EASTBOURNE Borough Council is set to be replaced by a new county-wide authority after the Government confirmed plans for the biggest overhaul of local government in East Sussex for decades.
The Government has announced its preferred model for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which would see East Sussex County Council and the county’s five district and borough councils replaced by a single unitary authority from April 2028, subject to Parliamentary approval.
If approved, Eastbourne Borough Council, together with Wealden District Council, Rother District Council, Lewes District Council, Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council, would all cease to exist in their current form.
Instead, a single East Sussex Council would become responsible for delivering all local government services across most of the county.
The Government has also confirmed that East Saltdean, Peacehaven and Telscombe will become part of Brighton & Hove City Council under revised boundary proposals, while Falmer will remain within the new East Sussex authority.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the reforms would simplify local government by replacing what he described as a confusing two-tier system.
He said: “Two-tier structures are confusing for residents, divide responsibilities, slow down decisions, duplicate costs and blur accountability.
“In many areas, existing boundaries no longer match patterns of local economies, public services or local identities. We can’t continue with an outdated and misaligned system that does not serve local people well. We can do better.”
Under the proposed timetable, voters will elect members of a new shadow authority in May 2027. The new council will then operate alongside the existing authorities for almost a year before formally taking over responsibility for local government services in April 2028.
The new authority would oversee services currently shared between county and district and borough councils, including education, adult social care, highways, libraries, planning, housing, waste collection, environmental health and leisure services.
Council leaders criticise boundary changes
In a joint statement, the leaders of Eastbourne Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Lewes District Council, Hastings Borough Council and Rother District Council said they were disappointed by one aspect of the Government’s decision.
While welcoming the decision to keep most of East Sussex together as a single authority, they criticised the decision to transfer East Saltdean, Peacehaven and Telscombe into Brighton & Hove.
The leaders said: “We are disappointed that the government has made this decision which flies in the face of the evidence and the views of residents.
“The Government has largely accepted that the partners of East Sussex will thrive best as one authority. It’s all the more surprising they’ve chosen a weakened model which does not make the most of the savings, efficiency and transformation we can achieve together.
“Residents in the areas that will be moved into Brighton have repeatedly told the government that this is not what they want.”
The leaders said they would seek the Secretary of State’s full justification for the boundary changes and continue exploring the options available to them, with some councils considering legal action.
Despite their concerns, they said preparations would now begin for elections to the shadow authority in May 2027 and for the transition to the new council.
They also stressed that existing councils would continue delivering services throughout the reorganisation process, with protecting frontline services remaining the priority.
