The government again plans to move Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs and East Saltdean into Brighton and Hove, now from April 2029. The council is 'shocked'.

The government wants to move Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs and East Saltdean out of Lewes district and into Brighton and Hove after all. The plan was frozen in September. It is back, unchanged in substance, but a year later than first planned.

Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, set out his provisional view in a letter to East Sussex and Brighton and Hove council leaders dated 29 October. He says he is “currently minded” to create two new councils:

  • East Sussex Council, covering Eastbourne, Hastings, Rother, Wealden and the rest of Lewes district. Population about 537,000.
  • Brighton and Hove Council, covering today’s city plus four Lewes district wards: East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven North, Peacehaven East and Peacehaven West. Population about 308,000.

Elections to the new councils would be held in May 2028, and they would take over in April 2029. Lewes District Council, East Sussex County Council and the county’s other district and borough councils would go.

Lewes District Council’s leader, Councillor Zoe Nicholson, responded on 30 October. “We are shocked and deeply disappointed by the government’s decision to press ahead with proposals that our residents have resoundingly rejected,” she said.

What has changed since July

This is the second time the government has reached this conclusion. In its 16 July decision it chose the same two councils and the same four wards. Falmer parish, population about 300, was left in East Sussex then as well.

On 7 September the government paused the whole programme for a review, which we reported at the time. The 29 October letter says the review found the rules behind reorganisation “robust”. The minister has now formally withdrawn the July decision and started again.

July decision October provisional view
Four Lewes wards move to Brighton and Hove Yes Yes
Falmer parish moves No No
Status Final decision Provisional, open to representations
New councils start April 2028 April 2029
Elections to the new councils May 2027, for a shadow authority May 2028

The government’s announcement also confirms that the May 2027 local elections go ahead on existing boundaries. So Peacehaven and Telscombe will vote for Lewes District Council next May, as we reported in September.

Why the minister wants the split

The letter gives the reasons at length. The main ones are:

  • the four wards have “employment, travel to work, transport and service use connections with Brighton and Hove”
  • Brighton and Hove is “under-bounded”, meaning it has outgrown its boundary
  • one council could plan housing, transport and investment along the A259 coast road as a whole
  • a bigger Brighton and Hove would sit closer to the government’s 500,000 population guide

The minister is frank about the weak spots. He says the financial gain is “only a likely marginal gain”. He accepts the change will not solve Brighton and Hove’s housing or money problems in full. He calls the decision “finely balanced”.

He also admits the original East Sussex plan, which Lewes District Council helped write, carries less risk. It would keep the district whole and avoid splitting county services such as adult social care, children’s services and SEND at ward level. He rejected it because it “does not seek to address Brighton and Hove’s boundary”.

The letter says Newhaven’s “industrial, logistics and maritime activity” would remain a growth opportunity for the new East Sussex council.

The minister wants to hear about local identity

One request in the letter matters for anyone in the four wards who wants to make their case. The minister says the evidence so far “does not explain in comparable detail” how the transferred communities would be brought into Brighton and Hove, or “how their identity and influence would be protected”.

He asks for more detail on that point during the representations period. He adds that “strong opposition does not mean that effective arrangements cannot be established”.

The council says the government has not made its case

Councillor Nicholson said the announcement “once again fails to provide any meaningful evidence to justify the annexation of parts of Lewes district”. She said residents had been denied “a genuine say”.

“The government may have announced its preferred course of action, but it has not won the argument,” she said. “We will continue to stand alongside our residents and challenge decisions that we believe are not in the best interests of our communities.”

The council began protective legal action over the July decision in early October, as we reported. That decision has now been withdrawn. The council’s 30 October statement does not say what happens to that action next.

What happens now

The minister says there will be a representations period of at least three weeks. Councils “and other interested parties” can respond. He has not yet published the dates and says he “will confirm the exact timings shortly”.

After that he will make a final decision. He says he remains open to changing the plan further, choosing a different proposal, or doing nothing. The change would then need a structural changes order approved by Parliament.

The government says every area in the review will have an outcome by early next year. The councils will also receive £900,000 between them this month towards the cost of preparing, half of the transition money promised.

What it means for you

If you live in Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs or East Saltdean: nothing changes yet. Lewes District Council still runs your bins, housing, planning and council tax, and will until at least April 2029. If you want the minister to hear your view, watch for the representations window opening. His letter says he does not need points repeated that were made in earlier consultations.

If you live elsewhere in the district: Lewes, Seaford, Newhaven and the villages would join one East Sussex council from April 2029. Your district council would go, along with East Sussex County Council.

If you vote: May 2027 is a normal Lewes District Council election on today’s wards. The first election to the new councils would be in May 2028.

We will report the representations dates when the government publishes them.

Sources