LGR decisions made on four areas but East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex must wait
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
The Government has today announced decisions on the future unitaries for the areas of Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The Government is yet to make a decision on the future of East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton on Hove due to concerns regarding all four of the proposals they received (more on that below).
Decisions
Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock: 5 unitary proposal, creating the councils referred to in the proposals as:
West Essex Council (current local government areas of Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford)
North East Essex Council (current local government areas of Braintree, Colchester and Tendring)
Mid Essex Council (current local government areas of Brentwood, Chelmsford and Maldon)
South West Essex Council (current local government areas of Basildon and Thurrock)
South East Essex Council (current local government areas of Castle Point, Rochford and Southend-on-Sea).
This is the proposal put forward by: Basildon Borough Council, Brentwood Borough Council, Castle Point Borough Council, Chelmsford City Council, Colchester City Council, Harlow Council, Maldon District Council, Southend-on-Sea Council, Tendring District Council, and Uttlesford District Council.
Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton: 5 unitary proposal (option 1A) submitted by Eastleigh, Fareham, Hart, Havant, Portsmouth, Rushmoor and Southampton councils, creating the councils referred to in the proposals as:
North Hampshire Council (current local government areas of Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor)
Mid Hampshire Council (current local government areas of East Hampshire, New Forest, Test Valley and Winchester, less 11 parishes from all 4 areas)
South East Hampshire Council (current local government areas from East Hampshire, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, 3 parishes from East Hampshire and 1 parish from Winchester)
South West Hampshire Council (current local government areas of Eastleigh, 4 parishes from New Forest, Southampton and 3 parishes from Test Valley)
Isle of Wight Council will remain as a separate unitary authority.
This proposal was put forward by: Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council, Portsmouth City Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and Southampton City
Norfolk: 3 unitary proposal, creating the councils referred to in the proposals as:
West Norfolk Council (current local government areas of Breckland, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, and 9 parishes from South Norfolk).
Greater Norwich Council (current local government areas of Norwich, 19 parishes from Broadland, and 16 parishes from South Norfolk).
East Norfolk Council (current local government areas of Broadland (less 19 parishes), Great Yarmouth, North Norfolk, and South Norfolk (less 25 parishes)).
This proposal was put forward by: Breckland Council, Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk District Council and Norwich City Council.
Suffolk: 3 unitary proposal, creating the councils referred to in the proposals as:
Central and Eastern Suffolk Council (current local government areas of West Suffolk, 21 parishes from Mid Suffolk, and Babergh (less 31 parishes)).
Western Suffolk Council (current local government areas of Mid Suffolk (less 29 parishes), and East Suffolk (less 25 parishes).
Ipswich and South Suffolk Council (current local government areas of Ipswich, 31 parishes from Babergh, 8 parishes from Mid Suffolk, and 25 parishes from East Suffolk).
This proposal was put forward by: West Suffolk Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, East Suffolk Council, Babergh District Council, and Ipswich Borough Council.
What is happening with East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove?
The Government is yet to make a decision on the future of East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton on Hove due to concerns regarding all four of the proposals they received.
The concerns with the different proposals include:
Costs of the LGR processes suggested
The risks of disaggregation, and in particular its risk to vulnerable service users.
Concerns around keeping the boundaries of Brighton and Hove as they are, which would limit opportunity for future economic growth in the city as well as the ability to build new homes there.
Failure to adequately address the financial stability of councils.
The consultation for the West Sussex proposals revealed concerns that the two unitary proposal risks diluting the rural identity and economic profile of areas like Chichester by grouping them with coastal districts. Other Government departments felt that Chichester would be better of placed with Horsham as it would be a better fit in terms of needs and demographics, rather than placed with Worthing, Adur and Arun. Further discussions would need to be had here.
Whilst no decision has been made yet, the Government has raised the possibility of modifying the proposals, which they are within their legal rights to do. This would see four unitary councils for Sussex and involves modifying the West Sussex proposal for two unitary councils, so Chichester was no longer part of the coastal unitary but was instead part of the inland unitary; and modifying both East Sussex and Brighton and Hove proposals so as to expand Brighton and Hove as requested by Brighton and Hove (and in consequence reducing the size of the East Sussex unitary).
In other news
The Government will repay in-principle £200m of Thurrock Council’s debt in 2026-27. his follows the recent announcement in October 2025 as part of reorganisation in Surrey to repay in-principle £500m of Woking Borough Council’s debt in 2026-27.
To prevent repeats of Woking and Thurrock, the Government has announced that they will bring into operation the statutory powers enacted in 2023 - but never used by the previous government - which allow direct intervention where authorities take excessive risks in their borrowing and investment practices. They will soon launch a consultation to engage with the sector and stakeholders in developing and implementing these powers.
The £63m in transition funding announced in February will be allocated to new unitaries. The Government will provide at least £900,000 for each new unitary authority to help establish effective services and governance arrangements. So, for example, Essex which will have five unitaries, will receive £4.5million in funding in total.
The Government stressed that these decisions do not form a precedent for the other 14 areas.’
