A new super-council for East Sussex would keep its existing boundaries, according to the first draft of plans to shake up the county’s local government says.
All Sussex councils have opted to explore scrapping existing councils and creating unitary councils, with a single mayoral authority with devolved powers above them.
The government has given them until March 21 to produce “interim plans” by March 21, which among other things set out the shapes the new unitary authorities could take.
Officers from all East Sussex’s councils have worked together on the first draft of their plan, which was today published for the first time on the county council’s website.
It says: “We are working on an assumption that the population of East Sussex is 555,500, above the 500,000 threshold is considered large enough to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand normal financial shocks according to the government’s criteria.
“By using our existing boundaries as the building blocks for a new unitary we will be able to respect and preserve local identities while realising the operational benefits of a larger authority.
“The county of East Sussex is a historic administrative unit, which means that there is a strong identity with the county amongst residents. The six councils have established working relationships, using our local partnerships to deliver improved outcomes for our communities. This provides an ideal foundation for the formation of a new unitary council.”
The plan was published in papers for East Sussex County Council leader Keith Glazier’s meeting.
The plan is now due for discussion by all six of the county’s councils — Eastbourne Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council, Rother District Council, and Wealden District Council.
They will all vote on whether to endorse and jointly submit the document next week.
The plan says the boundaries could be subject to change as a result of further evidence coming forward, government guidance being updated and views being shared through the ongoing public consultation process.
Council papers also note how Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) has undertaken its own initial consultation on whether its unitary boundaries should be extended to parts of Lewes District Council or other councils in West Sussex. The papers note that it is not currently known what the BHCC interim plan will propose.
Other alternative routes have already been suggested, with Hastings borough councillors having previously agreed to advocate for a “federal model”, while others have mooted the prospect of a coastal unitary authority made up of the county’s seaside towns.
The document does not specify how many councillors would make up this new authority, although it says a ratio of between 4,000 to 5,000 electors per councillor is “being carefully reviewed”.
With an estimated population of around 550,720 in East Sussex (according to the Office for National Statistics in 2022), these ratios would roughly result in an authority consisting of between 110 to 138 councillors.
This would broadly align with existing unitary authorities of a similar size, such as Buckinghamshire Council — made up 147 councillors representing an estimated population of 560,409 — and Durham County Council, which has 126 councillors representing an estimated 528,127 people.
The document includes a warning about how much the transition will cost, setting out “an early indicative estimation” of between £30 million to £35 million.
The document reads: “There is not the ability to fund this from existing council budgets. Funding from government will be required.”