Should Peacehaven become part of Brighton and Hove? The prospect was roundly rejected at a public meeting and afterwards.
Residents voiced their disapproval on Tuesday (12 August) after hearing more about the government’s plans to shake up the existing councils in Sussex and have only unitary authorities from May 2028.
About 200 Peacehaven residents went along to Community House and were overwhelmingly opposed to Brighton and Hove City Council’s proposals to absorb the town as well as Telscombe Cliffs and East Saltdean.
The city council is consulting on four options, all of which include annexing the coastal towns. It is also asking whether an enlarged Brighton and Hove should include Newhaven and Kingston.
Brighton and Hove has a population of 280,000, making it smaller than the government’s preferred size for the new unitary authorities of 300,000 to 500,000 residents.
After 90 minutes of heated debate, residents shared their views with the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Rachel Brown, 48, who has lived in Peacehaven for 37 years, is devastated at the thought of the town coming under Brighton and Hove City Council’s control.
She said: “I’ve lived in Brighton. I’ve lived in Hove. And I think the place is awful. It’s got no advantages to us.
“I’m very disappointed at the meeting tonight that the councillors were not offering us the advantages of merging with them.
“There’s nothing to offer us. They want our money from council tax and that’s it.”
Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet adviser for devolution and local government reorganisation, Labour councillor John Hewitt, attended the meeting.
Rachel Brown said that she had expected there might be more of a pitch from him to win people around.
Despite asking questions, she was disappointed that there did not seem to be any answers. She was unswayed and preferred Peacehaven to form part of a future East Sussex unitary council.
Nigel Southall, who has lived in Peacehaven for 51 years, said that there was a unanimous verdict from people attending the meeting against amalgamating with Brighton and Hove.
Mr Southall said: “There should be no boundary change. There was a consensus that there should be a referendum within this community and any other community that Brighton feels it wants to usurp and take over.
“There’s the consultation document. It’s a piece of paper. It’s not law. It’s a suggestion. It’s been looked at as if it’s a done deal and it doesn’t have to be.
“In Peacehaven, there is a single-mindedness to stand up for this town.”
Peacehaven Town Council’s sole Conservative councillor Max Rosser said that there was a completely different dynamic from Brighton and Hove, especially with a much older population.
Councillor Rosser said: “People were very concerned. It was very clear to the group coming from Brighton about the ambience of the people and the knowledge, integrity and even anger – and quite rightly so.
“We should have been consulted in depth and in detail a lot earlier than this.”
He said that, historically, even though the town had a BN postcode, Brighton was not the key town for the area. He said that Lewes, the county town, had longer links to Peacehaven which has been populated for 6,000 years.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s consultation runs until Monday 25 August on the council’s website. To see or take part in the consultation, click here.
Lewes District Council is also consulting on different proposals until the same date, with the added option of keeping Brighton and Hove to its current boundary. To see or take part in the consultation, click here.
I was not able to attend the meeting but have registered my view. I am very relieved to read of the attitude of the residents.
It is extremely arrogant of Brighton and Hove to even consider these ideas without any consultation with the people who would by directly affected. It smacks of dictatorship to me.
Brighton and Hove Council seems unable, or unwilling, to deliver the services that residents need and instead waste huge amounts on schemes that are of little benefit .
East Saltdean, Telscombe and Peacehaven don’t want or need that .
Obviously haven’t left your house recently. Peacehsven and tel cliffs are an absolute mess. Pot holes, weeds, no underfliff walk. Joining Brighton would actually probably sort a few of these issues out. I mean ask the question, could it get any worse than it currently is, doubt it. As for the harking back to the past, well it’s 2025 not 1960 and pretty much everyone from the area works in Brighton or commutes through so making it a bit more joined up is probably a good thing. Id much rather that than easy Sussex council which will cover an enormous area
Everything you described is even worse in Brighton, our promenade has only just started to be fixed after how long?
Look at the work they’ve just done to the road by Preston park, its just stupid. The roads narrower, gets blocked by buses when yheyre at the bus stops. Emergency vehicles struggle to get along there now. The cycle lane is in a silly place, it should have been put where the thin strip of pavement is, nobodybuses that pavment they walk along the park. The covering is horrible to cycle on where they’ve done a poor job. Makes no sense. How on earth that got suggested and a group of people looked at the plans and thought, yeah that’s the option we should do is totally beyond me and is just the perfect example of howbthe council is wasting millions on stuff that doesnt need doing. They could have just re tarmacked the road
The whole city isn’t maintained and is barely kept clean. Where’s our public recycling bins and food waste, dont we have a green council hahahaha
Im not surprised they dont want our council neither do we
I have an aspect you would want to consider then. Adult Social Care.
It is probably good to clarify that ALL the councils have been asked to provide proposals. I believe ESCC’s is due to be released in September, but broadly considers all these areas reported to be absorbed into a new East Sussex Unitary Authority.
So, with that in mind, there are certainly more debates to have and more proposals to consider.
Plus, ultimately, the councils don’t make the decision in the end. It’s parliament.
It is shameful of this arrogant Labour administration.
Why are there no plans or options to go west?
B&H is doing what the government has asked and put forward suggestions on expanding the city boundaries. If you include “no expansion” there are 5 options.
It has and is still consulting on these proposals.
What is shameful (or arrogant) about that?
I don’t know what Lewes District is proposing (something that B&H news should be reporting but hasn’t) but it should be putting forward its own case on how it sees the reorganisation including why these areas shouldn’t be merged with B&H.
But Lewes District Council in its current form will be disappearing under the reorganisation anyway.
People screaming about the bins or land grabs won’t help.
The government wants to see proposals (and objections) based on policy and data grounds.
Lewes needs to make the case that areas like East Saltdean and Peacehaven should remain under an East Sussex Unitary whether that’s the county council of some combination of the current districts that form it.
I already explained why, westwards doesn’t make sense to you Robert in previous article. You’re better than disingenuous selective memory, Rob.
Fight for this. It was the worst thing that was inflicted on Hove. We have become the poor relation.
Considering the inequality that exists in East Brighton compared to Hove, that doesn’t hold water, Gloria.
There’s a night a day difference between East and West Saltdean: West Saltdean’s roads were repaved this century.
It’s obvious the Telscombe area is a forgotten faraway place to Lewes Council. It’s somebody else’s problem, chiefly the people of W. Saltdean and Rottingdean who have to suffer the embarrassment of being lumped in with such a visably depressed area.
I may disagree with Cllr Fishleigh’s policies in many ways but she’s slowly but surely cleaned up W. Saltdean. And, given how proactive she was over the Spanish Lady’s green roof, I can comfortably guarantee she’d chase E. Saltdean to do the same.
In reply CH it’s not a forgone conclusion, But Potentially so,and if what I’m hearing theres going to be one hell of a dog fight. I have lived here since 1960,after moving down from London when leaving the navy,I found it to be a place of fresh air ,literally, and a joy to be able to walk the clean streets,beautiful parks and gardens ,which were meticulously maintained, in fact my heaven on earth,NOW it’s an absolute nightmare, filthy dirty,everything the boroughs maintained exemplary Gone,so I can see the the point of keeping skanky hands of easterly boundaries
Whatever anyone says, it is going to happen. Even though London and Manchester are living examples of how the pointless (for us, not them) centralisation has had no discernable, positive impact. People should’ve listened to us tin foil hatters a decade ago. The supra national ball is rolling and ain’t no way of stopping it now. Don’t believe me? Then stay ignorant and keep watching.
I feel you are almost certainly conflating local government reorganisation with devolution. Still, even taking that, you can actually point to several discernible, positive impacts. Ignoring London for a second because the capital basically works by its own rules:
1) A devolved Health & Social Care budget.
2) Investment in tram expansion.
3) Skills and employment programmes tailored to local economic needs.
4) An affordable Housing Fund through devolution.
5) Brownfield regeneration projects that are funded through devolved grants as well.
Ad hominems don’t add anything. I don’t believe you, but that’s because the evidence base says otherwise. That’s not ignorance, that’s informed disagreement.
We use to live in peacehaven, my husband grew up there, I know that I do not have a say, but I dont agree with peacehaven becoming part of brighton, & hove. Cant stand brighton.
Person who doesn’t life there, isn’t affected by it, thanks for your input…
Everyone’s allowed an opinion, Hazel. Still, there’s nothing of substance other than “I don’t like it.” Respectfully, care to put some meat on those bones?
A lot of older people there, hence Peacehaven they have nothing to do with work or fun but curtain twitch and tend to their bushes, whereas Brighton is party central with whatever floats your boat, but if I was 70 I’d prefer Shoreham. No please don’t want anything to do with Peacehaven ever.
It’s a really interesting point you make there Chris, because that signals a heightened and increasing demand for adult social care, health services, accessible housing, and age-friendly infrastructure, aspects that ESCC are already struggling with, and are expected to have a £55 million shortfall in 2025/26, predicted to get to £70.8 million shortfall within the next four years.
One of the actual arguments for local government reorganisation (even if poorly communicated) is that a bigger unitary authority could spread adult social care costs across a larger tax base – potentially protecting Peacehaven from some of the cliff-edge budget pressures upcoming.
It’s a clear benefit.
B&H Clowncil should take a big look at the area they control now, the tagging, dirty streets , overflowing bins, drunks, druggies ,crime etc to name a few, let’s not mention VG3 which no one wanted even a consultation said a waste of time and money.
So get your own home cleared up listen to your electorate, something you do not do, then think about expanding.
I think that somewhat misrepresents. You’ve described EVERY council in England at the moment struggling with services. We also have to remind ourselves that proposals are happening because central government asked every Sussex council to submit options.
Not because BHCC is simply choosing to “expand.”
Exactly, we left and glad we did. We visit sometimes. The supposed city is awful.