Proposals to expand Brighton and Hove eastwards are due to go before councillors as part of a debate on the proposed shake up of councils across Sussex.
Members of Brighton and Hove’s City Council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee are expected to discuss the options on Thursday (31 July).
They are being asked to consider four options as Brighton and Hove City Council prepares for the reorganisation of local government after Sussex has its first elected mayor.
The smallest proposed change would make East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven part of Brighton and Hove. The biggest would also include Kingston and Newhaven.
The Green leader of Lewes District Council, Zoe Nicholson, was unimpressed. She told the BBC that she planned to “stand up against this empire-building activity”.
Lewes District Council has started a petition on the Change.org website with almost 4,000 signatures at the time of writing. The petition is headed: “Stop Brighton and Hove City Council takeover of Lewes District.”
The government wants Sussex, with a population of about 1.7 million people, to be made up of three or possibly four councils, each serving a population of about 500,000.
Brighton and Hove City Council, with a population of about 278,000, has proposed five new councils but even this would mean that Brighton and Hove would have to extend its territory.
A report to the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee said that the Minister for Local Government and Devolution, Jim McMahon, was not taking a rigid approach.
The report said: “Government guidance encourages councils to work within existing local authority boundaries, using whole areas wherever possible.
“However, it also recognises that in some cases, the most coherent or viable proposal may involve combining parts of neighbouring authorities.
“Where this arises, proposals must be clearly justified and aligned to functional geographies and service integration.
“In this context, councils may consult using whole wards as building blocks for potential new geographies.
“This ensures clarity and consistency while enabling proposals to reflect real-world patterns of service use and community life.”
The four options are already the subject of a council-run consultation, after almost 600 people responded to a previous exercise earlier this year. An eastward expansion received the highest number of positive responses first time round.
People did not want Brighton and Hove to lose its identity but said that if it had to expand, a modest merger to the east would be the best move.
The report to councillors said: “The eastern corridor was identified as the most viable focus for consultation.
“This reflects strong patterns of service usage, shared public infrastructure, education and health networks and cross-boundary travel along the A259.”
Brighton and Hove City Council appears to favour the option that would bring in East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven, Kingston and Newhaven to create an area with a population of about 316,000.
The consultation document said: “This is the most balanced option in terms of population. It would create a council that is large enough to deliver services efficiently while remaining locally accountable.
“Each area would continue to elect its own councillors, giving communities a clear voice and helping to shape services that work for everyone.
“Many people in these areas already travel into the city for work, health care, schools, shopping and leisure.
“Brighton and Hove already manages land and services near by including Stanmer Park and parts of the downland estate.
“Creating one council for this wider area would allow decisions about shared services to be made in a more joined-up and effective way.”
The consultation is open until Monday 25 August on the council’s website, with the results expected to be presented to the council’s cabinet on Thursday 25 September.
The council’s final proposal is due to be submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government by Friday 26 September.
The council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is due to meet at 4pm on Thursday (31 July) at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
It isn’t, or shouldn’t be, Brighton ‘s decision . The residents of the towns concerned should be the ONLY people to have a say on this
Spot on
I completely agree that residents in the affected towns should have a major say in this. That’s exactly why LDC and ESCC are running a consultation specifically for residents of Peacehaven, Telscombe, Newhaven, East Saltdean and Kingston. It’s open until 25 August, and personally, I’d encourage everyone to take part.
That said, because this is a local government reorganisation proposal, it ultimately falls to the Secretary of State to decide, based on the evidence and responses received. So while it absolutely shouldn’t be just Brighton’s decision, it’s not entirely in the hands of local councils either. It’s why every comment matters right now.
We all deserve a fair, transparent process. That only happens if everyone participates.
Absolutely agree. Goodness knows what might happen if B&H took over such a big stretch of coastline. I doubt they would have the required resources to enable the growth those towns/villages deserve and not be subsumed into a ‘monstrosity’ of power and neglect.
It’s interesting that you say that Fran, because I was reading up that the coastline towns are struggling in aspects themselves, such as adult social care being a fairly critical one, with a suggestion that it only has a few years until it collapses. I think you touch upon an important aspect that there should be a broad benefit for the many.
Get it done, same goes for West of Brighton, a more centralised service has better oversight, fewer people needed to run 1 system instead of 6, 7, or 8, therefore fewer admin systems then cheaper to run, the number of people running things in East and West Sussex is staggering, way too many levels of repetition by people with little or no actual qualifications signing of on huge sums of money with no clue about what they are doing, don’t believe me ??? see much each council costs before they actually produce anything. A LOT
Well the Government is getting on with it but are consulting. If they didn’t do that people would complain bout diktats from above.
Personally I think it would be better to leave B&H alone in this process. Yes it’s a little smaller than the 300k population minimum but it would be too much of a distraction from the day-to-day issues.
Both Lewes and East Sussex Countil council would need to undertake complex financial calculations to divest themselves of the areas proposed to move in BHCCs orbit and work out which staff and buildings as well as liabilities need to be transferred to B&H. And B&H would need to go through those calculations to agree them.
Not so complex as you would allude to, assuming they know where everything is then it can only be a matter of disclosure, the rest is just numbers, and malingering blockers
The final link in the article leads to a change.org petition, not a council-run consultation. Was that intentional?
Sorry about that. My mistake. Now corrected. Thanks.
Leave it well alone b&h cannot cope with what it’s got at the moment, even the shoestring it runs on is frayed to death,, and could snap at anytime I should like to know how much it’s got in its reserves, it used to be about 20 to 30 million pounds I wonder how much now,,perhaps they may care to tell us.I agree that there should be a local referendum any way, because we know that ,, nine times out of ten we getshafted it would be quite a coup if people made a stance for once and stopped paying there council tax,as we do not get the service we pay for,and I can give quite a few examples,,if needed,police ,EHL, pot holes, grass still growing out of pavement, public toilets, if you can find one!! And the list goes on ,,guaranteed come next year council tax will go up
That’s exactly why we need to look seriously at how services are planned and funded across our area. Right now, people in places like Peacehaven and Newhaven use Brighton’s services every day, but have no say in how they’re run. LGA changes this for the better.
It’s alarming that this idea is raising its ugly head again: Jason Kitcat was obsessed with becoming some kind of neo-feudal baron by creating a “Greater Brighton” fiefdom stretching from Shoreham to Seaford, with two rivers and an airport. What is it with Brighton & Hove councillors and their obsession with anschluss?
Love the oxymoron 😄
They’re going to devolve. If you want to see the manipulation in action, engage in the consultation but, for your own mental and emotional wellbeing, do not think for a second that any other outcome is feasible within the constraints of the process presented. It isn’t and all council members involved are traitors imo.
I think it’s still worth engaging, not because the system is perfect, but because silence can easily be misread as agreement. The consultation being run by Lewes District and East Sussex County Councils is their opportunity to demonstrate that they’re listening. And if they aren’t? That in itself becomes part of the evidence against the proposal.
It’s totally valid to challenge the process. But giving up on the idea that change could be done better means handing the whole thing over to people with louder voices and narrower interests.
Illusory progress – so my psychiatrist friend tells me!
It would be better if – before invading the East – B&H win over the hearts and minds with improved existing services: the gates may then simply be open!
But to be fair, this isn’t about Brighton invading the East (although I’m now picturing medieval siege engines on Peacehaven cliffs!). It’s a question of whether the current two-tier system is working for anyone, especially with East Sussex warning they may not be able to sustain core services like adult social care long-term.
Brighton & Hove certainly has work to do, no question, but so does the county. Maybe the right model brings things closer to the ground and gives people a more direct say in how their services are run.
And I completely agree: hearts and minds matter most.
Question. The BHCC consultation that’s running until 25 August. Is it open to the people of East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven, Newhaven and Kingston? How is BHCC asking them – you know, people in the areas they are proposing to take over? The article doesn’t cover this.
It’s a good question. Lewes District Council and East Sussex County Council have been running a joint public consultation themselves.
Thanks, Benjamin. If the BHCC consultation isn’t engaging with the areas they are proposing to take over, then their results will be completely irrelevant.
Absolutely agree, Martin. It is important that everyone affected gets a chance to have their voice, otherwise, it’s always going to be easily criticised, and quite rightly in my opinion, as being an unrepresentative sample.
How ridiculous if the council did what they should do in Newhaven like clean the street fix the leaks etc then at least they would be doing some good instead of this useless nonsense Brighton is a shit hole nothing ever gets done their don’t want Newhaven and the rest of the areas outside of Brighton turning into a graveyard of empty beers tins and nappys
Brighton & Hove can’t even get their own affairs sorted currently let alone be responsible for another chunk of Sussex.
Just a hideous land grabbing urban sprawl proposal!
If mergers must be made, far better to build on the Shoreham Harbour direction. It is sited partly in Hove, partly Portslade and Southwick.
Needs a referendum for to sreas included not Brighton city. Just looking for places to export problems. The city can run itself let alone surrounding areas
Want to stay in East Sussex.
We wunt be druv
It’s also worth being fair about the challenges. East Sussex County Council is on record as facing serious financial instability and has warned it may not be able to sustain services like adult social care in the near future. So while Brighton & Hove has issues (as all councils do), East Sussex is far from trouble-free. This isn’t about exporting problems; it’s about whether the current two-tier system is working for any of us?
They can’t manage brighton and hove, the roads are a disgrace.
I was in brighton at the weekend and drivers were racing down the rd in a 20 mile an hr zone. It’s a joke, why have 20hr limits if your not implementing stricter consequences for drivers flouting the speed limits.
It happens all over the city and it’s just as bad.in newhaven and beyond.
Pedestrians come last, so dangerous for children, people don’t seem to car, the car comes first always, why, I drive too sometimes.but I hate bad drivers.
The conversation has been very one-sided so far, focusing on Brighton & Hove’s challenges, but every area involved in this proposal faces serious pressures.
East Sussex County Council has deep financial instability and significant service backlogs, especially in adult social care and roads, and is predicted to be financially unsustainable by 2026. Lewes District has struggled with housing delivery and local plan delays, with multiple missed housing delivery targets, and the Local Plan has been delayed, leaving areas vulnerable to speculative development.
So, it’s not a question of Brighton swooping in; it’s a question of whether a restructured authority might provide better long-term resilience.
As a Brighton resisdent, I am not sure is brighton expanding its reach is such a good idea, as Brighton & hove council themselves do not have a good track record for good financial decisions, they are predicting a deficit from what I read of approx £40M, if we are supposed to be modernising the council system surly the more logical choice would be to disolve all authorities within sussex and have a singular “Sussex County Council” that all services run from, having a singular authority would be more efifcient and cost effective and remove unessasary tiers of local and district councils
Stay out of East Sussex Brighton! Nobody wants you there… except Newhaven maybe, let’s face it Lewes District have criminally underfunded the area.
Peacehaven and Newhaven expect full parking restrictions within a couple of years….
After seeing Siddiqui Khan totally ignore the feedback from his consultation on expanding ULEZ, I doubt whether your opinions will be taken seriously. And whilst in theory, there is the opportunity to rationalise staff and gain productivity, I bet the new combined entity ends up employing more people. Just to make sure everything is done in a diverse, equitable and inclusive way. 😉
I don’t see how our services in Peacehaven can be any worse than they already are.
You can’t even walk safely on pavements here, they are still dirt tracks! directly off the A259.
The local council are worse than useless and a complete waste of money imo.
They aren’t interested at all in forwarding any local matters to LDC. Nothing gets done.
So on that gripe I have no problem with the proposals.
I get East Saltdean and Falmer, they make sense as they have become an integral part of the fabric of the city and should be part of the city as they are connected, but Kingston, Iford, Rodmell, Sothease, Piddinghoe are all secluded/sleepy farming/fishing villages nestled at the edge of the South downs that dont need to change, and as for Telscoombe, Peacehaven and Newhaven, along with all the others mentioned, they are an integral and historical part of the Lewes district, id even go as far to say they sit in a different valley, are not connected and sometimes even have a different climate to that of B&H. Fix the poor road congestion and the poor rail service, which are privatised, and this area will thrive, it doesn’t need a city which can’t sort its own problems out, messing up this area. I lived in B&H for 15 years, the council are horrible, money-grabbing scoundrels.
Option E: Scrap the Adur district, give Lancing to Worthing and give Shoreham to Brighton and Hove along with Fulking and Pycombe. As well as Falmer/East Saltdean, this option would raise the population to 330,000
The government wants Unitary authorities to have a minimum of 500,000
East Sussex has a population of 550,000 (Meeting criteria to stand alone)
West Sussex has a population of 900,000
B&H has a population of 300,000
Kingston, Telscombe, Peacehaven and Newhaven has a population of 20,000
The current Adur and Arun districts in West Sussex have a population of 125,000
It makes more sense to downsize West Sussex and expand West of B&H, absorbing Adur and Arun, adding Fulking, Newtimber, Pycombe, East Saltdean and Falmer would bring the population of B&H to 450,000, just under the government’s criteria, but possibly acceptable
Makes more sense to make Sussex as one entity, the total population is not so big, it’s not logical to carry on with all these mini Empires managing very little each and every one, the costs are way too much in comparison to what they produce which is multiple layers of repeat administrations, about 300 mini Empires in both East and West Sussex, one system can do the job with capacity to spare. or do you think having your own personal Council worker to manage your dustbin is logical ??