Two West Sussex councils 'could save £18m a year'

Adur District favours joining with Arun, Worthing and Chichester to form a new authority for the south west of the county

Councils in Adur, Arun and Worthing have said they would prefer to align with Chichester to form one of two new authorities to run all services in West Sussex.

Leaders have been considering whether the whole county should be run under one single new unitary authority, or whether it should be split into two.

Dividing the county in two would save £18.8m a year compared to current costs, according to a report for Adur and Worthing councils seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Final plans for how to replace borough, district and county councils in Sussex with new unitary authorities from 2028 must be submitted to government by 26 September.

The two proposals for dividing the county into two meant the future of Adur district was up for debate.

One proposal suggested aligning Adur with Horsham, Crawley and Mid Sussex, creating an east-west split with Arun, Worthing and Chichester joining together separately.

Now Adur and its neighbours have instead expressed a preferences for joining together so Adur, Arun, Worthing and Chichester form a south west half, leaving Horsham, Crawley and Mid Sussex to form a north east half.

This plan would keep all of West Sussex's coastal areas together, with populations of 473,000 and 428,000 respectively.

It will be debated at council meetings next week.

The plan was chosen from three options presented in a public consultation on reorganisation earlier this year, which saw more than 9,000 responses.

About 62% of the respondents said they approved of a two-unitary split instead of one countywide unitary.

Again, 62% of respondents preferred the southwest and northeast split of the county.

Other options considered included splitting Chichester district in two, and merging Brighton & Hove City Council with Adur and Worthing, with the rest of West Sussex divided into two authorities, which proved unpopular.

Fast-track timetable

It has already been confirmed that an election for the first mayor of Sussex, who will be responsible for strategic planning, will take place in May 2026.

Alongside devolution powers, Sussex is obliged to reorganise its council structure, scrapping all borough, district and county councils and replacing them with new unitary authorities.

Sussex's inclusion in the government's fast-track Devolution Priority Programme means leaders have until 26 September to submit final plans for how councils will be restructured from April 2028.

If those plans are accepted by the secretary of state, the government will launch a public consultation in November and make a final decision in spring 2026.

Elections for new authorities would take place in spring 2027 to allow for a shadow year while local services are handed over.