Under Government plans, District councils in East Sussex will be abolished and be replaced by one ‘unitary’ council. The Government has chosen East Sussex County Council (ESCC) as the lead council to enable the introduction of a unitary council.
But is East Sussex County Council the right organisation to launch a single unitary council for East Sussex? In my opinion, the answer is a definite no, and here is why I say this:
- ESCC have demonstrated that they are in deep financial trouble, with some £57 million worth of debt on the books. They have clearly demonstrated poor financial management over the past few years.
- It appears that ESCC are determined to proceed with the cost of building a new bridge at Exceat in the South Downs National Park, but costs have spiralled to from £7.9m to £21m. £4.6 million has been spent without any visible evidence of any progress! They are now looking at lower cost options so why did they start down this road in the first place?
- ESCC operated a restrictive democratic scheme. Currently all decision-making matters in the county are handled by just a seven-member cabinet. Furthermore, the current arrangements by which ESCC Lead Members sit in a ‘committee of one’ is ridiculous. There should be a full committee so that members can vote on measures and not be decided by just one person.
- Also, the current restrictions on the public do not allow them to ask questions at committees, which is undemocratic. Full Council and Planning Committee excepted. Currently decisions are actually made by ESCC Lead Members in their ‘one-member committees’ and the seven-member Cabinet.
ALL existing councillors should have a say in how the new unitary council is constituted. Not just the seven-member single political party controlled cabinet.
In fact I would go further and say we should abolish the East Sussex County Council completely. I said as much as this in my Sussex Bylines article of July 2024 when I called for the abolition of County councils. The new unitary authorities shouldn’t be based on County councils but on amalgamating District councils. Currently there are five District councils within East Sussex:
Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council, Rother District Council, and Wealden District Council.
We should have two unitary authorities in East Sussex and I suggest they are grouped as follows:
(1) Lewes / S Wealden / Eastbourne;
(2) N Wealden / Hastings / Rother.
Lewes and Eastbourne are already operated by a joint team of officers and staff so there would be no change there. Many of the parishes of South Wealden already have a close association with their southerly neighbours. For instance, Polegate and Hailsham are close to Eastbourne.
The existing Wealden District Council covers a very large area stretching from Forest Row and Crowborough in the north to Alfriston and the Seven Sisters country park in the south. I believe it would be more appropriate to manage and service these communities along with Lewes and Eastbourne.
The District of Rother and Hastings Borough Council are geographically closely related. Many communities in Rother such as Robertsbridge have cross-District associations with other towns which are currently within the District, such as Rotherfield, Mayfield and Heathfield.
I hope District council leaders and councillors will have the courage to support the abolition of East Sussex County Council in favour of amalgamated District councils. They should write to Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and propose such an idea. They should also question the ability of the poorly managed East Sussex County Council as being the right vehicle to launch Unitary Authorities.
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