It’s the biggest reorganisation of local government in over 50 years, but we’re still no closer finding out what it will look like in our part of Sussex and when it will happen, after yet another Westminster hold-up.
The proposals will probably see the county council and the five district councils, including Rother, replaced by a unitary authority covering all of East Sussex. We’ll be voting for whatever comes to pass in May 2027 and the new authority will take over in 2028, receiving thousands of pounds of council tax from every household each year.
In total there are four proposed ideas for how to carve up local government in Brighton, East and West Sussex.
A decision had been expected in March, but last week Steve Reed the minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government kicked the can further down the road. In a written statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday 25 March he said, “I have not yet made a decision, due to concerns regarding all four of the proposals I received. But I would like to reassure the House that I am still fully committed to delivering reorganisation in these areas with elections in May 2027 and changes coming into effect from April 2028.”
Yet another round of consultation will follow before a final announcement, leading to more delayed work and important decisions postponed.
Council leaders described the hold-up as “bitterly disappointing,” noting that any decision will come after the local elections in May this year which will see voters elect councillors for the doomed local authorities for just a couple of years.
We were also promised a mayor for Sussex who would bring much needed investment to the county. That election has also been postponed for two years.
Plus, in all the proposals and discussions, there’s been barely a mention of the important role played by East Sussex town and parish councils.
The end game in all these changes was the hope of a more effective and simpler system that costs less.
How’s that going?
Image Credits: Russell Hall .