Decision day nears for local government reorganisation proposals

With the results of the public consultation to hand, the time is approaching for Hastings Borough Council’s Cabinet to make its decision on how local government should be reorganised in the era of devolution. Before that comes into force, there will be one more round of elections at both borough and county level, in May 2026. Elsewhere in Sussex, Brighton is attempting to take over parts of Lewes. Text by Nick Terdre, research and graphics by Russell Hall.

Crunch time is approaching for Hastings Borough Council (HBC) as the deadline of 26 September draws near for submitting a final proposal on how local government should be reorganised when Sussex enters the era of devolution under a single mayor.

Three proposals for setting up a unitary authority or authorities in East Sussex have been under consideration by HBC: a single authority (as backed by the Greens and Conservatives), division into a coastal and an inland authority (Labour’s suggestion), and a borough/district model comprising five unitary authorities based on the existing lower-tier councils (as mooted by the Hastings Independents group).

In the public consultation held over mid year, which gathered 810 responses while a further 100 gave their views in face-to-face sessions and drop-ins, 301 favoured the borough/district model, 286 the single authority and 169 the coastal/inland split.

Again, 377 declared themselves in favour of setting up a Hastings Town Council, while 245 were against the proposal and 179 neutral.

The responses “will be used alongside the financial analysis being done by an independent team as part of work to build the business case,” the council says in its commentary.

In fact business cases are being developed for all three options, Cllr Julia Hilton, deputy leader and lead for local government reorganisation, told HOT. Previously it was understood the council only had enough funds for one.

September meetings

These will be considered at a special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny committee on 18 September, and should therefore be put in the public domain a week before, Hilton said.

They will then be on the agenda of the Full Council meeting on 24 September. Full Council has been involved in the debate all the way through, though with the usual summer break it has not had a chance to  consider the matter since July. A special Cabinet meeting is scheduled immediately after Full Council when the final decision will be taken.

The business case for each option must meet six criteria laid down by the government, Hilton said: it must be of the right size and scale, deliver high quality and sustainable services, demonstrate financial sustainability, guarantee local collaboration and consensus, support devolution and ensure community engagement and empowerment.

Although the government would like areas to submit a single proposal, it accepts that this may not always be the case. The final decision on which unitary authority option is implemented falls to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) which is responsible for implementing the devolution policy.

Public concerns

Two public workshops were also held as part of HBC’s consultation, at which various concerns about devolution were expressed. According to Hastings Assembles, which facilitated these sessions, the overall sentiment was one of scepticism and opposition to the coming changes, alongside fears that Hastings would be swallowed up in any larger more centralised structure.

Negative attitudes on the part of the public were also a dominant feature in a consultation across Sussex on the establishment of a mayoral combined county authority, run by the ministry earlier this year. Asked whether devolution would be beneficial in supporting the economy, improving local services and other respects, about two thirds of the public said no (see graphic below).

Various organisations which were also consulted, including councils, businesses and voluntary groups, generally took a more positive attitude.

The results will anyway not prove an impediment to the devolution process — while the ministry had a statutory duty to conduct the consultation, it was not required to take the responses on board, though it said  it would “note concerns.”

Elections confirmed

After Cllr Hilton told the Old Hastings Green News, “’We still don’t know if there will . . . be normal local or county elections next May,’ the ministry confirmed to HOT that they would take place. “We have no plans to postpone any elections which councils are scheduled to hold,” a spokesperson said. “The government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification.”

The postponement of county council elections in East and West Sussex this year “was intended to give local leaders the time and capacity to plan for new structures and system change, with local leadership frozen in place until after full local government reorganisation proposals have been submitted and devolution agreements concluded.”

So Hastings will hold local, county council and mayoral elections on the same day, 7 May, next year.

The government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible, as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation, the spokesperson added. According to the timeline shown above, these are currently expected to take place in May 2027.

Brighton seeks to expand

Meanwhile Labour-run Brighton & Hove has declared a desire to take parts of Lewes under its control. According to its leader, Cllr Bella Sankey, expanding its population from its current level around 280,000 to 300,000-400,000 would allow “better connections with the communities while still achieving economies of scale with the communities.” As an existing unitary authority, Brighton is not under any requirement to meet a minimum population level as the proposed new unitary authorities in East and West Sussex are.

Four expansion options have been put forward by Brighton, all involving annexing East Saltdean and Peacehaven, and possibly also Kingston and/or Newhaven.

However, at public meetings local people and representatives in these areas have roundly rejected the proposals, with the support of the Lewes MP, Liberal Democrat James MacCleary. Consultations currently being held are expected to show the same result.

Meanwhile the government says its devolution plans remain on track. In July the devolution minister, Jim McMahon, laid the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill before Parliament. In the same month he told Parliament that all six of the areas selected for the Devolution Priority Programme, including East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove, had fulfilled the statutory tests to establish mayoral strategic authorities and legislation would be brought before Parliament in early 2026 to establish these institutions.

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