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East Sussex County Council's responses to Government's statutory consultation on proposals local government reorganisation (LGR) in the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove area

Committee report · Cabinet · Tue 16 Dec 2025 · East Sussex County Council

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What it recommends

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What the meeting decided

The minutes record: Agreed. “RESOLVED to: 1) agree East Sussex County Council’s responses to Government’s statutory consultation on proposals for local government reorganisation in the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove area as set out in the appendices of the report; and 2) approve the submission to Government by the closing date of 11 January 2026.” minutes ↗

In plain English

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Recommended · This went to the meeting on Tue 16 Dec 2025. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

East Sussex County Council's Cabinet is due to consider its response to a Government statutory consultation on proposals for local government reorganisation in the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove area at its meeting on 16 December 2025. p1p2p3

The consultation covers two proposals for the area: 'One East Sussex', a single unitary council covering Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother and Wealden with Brighton and Hove remaining unchanged, and a five-unitary proposal for the whole of Sussex put forward by Brighton and Hove City Council. p15p16

The consultation closes on 11 January 2026, and the Government is expected to decide on the future shape of local government for the area in March 2026. p15p21

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Show the 6 passages this is based on
  • p1Report to: Cabinet Date of meeting: 16 December 2025
  • p2By: Chief Executive Title: East Sussex County Council’s responses to Government’s statutory consultation on proposals for local government reorganisation (LGR) in the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove area
  • p3Purpose: To seek Cabinet approval of East Sussex County Council’s responses to statutory consultation on proposals for LGR in the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove area
  • p15In September 2025 the One East Sussex proposal was agreed by East Sussex County Council (ESCC), Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Rother District Council, and was submitted to government by each of the councils on 26 September. Wealden District Council (WDC) had worked with the other five councils on the proposal but at its meeting on 24 September WDC Cabinet made the decision to not submit a proposal. 1.8 The proposal BHCC submitted to Government was a five unitary model for the whole of Sussex. This model had not been consulted on by BHCC and was only made available to ESCC through publication for BHCC’s Cabinet meeting on 25 September 2025. 2. Government’s statutory consultation 2.1 Government has launched a statutory consultation on proposals for a single tier of local government in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove. The consultation runs until 11 January 2026 and the two proposals for the area that are being consulted on are: i) One East Sussex - East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Rother District Council proposed a single unitary council covering Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother and Wealden, with Brighton and Hove to remain unchanged.
  • p16ii) Representative Councils for a Devolved Sussex: A Five Unitary Proposal - Brighton and Hove City Council proposed 5 unitary councils across the whole of the area of East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove. This proposal includes a request to split existing district council areas between the proposed new councils:
  • p21· Unitary E - Adur, Arun, and Worthing 2.2 Recommended responses to the consultation questions for both proposals for the area are attached at Appendix 1 (One East Sussex) and Appendix 2 (Representative Councils for a Devolved Sussex: A Five Unitary Proposal). 2.3 The consultation is open to a list of statutory consultees, primarily other public sector bodies, that the Government have notified directly and all those with an interest in the proposals, including local residents, town and parish councils, businesses, and the voluntary sector. East Sussex stakeholders have been contacted by the Chief Executives of the councils that submitted the One East Sussex proposal to alert them to the consultation and encourage them to respond. 2.4 The Government is expected to make a decision on the future shape of local government for the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove area in March 2026. Elections to what will become the unitary authority would follow in May 2027 to enable the transition to vesting day on 1 April 2028.

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