Observer column 2 October 2025

Local government reorganisation - Cllr Julia Hilton

Last week another stage was completed in the government imposed plan to radically reorganise local government with the submission by the council of three business cases to government. This is likely to see the abolition of Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council and a replacement with a single tier of local government.

Cabinet has endorsed the One East Sussex proposal which would mean one council for the whole of East Sussex. This proposal has also been chosen by all but one of the other councils in East Sussex primarily because it is the one that has the most chance of both transforming and improving service delivery for residents by being able to combine services like social care and housing which makes a lot of sense. It is also the closest to being financially sustainable in the long term, although only if the government finally accepts it needs to radically overhaul how local government is financed and addresses the huge need to reform adult social care and tackles the huge issues around homelessness. 

There wasn’t agreement among political parties or residents when consulted on options so two other business cases have also been submitted, one which would see Hastings as part of a coastal unitary and the district and borough federated model which would see current borough and districts remain but the county council abolished and a series of joint boards set up to manage major services such as social care and children’s services and highways. Neither of these proposals have been consulted on outside Hastings but if the government accepts they are viable, they may choose to consult on a variety of options before they make a final decision. Look out for yet more consultation on this later in the Autumn.

I think it is fair to say that no borough or district council is hugely enthusiastic about voting for its own demise and locally we have major concerns about how the needs of Hastings and our local residents’ voices will be heard in such a big council. This was a major theme in the feedback we received from residents. 

We have had to pull these proposals together in an incredibly short timescale for such a major piece of work so I would like to express my gratitude to our officers and councillors for the huge amount of time and thought dedicated to this task. The government expects to see new councils in place by 2028.

Once we are clear on the government’s intentions we will be planning how best to design how local communities can help shape local services and make sure they have a strong voice in any future council decision making. We already have a cross-party working group that has been working hard on proposals so far and all councillors have committed to work for the best for Hastings whatever model is finally decided upon. I am also very clear that we must protect local assets such as our amazing and precious green spaces and sport and leisure facilities, this will be a major strand of work over the next year.

Read the council's submission, including business cases for all three options.