Could devolution plans redraw the map of Sussex?

As plans for devolution take shape council leaders are debating how Sussex could be divided into new areas run by unitary authorities.

It has been seven weeks since Sussex became one of six areas on the government's priority programme which minsters say will "unleash power from Westminster back into local communities and drive economic growth".

Local elections this May have been cancelled while plans are put in place to elect a Mayor of Sussex next spring.

Brighton & Hove City Council and East and West Sussex County Councils will submit their initial plans for reorganising our existing councils into at least three new unitary authorities responsible for running our local services on Friday.

All 12 of our boroughs and districts will be scrapped – and county councils will be replaced.

Instead, an elected mayor will head up a strategic authority for the whole of Sussex which will make 'big picture' decisions on things like housing, infrastructure and transport development, the economy and the environment.

They will also oversee public health and safety, including police and fire services.

Newly created unitary authorities will take on the running of day-to-day services like schools, waste, social care, planning applications and managing benefits and charges.

The question is how many unitary authorities do we have and how will the separate areas be divided.

Brighton and Hove is already a unitary authority, but with a population of almost 300,000 it's smaller than the Government's desired minimum of 500,000 people.

Leaders in the city suggest it could expand west to include Shoreham-by-Sea, Lancing and even Worthing. Public feedback so far shows that's the most popular idea.

Less popular is a suggestion to expand east to Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven and Newhaven.

Few support any idea of it reaching northwards to Crawley and Gatwick as people tend to think of the South Downs as a natural boundary.

A report to Brighton & Hove's cabinet members favours creating five unitary authorities in Sussex, instead of the predicted three roughly along existing boundaries.

The report says this would "ensure the different voices of Sussex are heard", ensure financial viability and maintain local rural, coastal and urban identities.

In East Sussex, with a population of 550,000, leaders want their geography to stay just as it is to maintain history and existing working partnerships.

Their proposal to the government raises concerns about how the financial pressures from rising demand for adult and children's social care, SEND education and temporary housing have left many councils with "insufficient reserves available across all the councils to be able to offset the set-up costs of a new unitary authority".

In January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the leader of Crawley Borough Council had held "exploratory discussions" with Surrey County Council about the possibility of the town joining one of their new unitary authorities.

Councils in West Sussex published their interim response on Friday, which said "no single model has yet been agreed on" for how council boundaries should look.

Council leaders said there had been "indications" the government could exercise "significant flexibility" around the 500,000-person guideline for new unitary authorities, and asked for clarification on any upper or lower size limits.

Around 900,000 people live within the current West Sussex County Council boundary, which according to the submission would put it among the "largest single unitaries in the country" if its current border was maintained.

Council leaders in West Sussex also said in the response that they wanted clarity on whether Brighton & Hove City Council will be "compelled" to grow or if central government will let the city authority keep its current borders.

All councils must finalise their plans for reorganisation by September 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said in December 2024 that she would be prepared to "knock heads together" if councils could not reach consensus on their own.

The government's public consultation into devolution in Sussex and Brighton continues until 13 April.

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