The proposal to bring Brighton and Hove, East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven into a new local authority has understandably prompted a strong response.
Council boundaries are not merely lines on a map. They determine how services are delivered, where decisions are made and how communities are represented.
Brighton and Hove has gone from a fishing village on the south coast to a thriving iconic city that Time Out Magazine named the 34th best city in the world in 2025 – beating Prague, Los Angeles and Valencia.
Brighton and Hove’s present boundaries are 29 years old. The city we know today was created through repeated expansions, mergers and reorganisations.
In 1873, Queen Victoria gave royal assent to an Act of Parliament incorporating Preston into the Borough of Brighton which was formed in 1854 to deliver basic local services such as education and sanitation.
Due to Victorian Brighton’s rapid expansion beyond its older boundaries, it made sense to incorporate Prestonville and the areas around what is now Preston Park into the borough.
In 1923, King George V gave royal assent to another Act of Parliament which brought into Brighton the Parish of Patcham which at that time included land which would go on to become Moulsecoomb in the inter-war years.
In 1927, Parliament approved the Brighton Corporation Act – the largest expansion of our footprint.
The law transferred responsibility for Rottingdean, Ovingdean and Withdean to the Borough of Brighton, with the land which would go on to become Woodingdean and Bevendean also transferred from Newhaven Urban District Council which was abolished in 1974.
In that same year, Hangleton and West Blatchington become part of Hove.
In 1951, Hollingbury, Coldean and Stanmer joined Brighton as the Attlee government’s post-war house-building boom began.
The biggest shake-up of English local government in modern history happened in 1974 and it was then that Portslade and Mile Oak merged with Hove.
There was no movement from then until the seismic 1997 merger between Brighton and Hove when we left East Sussex to become a unitary authority on the footprint that we have today, stretching from Longridge Avenue, in Saltdean, to Fishersgate railway station.
These changes created the city inherited by those of us living and working here today. Incorporation did not mean that every community became the same.
Rottingdean did not lose its postcard-worthy English charm. Portslade, with its access to the port, is still an industrial hub. Hovarians are proud to point out they live in Hove, actually. Administrative unity does not require cultural uniformity.
What this history of shifting borders shows is that we are always playing catch up so that administrative boundaries reflect the geography of everyday life.
This is yet again another Labour decision being forced upon us. It appears the majority do not want this but Labour do not seem to listen. Publish the residents votes on this please. If this goes ahead all Labour will do is build build build in an already severely congested area.
Hove was independent , it had its own Townhall and mayor. When Brighton became a city it included Hove, its residents were not happy, they m knew if they became part of a bigger area services wouldn’t not be the same, and they were right, it became worse. Peacehaven has good reason to not to be part of Brighton, atm it has its own townhall and councillors which look after it. It became Peacehaven after the war when it was first named ANZAC Town. It was an area of beauty but has been built up over the years. I’m sure the residents don’t need more housing as it can’t cope with what it has now. Like Hove it voted NO to become part of Brighton, why doesn’t the council listen to the residents. !
I’m sorry to read you think Hove got worse since 1997. Before my time but stats show people living in our city are happy and frequently makes international “best cities” lists as I mention above. Bad political decisions happened along the way like the I360 and austerity but generally this is a city doing very well. Peacehaven Town Council will not change and we look forward to building a fruitful relationship with them as we have done with Rottingdean and Falmer. This reorganisation means East Saltdean, Telscombe and Peacehaven will no longer fall under a massive East Sussex council. We do not yet know where the new East Sussex unitary will be based but there are town halls in Hastings, Bexhill, Eastbourne, Hailsham and Lewes.
Please talk to the real locals who have paid for all this over decades. Of course all the incomers will like it, especially if moving from London. All residents of Portslade and Hove over 50 will say things have definitely got worse. I remember when councillors Alderman Robert Carden and the Hamilton family ran things. All accessible and local born and bred.