WITH reference to John Foley’s letter “It’s Time To Share”, I doubt whether the decision of Lewes District Council (LDC) and Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) to push for unitary authority status stems from any activity in West Sussex, I suspect it goes back much further than that.

In early 2006 while I was a Lewes district councillor for Seaford South ward, we were informed the then Labour government was proposing to introduce unitary authorities across the country and that effectively LDC would be wound up in 2009, elections pending in 2007 would be scrapped and we would be left to serve an additional two years while the authority was created.

However, subsequently a Government reshuffle which took David Miliband away from the Ministry for Local Government then saw this scheme dropped as far as East Sussex was concerned.

While the new proposals mirror the old intention to reduce local government outside cities from three tiers to two, it is unlikely that EBC and LDC alone would be large enough to justify unitary status.

East Sussex County Council (ESCC) covers five district councils set up in 1974, and all of these would have to be part of the reorganised two-tier system.

The abolition of ESCC would however free up a great deal of valuable land around Lewes where it is based, in particular the County Hall site where the buildings date back some years and may be subject to concerns over their integrity.

Mr Foley seems to suggest that Brighton and Hove City Council expands its own authority to cover the coastline further eastwards, as far as Seaford.

I doubt, however, whether the population of Seaford would welcome the prospect of becoming part of Greater Brighton.

It seems more likely that Wealden District Council which in fact separates LDC and EBC operationally on the ground, would be brought in to try to create an area large enough to justify unitary status outside Brighton.

That would leave Hastings and Rother to form a separate authority, which might then in future stretch across into parts of Kent.

I would however agree with Mr Foley’s comments about the need to redraw boundaries in coastal towns like Saltdean and Fishersgate to improve local council services.

Bob Brown
Cavell Avenue, Peacehaven