Consultation on the modification to the two unitary proposal received from East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Rother District Council

Overview

This consultation will close at 23:59 on Monday 15 June.

This consultation seeks views on a potential modification to the proposal for unitary local government that the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) received from:

• East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Rother District Council 

The relevant proposal for two unitary councils was made on 26 September 2025, following the Secretary of State’s invitation to councils in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove to submit proposals for unitary local government for their areas.

This consultation asks questions about the potential modification to the proposal to help inform further assessment. This will be considered in addition to the statutory consultation already undertaken between 19 November 2025 and 11 January 2026 on all reorganisation proposals received from councils in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

Background

Two proposals were received from councils across the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, invitation area on 26 September 2025. A statutory consultation on these proposals was undertaken between 19 November 2025 and 11 January 2026. 3828 responses (across both East Sussex and Brighton and Hove and West Sussex) were received and carefully considered alongside the proposals and all other information received. 

Proposals from councils in the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Area

1. East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Rother District Council proposed 2 unitary councils across the whole of the area of East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, comprising the current areas of:

• A single unitary council covering Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother and Wealden
• Brighton and Hove to remain unchanged

You can find the proposal at: The Proposal – East Sussex Councils.

2. Brighton and Hove City Council proposed 5 unitary councils across the whole of the area of East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove. This proposal includes a request to split existing district council areas between the proposed new councils. These would comprise the current areas of: 

• Unitary A - Brighton and Hove plus 4 wards and 1 parish from Lewes
• Unitary B - Eastbourne, Hastings, Rother plus 5 wards from Lewes and 9 wards from Wealden
• Unitary C - Mid-Sussex plus 34 wards from Wealden and 10 wards from Lewes
• Unitary D - Chichester, Crawley, Horsham
• Unitary E - Adur, Arun, and Worthing

You can find the proposal at: Representative Councils for a Devolved Sussex: A Five Unitary Proposal.

Wealden District Council did not submit a proposal.

Secretary of State’s Concerns and Potential Modification

The Secretary of State announced on 26 March 2026 that, after carefully considering the two proposals received across the area, he had not yet made a decision, due to concerns regarding both of  the proposals received. These include a concern about costs and risks of disaggregation in the 5 unitary pan-Sussex proposal from Brighton and Hove, and a concern about keeping Brighton and Hove on its current footprint, as proposed in the East Sussex proposal. These concerns are set out in detail in his update letter to council leaders.

For East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, a potential modification to the single unitary proposed by East Sussex was formally requested by Brighton and Hove City Council in response to the consultation and seeks to move 4 wards and 1 parish from Lewes into an expanded Brighton and Hove, reducing the size of the East Sussex unitary council as submitted by East Sussex. The Secretary of State wishes to explore whether this potential modification would deliver the positive strengths of the East Sussex proposal in relation to service delivery while facilitating the growth of Brighton and Hove. 

You can find full details of the original consultation, including a privacy statement, at: Local government reorganisation in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, and West Sussex - GOV.UK