Brighton and Hove could grow to include Shoreham or the whole of Saltdean – and possibly Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven and even Newhaven under new proposals.
The potential expansion is set out in a draft document prepared by Brighton and Hove City Council as the government considers a shake up of Sussex councils.
The draft document indicates a preference for the size and shape of Brighton and Hove to remain unchanged despite its population of just under 300,000.
This is despite guidance from the government when it called for proposals for new unitary council areas with populations of, ideally, about 500,000 people.
The council’s cabinet is expected to say that Sussex should have five unitary councils including Brighton and Hove – all smaller than the size suggested by the government.
A report prepared for the next council cabinet meeting, on Thursday 20 March, does not set out the size and shape of the four proposed unitaries.
But East Sussex County Council – with a population of about 550,000 – wants to keep its current size and shape and take charge of all district council services.
And West Sussex County Council – with a population of about 880,000 – has yet to finalise its submission to the government.
The shake up of councils is due to happen as Sussex prepares to go to the polls in May next year to elect its first mayor under the Labour government’s devolution plans.
The mayor and a new Sussex-wide “mayoral combined county authority would receive devolved funding from central government”.
They would be responsible for, among other things, housing and regeneration, local economic growth, adult skills and local transport.
The council shake up would get under way at the same time although it is expected to take longer to finalise.
The existing two-tier councils that serve all of Sussex outside Brighton and Hove would be replaced by new unitary councils by April 2028.
Elections to the “shadow” unitary council would be expected take place in May 2027 when Brighton and Hove City Council is already due to hold its next elections.
The latest update and draft proposals are included in a report to Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet which is due to meet next week.
The report to Brighton and Hove’s cabinet backed keeping the current boundaries although it said that the council would accept growing if necessary.
It said: “At this early stage of the process, no lines are drawn on a map and the interim response sets out clearly that Brighton and Hove City Council remains open to options in relation to population size for the new unitaries.”
The council carried out a three-week consultation from Monday 24 February to Monday 10 March and received 597 responses, with mixed views on local government reorganisation.
Some people were worried that Brighton and Hove could “dilute its character” and job losses could follow if it merged with another area.
Supportive comments hoped for improved efficiency and better services and demanded greater transparency.
Some backed the idea of unifying Saltdean under one council. Currently, half of Saltdean is in Brighton and Hove and the other is run by Lewes District Council and East Sussex County Council.
There was also some support for Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven and Newhaven becoming part of a bigger Brighton and Hove.
On expanding to the west, some backed the inclusion of Shoreham as part of an expanded Brighton and Hove but there was less appetite for joining forces with Worthing.
There was opposition to the idea of expanding northwards, with respondents saying that the South Downs created a natural boundary.
The report to Brighton and Hove’s council cabinet said: “We are currently of the view that potentially creating five unitary authorities across Sussex, with Brighton and Hove on our existing footprint or growing to form one of these authorities, would ensure the different voices of Sussex are heard at the MCCA (mayoral combined county authority) table while ensuring the unitary authorities are financially viable, efficient and hold local identity inclusive of rural, coastal and urban identity.
“We have seen through our own services and from other smaller unitaries the benefits of big county services being delivered on smaller footprints, leading to positive outcomes for residents through the interconnection of universal services with specialist areas.
“A five-unitary model in Sussex could broadly lead to the creation of five council areas with populations in the region of c300,000 to c400,000 (with Brighton and Hove being 280,000 if we were to remain as we are).
“We remain open to options other than the five unitaries while we consider the evidence and test our assumptions.
“Our aim by the September deadline is to advance a single consensus proposal or a small number of alternative options for Sussex for government to consider.”
The initial response, outlined in the cabinet report, is due to be sent to ministers by Friday 21 March – the end of next week.
The report also said that its analysis of local consultation responses had been compiled using AI (artificial intelligence) which, the council warned, could mean that the summary contained some inaccuracies.
The cabinet meeting is due to start at 2pm on Thursday 20 March at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
To read the report, headed Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation, click here and go to page 39.
Leave Brighton. As it stands is
I’m furious Labour are trying to steam roller this through without a referendum.
Why are you furious? Referendums give results which could potentially harm the country: we got in a mess with the last stupid one!
I hate the outcome of the Brexit referendum and think it was a wrong and harmful decision, but I still believe in democracy. It’s wrong that people were not told the truth about many things ahead of the vote (am furious about that too 🙂 ).
On this issue, the council administration have only given opaque information about what devolution means for residents to date. It’s not been open and transparent. While I get your scepticism about referendums, I’ve seen nothing from Labour that persuade’s me it’s a good option for Sussex, and I still trust residents’ voices over theirs (as mixed and varied as they may be).
It would make a lot of sense to bring Saltdean under one authority, madness if you’re doing a complete re-org to continue to have the town split over two authorities which causes so many issues.
That does feel like a common-sense solution.
Let’s hope not. I’d prefer not to have to deal with Brighton’s mismanaged and spending habits (not to mention the i360 debt for the next 10+ years)
Lewes isn’t much better but I’ll take it over Brighton
As a Shoreham resident for many years I would never wish for Shoreham to become part of Brighton. I cannot think of a single positive outcome.
The council can’t run Brighton properly. Adding disparate communities across a large area equals a bad idea. Is that not staggeringly obvious?
Central government has been pretty clear devolution will happen. I think there is wisdom is getting ahead of the curve and taking ownership of the narrative. I’d rather have the option of having some say around it, rather than it being forced upon us unilaterally.
“The council carried out a three-week consultation from Monday 24 February to Monday 10 March and received 597 responses, with mixed views on local government reorganisation.”
Living in one of the areas BHCC are considering taking over, I didn’t receive any notification about this consultation. Maybe nievly, I’d like to think we might actually get a day on it.
A small but important reason, LDC refuse/recycling team always turn up when they should, and to the best of my knowledge, don’t strike!
Brighton and Hove needs to stay in its lane.
I live in Peacehaven. There is no way I want to be part of Brighton and Hove. I consider myself a rural country person not a “Townie”
It’s bad enough my electoral candidates cover Brighton Kemptown . I pay my council tax and get services from Lewes Council. I would rather belong to East Sussex, thank you very much.
That seems to be a fairly commonly shared sentiment, and they are two very different places. Good to have as many options out there as possible though.
Absolutely, being undet Brighton would actually be worse than E Sussex / Lewes district and that is sayong something.
Literally no one thinks this is a good idea, and it will not benefit any tax payers/residents. It’s just the BHCC labour leaders trying boost their flagging careers.
There’s an argument to be made that Brighton is fairly unique compared to the neighbouring areas, so needs a separate, unique authority. Bringing the numbers up to 500k for the sake of it, seems arbitrary.
Oh grim. No, leave it as it is. No offence those places, some of them a year, have their own culture and history. Try can share adminastrive costs with the city but I don’t think it makes sense. I’m softer of Shoreham because of the dock and airport but those other places are on the way to other places, not this place.
No edit? I’m typing on a phone
Please don’t allow Brighton to spread it’s filth to other areas, I live in kemptown,the most rundown shit hole in Brighton, they can’t even keep that place good, don’t let these fools mess up your towns and villages.
Oh, you haven’t been to many places in Brighton if you think Kemptown is the most rundown, Davey. I can think of at least three places more rundown just off the top of my head.
We live in Peacehaven and I think the possibility of us being part of Brighton and Hove should at least be considered. There no doubt will be be aspects both fore and against and we remain open minded to all proposals. Today is the first I have heard of the previous consultation and we would be willing to partake in any further consultations proposed.
I think that’s a very balanced perspective. The devil is 100% going to be in the details, and all options should be put forward and considered.
Bigger authorities are essential for more devolved government. More devolved government is critical to improve Heineken governmental efficiency. Moving more of the coastal conurbation into Brighton and Hove seems like a logical step.
I moved out of Brighton to Shoreham 5 years ago. Having lived there most of my life and seeing how it turned from a family town to a run down city, I definitely do NOT want Shoreham to be under BHCC.
Well most councillors are backwards thinking not very bright or intelligent waste money in big lunches for themselves and hotels so if they do mu council tax will be cheaper and cheaper bus fairs let’s be honest councilnever do anything with out theirs something in it for themselves
I’ve actually found most councillors to be principled and intelligent, and there are plenty of examples of altruism across the political spectrum. It’s easy to be cynical, but assuming self-interest without evidence feels a bit like personal incredulity, Craig
“We have seen through our own services and from other smaller unitaries the benefits of big county services being delivered on smaller footprints, leading to positive outcomes for residents through the interconnection of universal services with specialist areas.” Can we have an interpreter please?
Basically saying, when large county-wide services are delivered at a more local level, residents benefit. Smaller-scale delivery helps general services work more closely with specialist support, leading to better outcomes.”
It’s quite a jargon-heavy sentence.
‘The report also said that its analysis of local consultation responses had been compiled using AI (artificial intelligence) which, the council warned, could mean that the summary contained some inaccuracies.’ OH GREAT!
Research shows that AI is actually pretty good at summarising short comments, it struggles more with logical flow when you apply it to very complicated, long documents, so in this instance, the risk of such inaccuracies would be pretty low and inconsequential.
Two unitaries would be the logical outcome. West Sussex as is, plus B&H merging with East Sussex. Five unitaries will not deliver the required savings through economies of scale.
Brighton and Hove is one of the most unique cities in the country and should remain a unitary authority in a new Greater Sussex mayoral area. Expanding into other adjacent areas should only be considered if government thinks its population is not big enough to operate as it is. Brighton must NOT be absorbed into East Sussex. We have had that in the past and was dropped as it was not a good solution.
If this did happen Brighton would be one of the biggest cities in the uk. Surely changing the name to simply Brighton would also make sense.