Update on Local Government Reorganisation

Adur District Council has just taken a big decision that may profoundly affect the future of local government in and around Shoreham for many years to come. At a full Council meeting on 23 September it agreed a proposal on the reorganisation of local government to be submitted a few days later to the government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In this reorganisation the current two-tier system, consisting of a County Council and District or Borough councils, will be replaced by a single tier of “unitary” authorities. It’s part and parcel of the devolution plan for Sussex with the creation of a Mayoral Combined County Authority and the first election of a Mayor for Sussex in May 2026.

The seven District and Borough Councils in West Sussex, together with the County Council, have spent several months looking at options, researching the implications, and consulting with residents, businesses and local organisations before submitting their proposals. They worked together under the collaborative banner of “Shaping West Sussex” to come up with the best answer to the question of how many unitary authorities there should be and what area they would cover.

The Proposed Options

Adur and the other six District and Borough Councils in West Sussex have unanimously proposed the same option. It is to create two unitary authorities – one comprising the existing council areas of Adur, Worthing, Arun and Chichester along the Sussex coast, the other one formed from Mid Sussex, Horsham and Crawley towards the north and east of the county.

Although all the Councils have worked from the same evidence-based data and survey results, West Sussex County Council see it differently. They have proposed to central government that there should be just one Unitary Authority for the whole of West Sussex. It would take over all the functions of the current County Council and those of the seven districts and boroughs in the county serving a population of over 900,000.

The crux of West Sussex’s argument is that having just one new unitary authority would save £30 million a year more than if there were two across the county. They also suggest that the risk of “disaggregating” or splitting services currently run by West Sussex County Council, such as social care services, across two separate unitary authorities is particularly significant.

On the other hand, councils such as ours in Adur maintain that careful planning and sharing services during a transitional period will minimise any risk. They also point out that 62% of the public’s responses in the Shaping West Sussex survey preferred a two-unitary model while only 23% wanted a single unitary authority. And of the two variations of two-unitary models that were put forward 62% of the public preferred the option that kept Adur with Worthing, teaming up together with Arun and Chichester. (The other option had Adur split from Worthing and merged with Mid Sussex, Horsham and Crawley).

But the main argument that Adur Council puts forward is essentially that it’s the “right size” – large enough to be strategic and efficient, yet small enough to be genuinely connected to communities. It prioritises “local identity, democratic accountability, and transformative public service reform”.

But What Happens to Local Democracy?

Adur Council says it intends to review how best to introduce a new local level of “neighbourhood governance”. There’s talk of “Neighbourhood Area Committees” being introduced. But just how far and wide does a “neighbourhood” stretch – just your road, or the ward you live in, or the whole town?

Then there’s mention of a “Town Council”, as many other former local district councils dotted around the country have become since being replaced by new Unitary Authorities. How could Shoreham get a town council and what powers, if any, would it have? Would it be like Lancing Parish Council? And in any case, how will existing parish councils be affected by local government reorganisation?

There are many questions still to be answered. But the key question for us is whether local government reorganisation will give the people of Shoreham-by-Sea more or less of a say on big issues that are specific to our town.

We will keep you posted as we find out more through our involvement in initiatives like Adur & Worthing Council’s Thriving Together project. In the meantime, say what you think by leaving a reply below.

All the public documents from the decisive Joint Strategic Committee meeting of Adur & Worthng Councils can be downloaded from our special Resources page on Devolution at https://www.shorehamsociety.org.uk/devolution/.