Sussex councils have submitted conflicting bids for devolved powers from the government, it has emerged.
At the Greater Brighton Economic Board, Labour councillor Bella Sankey said that she had sent an “expression of interest” in a combined authority made up of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex.
The bid did not say whether a devolved Sussex should be led by a mayor with executive powers – like the mayor of London or Greater Manchester.
But it did signal a desire for “a devolution deal that maximises local autonomy, accountability and impact”.
Councillor Sankey is the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and chairs the Greater Brighton Economic Board, made up of council, business and education leaders.
Her devolution bid was supported by other council leaders at the latest economic board meeting in Shoreham yesterday (Wednesday 16 October).
But the Conservative leaders of East Sussex County Council and West Sussex County Council – who do not belong to the economic board – each submitted a bid that would cover only East Sussex and West Sussex respectively.
The East Sussex expression of interest had the support of all the district council leaders in East Sussex. But all the West Sussex district leaders backed the Brighton and Hove bid.
Ministers are expected to outline their thinking in the coming months as they seek to delegate some decisions and spending from the government to local authority partnerships, many with elected mayors.
Councillor Sankey said that devolution would create “huge opportunities” for residents and businesses and should not be about building more layers of bureaucracy.
She said: “It is about creating a more dynamic structure where democracy, decisions and investments come much closer to people in their communities and their lived experiences and their lives.
“In conversations I’ve had with the government since July, one thing that is very clear, they’ve all said they see this as a ‘no brainer’ for driving growth and opportunity across the country.
“They very much want to learn the lessons from areas that have already devolved so it does not take as much time.”
The board was told that the Institute for Government said in a recent report that there would be “significant economic and social benefit” in bringing together “historic Sussex” as a devolved area, combining East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove.
Adur District Council leader Jeremy Gardner said that devolution had helped to give Greater Manchester a voice to “talk seriously” with government and big businesses.
Councillor Gardner said that a similar move would provide opportunities to benefit the whole of Sussex.
The Labour council leader said: “It has transformed the ability of that area (Greater Manchester) to improve itself and make a difference for its residents.
“The idea of a Sussex-wide authority is very exciting from that point of view because we really need a strategic view across the whole county.
“Maybe more than Greater Manchester, it’s an identifiable historic area that people identify with.”
But although the Institute for Government think-tank had described the area as “historic Sussex”, he said: “This is about the future.”.
The Liberal Democrat leader of Arun District Council leader, Martin Lury, also favoured a “pan-Sussex” approach to devolution.
Councillor Lury said: “Everything we’ve done from Sussex Energy to Sussex Bay is Sussex based. We’d like to keep Sussex together. We are stronger together.”
Business representative Dean Orgill said that, given some of the existing projects, from the South Downs to Sussex Bay, perhaps “natural Sussex” might be a better name.
Labour councillor Ty Goddard suggested “Sussex Together”. He said: “We’ve done a lot of work in Brighton and Hove on our economic assets and the whole thinking behind clustering – how you can cluster particular industries and sectors together to become much stronger than the sum of those parts.
“If we consistently focus on the assets we’ve got, both natural and sometimes historic, but also the assets of the future, I think we will be able to communicate the advantages.”
Councillor Goddard is the cabinet adviser for regional partnerships and economic growth in Brighton and Hove. He added: “We need to take the community along with us.
“A lot of the statistics we have show that Sussex’s voice has been overlooked and the areas of disadvantage have been overlooked because we have not been able to deliver a message to government about what we need.”
Adur and Worthing Business Partnership chair Andrew Swayne said that he was pleased to see businesses involved.
He said: “I am very interested to understand … how this is going to happen, what are the options, what are the costs of the change and what’s the benefit – and if we will see it on this side of the next election.
“This will have to be done at some pace. If it drags on, it will be painful and will complicate things.”
Mr Swayne also said that it would be helpful if Transport for the South East – a collaboration involving several organisations – were put on a statutory footing.
A report to the Greater Brighton Economic Board about devolution mentioned the area’s transport links including the A23 and the A27 as well as the Brighton mainline railway.
The report also said: “There is scope for improvement, particularly in reducing congestion and improving public transport frequency to reduce commute times and further environmental objectives.
“The region would benefit from investment in transport infrastructure, particularly across east-west corridors such as the A27-M27/West Coastway Line and A259/East Coastway Line.
“These challenges in connectivity hinder inclusive growth. Enhancing transport links would improve connectivity between coastal towns, support business growth, and widen access to job opportunities.”
The report said that Sussex had high levels of economic prosperity but also many pockets of deprivation.
By one measure – “gross value added” (GVA) – Sussex performed poorly with a figure per head of £23,452, compared with £29,415 for the south east and £28,096 for England.
The whole county had a population of 1.7 million people, more than 60 million visitors a year, 74,000 registered businesses and an economy worth almost £50 billion.
The expression of interest in devolution said that Sussex was home to three universities, the South Downs National Park, Britain’s second-biggest airport, Gatwick, and the two ports at Shoreham and Newhaven.
A combined authority for the whole of Sussex would align with the police force and NHS Sussex, the integrated care board which is in the process of joining the Greater Brighton Economic Board.