Hastings BC Councillors’ Reaction
Hastings Borough Councillors reacted to the news about Wealden DC and Brighton and Hove at the meeting of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee last Thursday (18 September). The special meeting was held to review the three options for the creation of a new unitary council structure which will be submitted to central government by the required deadline of 26 September 2025.
Hastings Independents Councillors
In promoting his party’s option for a federated district and borough model, Paul Barnett, the leader of the Hastings Independent group, welcomed Wealden’s decision to investigate alternative reform models. “Slowly, the momentum towards a more democratic model of local government is building,” he said. The proposed East Sussex unitary council “will be a disaster for Hastings” and “will erode local accountability,” he stated. Reaffirming his support for a federated model, he argued it would keep real power and influence within Hastings, allowing residents to determine the town’s fate, services and policies. “Residents care most about high-quality services, not governmental structures,” he said.
Labour Group Leader Helen Kay welcomed the move by Brighton and Hove to push for five new unitary authorities as clear evidence that support for a new coastal unitary council was gaining the backing of more people across the whole of Sussex.
Julia Hilton, the Green deputy Leader of the Council, and Mike Edwards, the Conservative Group Leader, spoke in favour of the One East Sussex model, although neither could muster any real enthusiasm for what they both agreed was a costly and disruptive reorganisation which would not solve the underlying financial challenges facing councils.
When challenged by Labour’s Trevor Webb about the impact of Wealden DC’s decision to end their support of the One East Sussex model, Cllr Hilton pointed out that Wealden had decided only to “pause their support to consider their options” and not to end their support.
Cllr John Rankin, the Chair of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee pointed out that the remit of his committee was not to choose any of the three options but merely to examine and scrutinise each of them to ensure that they were legally valid in order to improve public services.
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