Your Councils Are Changing - SPC Survey

veronikatoth7
Sep 17
2 min read

Updated: Sep 18

Major changes are planned to councils across West Sussex. The Government has asked councils to explore how devolution and local government reorganisation could work in the area, with the aim of replacing the current county, district and borough councils with a new unitary council (or councils), responsible for local services.

A community consultation had been run by the County, Borough and District Councils to ask residents of West Sussex for their views. For more information on local government reorganisation and this consultation, visit www.shapingwestsussex.org. What is the difference between Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation? Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. Local Government Reorganisation is the creation of unitary authorities in place of district, borough and county councils. It involves changing how local councils are structured and what they do. Under the English Devolution White Paper, the Government plans to replace the two-tier system with larger councils, typically serving 500,000+ people, though exceptions may be made, based on local needs and devolution goals.

Timeline with key dates: Sept 2025, May 2026, April 2028. Events include plan finalization, mayoral elections, and unitary authority vesting. — Expected timeline of events

What could it mean for Southwater Parish?

There will be limited changes to the legal role of Town and Parish councils as part of local government reorganisation. However, with Horsham District Council ceasing to exist in April 2028, the ownership, management and care for many local assets in our Parish will inevitably change. At this stage it is uncertain who will be responsible for these assets or what level of service they will receive under the new unitary authority. Experience shows that when larger authorities face budget pressures, they often reduce service levels to achieve savings.

Southwater Parish Council could step in to maintain a higher standard of service and ensure local spaces continue to be cared for at this level. Doing so could mean an increase in the Parish precept, but importantly this would ensure that money raised from Southwater residents is spent directly in Southwater, rather than being absorbed across the wider unitary area.

We are seeking residents’ views on the assets listed below and whether SPC should pursue their transfer from HDC so that decisions on their care and investment are made locally. Every household receives the information flyer/survey below, and once filled out, can return it to our office, or fill out the online version of the survey, which can be accessed via clicking here. To help with the survey, we have marked the mentioned assets on a map, with orange colour. Please click here to access this map.