East Sussex County Council met on Wednesday 24 September 2025, and agreed to ask West Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council to delay the mayoral election until 2027. The council also expressed its views on the business case for a single tier of local government in East Sussex, and received an update on the Lane Rental Scheme. Finally, the council approved an amendment to the Scheme of Delegation to Officers.

Delay to Mayoral Election

Councillor Georgia Taylor, Deputy Leader of the Green Party Group, proposed a motion, seconded by Councillor Johnny Denis, Leader of the Green Party Group, to delay the Sussex mayoral election until 2027. The motion was carried after debate.

The motion argued that the government's intention to revert to the Supplementary Vote (SV) system¹ for mayoral elections was unlikely to be implemented in time for the 2026 election, potentially disadvantaging Sussex residents. The motion also highlighted the advantages of aligning the mayoral election with the anticipated unitary elections for West and East Sussex in 2027, which could lower costs and increase voter turnout. The council requested that Councillor Keith Glazier, OBE, Leader of the Council and Leader of the Conservative Group, approach West Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council to negotiate a change to the devolution schedule, and to work together to request that the minister for local government revise the timetable or withdraw from the priority programme.

Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution Update

Councillor Glazier presented a report on local government reorganisation and devolution, including a business case for a single tier of local government in East Sussex and an update on the establishment of a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) for Sussex. The council expressed its views on these proposals.

Single Tier of Local Government

The business case proposes a unitary council for East Sussex, based on the current footprint of the county council. According to the Report of the Leader and Lead Member for Strategic Management and Economic Development, if the government accepts the proposal and timetable, with an election anticipated in 2027, it is recommended that the 2026 election be cancelled due to cost, resource constraints, the upcoming transition to a new authority, and the short term new councillors would serve before re-election.

Devolution

The report provided an update on the establishment of a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) for Sussex, with East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council, and West Sussex County Council as Constituent Authorities. The government has published responses to a public consultation and confirmed that the relevant statutory tests have been met to proceed with the MCCA's establishment.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently before Parliament, would confer legal powers set out in the Devolution Framework automatically on each level of Strategic Authority. The report detailed the implications of the Statutory Instrument (SI) and the Bill for the Sussex MCCA and East Sussex County Council, including the transfer of transport functions to the MCCA and the consolidation of powers over a wider geographical area.

The functions that would transfer from East Sussex County Council to the MCCA include:

• Responsibility to produce a Local Transport Plan
• Powers and duties to prepare a bus strategy
• Entering into partnerships with bus operators
• Entering into franchising schemes
• Managing travel concessions

The report also outlined functions that would be held concurrently by East Sussex County Council and the MCCA, such as agreements between authorities and strategic highways companies, civil enforcement of road traffic contraventions, and housing and land powers.

Lane Rental Scheme

The council received an update on the Lane Rental Scheme (LRS), which commenced on 1 April 2025. The scheme charges companies for working on traffic-sensitive roads during peak times, with the aim of minimising disruption.

Approximately 5.9% of East Sussex roads are designated as lane rental roads, where charges of up to £2,500 per day can be applied. According to the Report of the Leader and Lead Member for Strategic Management and Economic Development, approximately 10% of works on lane rental roads are being charged, with the remaining receiving a waiver or discount due to the works being undertaken outside of lane rental applicable times or in a different way that reduces disruption.

The Department for Transport (DfT) requires that 50% of the net surplus from the scheme be allocated to highway maintenance, and the other 50% to purposes intended to reduce disruption and other adverse effects caused by street works.

The council agreed to update the constitution to include a delegation to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to approve any schemes and/or projects with a value of up to £500,000, which will allow a more efficient application of surplus funds.

Amendment to the Constitution

The council approved an amendment to the Scheme of Delegation to Officers, as recommended by the Governance Committee. The amendment updates the threshold levels for discretionary grant payments to organisations, in line with recent updates to the council's Procurement and Contract Standing Orders.