government is separately consulting on a modification to a two-unitary proposal submitted by West Sussex district councils, which would result in a coastal unitary comprising Adur, Arun and Worthing, and a second unitary covering Chichester, Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex.

According to the consultation document for East Sussex, the Secretary of State hopes to explore whether the change would deliver the positive strengths of East Sussex’s initial proposal in relation to service delivery while facilitating the growth of Brighton and Hove.

The consultation document for West Sussex meanwhile stated that the Secretary of State hopes the effort would shed light on whether the structure would ensure that the new West Sussex councils reflect distinct communities and rural/coastal identities in the area while maintaining balance under the Mayoral Combined Authority.

Both consultations are scheduled to close on 15 June.

Local Government Minister Alison McGovern stressed that the Government continues to consider all proposals received by local authorities in the region, in a letter sent to West Sussex council leaders on Tuesday (12 May).

She said the consultation responses will be "carefully considered" against the other representations before the Secretary of State makes a decision.

Secretary of State Steve Reed previously suggested the modification in March this year, stating that he had been unable to reach a decision on reorganisation in the region.

In a letter, he said he understood arguments for a five-unitary pan-Sussex proposal, as well as a two-unitary proposal for East Sussex and Brighton that had been advanced by East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Rother District Council.

He also noted that the two-unitary proposal would limit opportunity for Brighton and Hove's future growth, which went against a key Government ambition to facilitate the growth of smaller cities.

The leader of Lewes District Council – which will be partly subsumed into Brighton and Hove under the modification – has hit out at the plans, stating that the people of East Sussex “have rejected carving up the county”.

Cllr Zoe Nicholson said: “What makes this even worse is that ministers are justifying these proposals by claiming Brighton and Hove cannot grow or build the homes it needs unless our communities are taken out of East Sussex.

“That shows a complete lack of understanding of the reality here. We are already massively oversubscribed for housing — pushing our communities into Brighton isn't about solving a housing crisis, it's exactly I warned about last summer: a land grab."

Adam Carey