Overview

• West Sussex County Council backed a single county-wide unitary, while districts including Crawley and the joint Adur–Worthing cabinets chose a two‑council model, with 62% of consultation respondents favoring a split.
• East Sussex County Council endorsed the One East Sussex single-unitary plan, but Wealden’s cabinet withheld support and argued for exploring smaller units without backing a specific alternative.
• Brighton and Hove approved submitting a five‑unitary Sussex proposal that includes extending the city’s boundary, with Sussex‑wide setup costs estimated at £168–£197 million and an £8.7 million local bill for the city.
• In the Solent, a 12‑council business case proposes four mainland unitaries with the Isle of Wight remaining separate, as Southampton backed a Greater Southampton option and Fareham opted to join a South East Hampshire unit with Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant.
• Business cases cite contested savings and transition costs, including West Sussex modelling of £48.8m annual benefits for a single unitary versus £18.8m for two, and councils are expected to fund one‑off costs largely from capital or asset sales; West and East Sussex leaders are also seeking to delay their next county elections as shadow bodies are planned for 2027 and go‑live in 2028.