The shake up of Sussex councils proposed by Brighton and Hove City Council has been strongly criticised by leaders of neighbouring local authorities.
Under the plans, Brighton and Hove would be enlarged by including all of Falmer and Saltdean as well as Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven.
Parts of Falmer and Saltdean are currently in the Lewes district of East Sussex. To read more about the Brighton and Hove proposal, click here.
The proposal would also be expensive, costing almost £200 million, according to Councillor Zoe Nicholson, the Green leader of Lewes District Council.
Councillor Nicholson said: “I want to be clear about the considerable disappointment we feel regarding the eleventh-hour proposals put forward by Brighton and Hove City Council for local government reorganisation.
“As a result of their last-minute bid, these plans have been developed for communities they have failed to consult and, quite frankly, do not understand.
“Our cabinet will meet on Wednesday 25 September and we will be standing firm in supporting our residents.
“We will not support any proposal that seeks to dismantle our communities without proper engagement or understanding of their needs.
“The absence of consultation with residents or organisations outside Brighton is not only a breach of protocol, it also demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the people who would be directly affected by these changes.
“Our own consultation showed overwhelming rejection of the proposals – 89 per cent of respondents, representing around 7,500 people objected – and nearly 6,500 people signed an online petition opposing the plans.
“We also have serious concerns about the effects this proposal would have on essential frontline services.
“And Brighton and Hove City Council fully acknowledges that its model for local government reorganisation is the most expensive option, totalling up to £197 million.
“The disaggregation or separating out of areas such as adult social care, children’s services and education across different new authorities would come at a significant financial cost.
“Brighton and Hove City Council has provided no clear figures but we know this would costs hundreds of thousands of pounds more.
“This is a cost that residents would ultimately pay and just as important is the human cost – these are major changes and there is a real risk that people who rely on this vital support could fall through the cracks.
“We are proud of the collaborative One East Sussex proposal which we developed with our partners across the county.
“This is the right way forward for East Sussex and provides a sensible and sustainable solution for our region.
“We will continue to advocate for this collaborative approach that puts the interests of all East Sussex residents first.”
Councillor Keith Glazier, the Conservative leader of East Sussex County Council, said: “Residents of East Sussex are the most important people to involve in conversation about the future of their local government.
“It’s bewildering that maps have been drawn up in secret for their communities with almost no discussion with them or with us.
“We will analyse this late proposal and any data or evidence it contains. But I am confident in the case we have made for One East Sussex.
“(It) has been widely discussed with residents, is built on rigorous evidence and offers a clear proposal to provide the high-quality services people want.
“Our proposal stands on solid evidence and strong partnerships and would not involve huge extra complexity and cost.”
I think most see it as a “shakedown” rather than a “shake up”. A blatant cash and power grab which must be stopped. The nation is surely ready for a vote of No Confidence in Keir Starmer and an early national election. How long can scandalman cling on?
Elaine, the whole point of devolution is a decentralisation of power from Whitehall…so yeah, that’s not a revelation. And generally equal LGOs mean that the new mayors will have equal say in that paradigm. Councillor Nicholson was right when he said communities don’t understand. Comments like that point to a fundamental lack of understanding regarding this very complicated topic.
Not helped of course by inflammatory rhetoric, especially when there are clear explanations to that rhetoric that should be well known to people sprouting it.
PS: Where or who is the proposed £200 million coming from? And if it’s a disaster, will another £200 million be need to be found to reverse the damage?
indeed elaine time lying liebour got there marching orders the country cant afford to wait till 2029 to get liebour out surely there needs to be a general election well before then….check out and read carefully a petition on the uk government and parliament petition page….call an immediate general election….it currently has 912,825, signatures it urgently needs many more it can be signed and reshared widely from all over the uk
Err, Clive…might want to check getting the year right, first. 🤦🤦♀️🤦♂️
Benji
Seriously you seem to troll everyone on every conversation
Do you have any thoughts of your own or you just like using ai to answer everyone 😂
I think that is, unfortunately, down to your flawed definition of “troll”. I tend to comment on people to offer a difference of opinion, or to suggest their understanding of a topic is incorrect. I do have my own views, and I like to test them in discussion. That’s the whole point of a comment section, right?
‘Benji’ loves to troll. He gets quite abusive as well to anyone who criticises his chums.
Ironic you say that, considering your history with Kemptown; the unsubstantiated conspiracies you sprout on the regular, “Lev”, then write formal complaints when you get called out on it, alongside D and her self-titled “satire”.
Calling someone a troll is not a replacement for an intelligent argument. Sorry if that is inconvenient.
Following the success of using grass roots groups such as just stop oil, cyclists, lgbtq and blm, devolution will entrench communitarianism at the local level. Citizen assemblies will provide a veneer of democracy whilst being steered towards pre defined objectives. This is not a money grab. That is just a bonus for bhcc. It is part of a nationwide plan and it’s happening. Consultations are a pantomime. If you don’t believe this: watch.
Citizens’ Assemblies can be a useful, but only if they’re done well, and people commit to engaging. People are quick to complain, but not to work on solutions. I agree that many consultations feel tokenistic, especially when the big decisions are already set and the “consultation” is effectively what colour are we painting the door. The concept of CAs, though, is solid. If devolution does “entrench communitarianism,” that’s kind of the point!
Just stop oil a success, bunch of morons that cause mayhem and chaos and put peoples lives at risk.
If Brighton and Hove far left-wing council are trying to do what all the left want to do just like Liebour is to increase their power over the people in any undemocratic way possible.
Luckily with the way things are going when we get our delayed right to vote in May, Sussex will become a Reform council just like Kent. And all the barmy ideas sprouted by both Liebour and the Cons can be dropped. Like diversity and inclusion managers along with funding for pride political matches.