West Sussex Council leaders express their frustration after local government shake-up paused
No timeline has been given as to when the review will be carried out.
Last updated 4 hours ago
West Sussex council leaders have shared their frustration after a decision was made to pause a major shake-up of local government.
On Monday, September 7, housing and communities secretary Angela Rayner confirmed the government will be pausing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in 14 areas.
Ms Rayner told parliament the decision had been made ‘in the light of legal advice’, which will see the proposals reviewed by ministers.
Plans for West Sussex – which took 18 months to prepare – had already been paused and will be considered alongside the wider review.
No time-line has been given as to when the review is to be carried out or when it will be concluded.
In a joint response, West Sussex councils said: “We are frustrated by the latest news and will be meeting with ministers to understand what is behind this decision and what the timetable is for going forward."
“Our concern now is to ensure our residents, communities and businesses are kept fully aware and that our staff and members are kept up to date with the latest details in what continues to be an unsettling time for them."
“In the meantime, it is business as usual, we will continue to provide all of our services and deliver our local priorities with the same level of commitment, to our communities."
“We will jointly urge the government to finalise the details on the LGR programme so we can finally know when this will be happening and what the decision is for the future of local government in West Sussex.”
Ms Rayner said local elections scheduled for May 2027 would go ahead as planned, using existing district and borough council boundaries.