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The Planning Register will not be available all day on Wednesday 19, Thursday 20 and Friday 21 November 2025 due to essential maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. The statutory planning application consultation duration has already been extended to allow for this period.
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Find out what devolution is and plans for devolution in Sussex and Brighton.
What devolution is
Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. This enables decisions to be made closer to the local people, communities, and businesses they affect.
It offers greater freedom and flexibility to deliver better-targeted public services, economic growth, and stronger local partnerships.
This is achieved by creating a new strategic authority covering a region, usually overseen by an elected mayor.
More than half of the population of England is already covered by devolution. Successful devolution deals have demonstrated that a coordinated local approach can:
The government has a clear ambition to extend devolution across all areas of England.
The new English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (July 2025) outlines how significant powers, and funding will move down from central government to a local level, where decisions can be shaped with and by the people who live and work here. It includes some of the things that impact residents the most, including transport, housing, jobs, economic growth, and public safety.
The Bill builds on the government’s English Devolution White Paper (December 2024) which set out the different devolution options available and invited upper-tier councils to put forward proposals to create a strategic authority for populations of 1.5 million and above.
The White Paper also included the government’s direction on local government reorganisation. This is separate from devolution and proposes that all councils become unitary authorities. These would deliver council services in one authority instead of county, borough and district councils which administer a range of services between them. Brighton & Hove is already a unitary authority.
The government has confirmed Sussex and Brighton has passed the key legal test and can now move forward in the process to form a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA). The first mayoral election is due to take place in May 2026.
All councils in Sussex and Brighton will now look in details at the powers proposed and understand the financial implications, before giving their formal consent through their decision-making processes.
The legislation is expected to be agreed in parliament in the Autumn.
Our joint aim is to give residents, businesses, communities, and organisations a strong voice whilst providing strategic leadership to drive economic growth and prosperity.
There are no immediate changes to how local councils operate or the services they provide. The new MCCA will bring together all upper tier local councils across Sussex to operate across the region while, while existing councils will continue to deliver day-to-day services.
We are one of 6 areas that received confirmation as priority areas for devolution, alongside Cumbria, Cheshire and Warrington, Norfolk and Suffolk, Greater Essex, and Hampshire and the Solent.
What a Mayoral Strategic Authority is
A Mayoral Strategic Authority is a new and separate tier of local government covering a region of at least 1.5 million people.
The proposal for Sussex and Brighton is to create a strategic authority, with an elected mayor, to cover the whole of Sussex, which has a population of 1.7 million.
It would work with unitary councils to bring funding and local decision-making powers down from central government.
The elected mayor and local council leaders will sit on the decision-making board.
Examples of powers decentralised to a Mayoral Strategic Authority include:
Transport
faster and simpler process for taking buses back into public control
statutory role for mayors to govern, manage, plan and develop the rail network
powers to coordinate road networks in partnership with other authorities
Skills and Employment Support
role in promoting pathways from education to employment for 16 to 19-year-olds
ability to help co-design and deliver non-Jobcentre Plus employment support
Housing and Planning
stronger partnership with Homes England to provide affordable, quality homes in the region
control of grant funding for regeneration and housing delivery
ability to set the strategic direction of future affordable housing programmes
Environment and Climate Change
strategic role in delivering Local Power Plans and the transition to Net Zero
coordination of local heat networks and input into Regional Energy Strategic Plans
leadership in Local Nature Recovery Strategies
Supporting Business and Research
collaboration with the Office for Investment to develop strategic investment
development of a future regional innovation funding programme
key role in boosting culture, heritage, and the visitor economy
Public Services Integration
new duty for strategic authorities in health improvement and health inequalities
A new regional level of government
East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove councils are not merging. The new Mayoral Strategic Authority is a regional level of government which will take on roles currently held by national government departments.
Local councils will continue to exist and deliver the services they currently provide.
A mayor of a strategic authority is a directly elected leader of a geographical region. Many areas across England already have mayors, including London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
The new mayor of Sussex and Brighton will be given powers and funding from government. They will coordinate and drive improvement in our region with a particular focus on:
economic growth
improving transport connectivity
investment in infrastructure
setting the strategic planning framework for the area
They will represent and champion the region, working with government - nationally and internationally.
They will also work with local councils in each part of Sussex. While Brighton & Hove will continue to focus on leading and delivering vital services for communities, our council will also have a seat on the strategic authority.
Who the new mayor will be
Elections for the new regional Mayor will be held in May 2026 with residents across Sussex and Brighton eligible to vote.
The Mayor will be elected for a four-year term.
Local elections in Brighton & Hove
The government agreed to postpone county council elections in East and West Sussex, which were due to be held in May 2025, to May 2026. There were no local elections planned in Brighton & Hove, so elections in the city are not affected.
Engagement and consultation
Over the course of the process, the 3 councils have engaged with key stakeholders, including MPs and the leaders of districts and borough councils. We’ve ensured that all stakeholders have been briefed on the proposals and the rationale which underpins them.
Residents, businesses, partners, local organisations and elected representatives also had a chance to have their say and help shape the future of our places and services.
The government has completed a consultation on devolution for Sussex and Brighton.
The letter to Angela Rayner MP was co-signed by Councillor Bella Sankey and the leaders of Horsham District Council, Worthing Borough Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Crawley Borough Council and Chichester District Council.
July 2024
Government invited council leaders to submit applications for devolution deals in areas where none currently exist.