Council leaders to face public over shake-up plan

Two council leaders are to hold a public meeting to answer questions about a planned shake-up of local authorities.

Sussex is one of six priority areas in the government's devolution programme.

That will see a mayor elected in May 2026, alongside the scrapping of two-tier councils with them being replaced by unitary authorities from 2028.

A government consultation, which gives residents and organisations the opportunity to have a say on their preferred option, runs until 11 January.

From 2028 it is likely the existing county and district councils will be scrapped and instead Sussex will have three, four or five unitary authorities.

Brighton & Hove City Council's Labour leader, Bella Sankey, and East Sussex's Tory leader, Keith Glazier, are set a share a stage next year.

The idea is Sankey and Glazier will discuss the pros and cons of reorganisation, the Local Democracy Reporting Service says.

There are four proposals for Sussex.

The leaders of West Sussex County Council favour running the county under one single authority.

But the leaders of all seven existing district and borough councils in West Sussex favour dividing the county into two new bodies.

Wealden District Council chose not to submit a preference.

In East Sussex, there is a consensus between the county council and leaders in Eastbourne, Hastings, Rother and Lewes to run the county under one single unitary authority.

Brighton & Hove City Council, the only unitary authority in Sussex, has proposed an expansion which would include East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven and part of Falmer village currently in the Lewes district.

This would mean those places, currently served by East Sussex County Council and Lewes District Council, would come under Brighton & Hove.

The Brighton and Hove proposal would see the split the rest of Sussex into four areas, all run by new unitary councils.

Brighton and Hove councillor, Bridget Fishleigh, says she hopes people will come to discuss how the proposals compare in their approaches to services including support for children with special educational needs.

"It's not just about the bins," she said.

The meeting is at 17:00 GMT on Wednesday, 7 January, at St Martin's United Reformed Church, Longridge Avenue, Saltdean. Tickets are available online.

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