Consultation on the modification to the two unitary proposal received from Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid-Sussex District Council and Worthing Borough 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:

• Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid-Sussex District Council and Worthing Borough Council

The relevant proposal for 2 unitary councils was made on 26 September 2025, following the Secretary of State’s invitation to councils in West Sussex 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 West Sussex.

Background

Two proposals were received from councils across the West Sussex 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 West Sussex Area

1. West Sussex County Council have proposed 1 unitary council across the whole of the area of West Sussex. This would comprise the current district areas of:

• Adur, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Mid-Sussex and Worthing

You can find the proposal at: Shaping West Sussex | SnapSea.

Please note that this is referred to as Option A in their business case.

2. Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid-Sussex District Council and Worthing Borough Councils have proposed 2 unitary councils across the whole of the area of West Sussex. These would comprise the current district areas of:  

• Adur, Arun, Chichester and Worthing
• Crawley, Horsham, and Mid Sussex

You can find the proposal at: Shaping West Sussex | SnapSea.

Please note that this is referred to as Option B2 in their business case.

Brighton's Proposal

In addition, 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

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 from across West Sussex and East Sussex and Brighton and Hove. These included a concern about community and identity, while maintaining balance under the Mayoral Combined Authority in the West Sussex proposals, and a concern about the costs and risks of disaggregation in the 5 unitary pan-Sussex proposal from Brighton and Hove. These concerns are set out in detail in his update letter to council leaders.

For West Sussex, a potential modification to the two unitary proposal submitted by the West Sussex councils would see a coastal unitary comprising Adur, Arun and Worthing (as set out as part of the proposal from Brighton and Hove), and a second unitary covering Chichester, Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex. The Secretary of State wishes to explore whether this modification would ensure that new West Sussex councils reflect distinct communities and rural/coastal identities in the area while maintaining balance under the Mayoral Combined Authority. 

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