The project is a not-for-profit project led by Always Possible; a small Sussex-based insight and engagement agency.

But it is a collaborative coalition, with hundreds of businesses, charities and individuals advising, shaping and co-creating ideas.

Devolution is about moving more powers, funding and decision-making into a region, rather than leaving so much of it with national government.

For Sussex & Brighton (the official name of the region covering East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove) , the proposal has been about creating a single strategic authority, with an elected mayor. The strategic authority has already been set up, but with no mayor due to be elected until May 2028.

That does not mean every local decision would sit with one person. It means Sussex will have a new regional layer for long-term investment issues that already cross council boundaries: transport, adult skills, housing, infrastructure, culture, economic development, climate, investment and some public health.

Local Government Organisation (LGR) is the process of changing the shape of local councils.

In Sussex, this means looking again at who runs local services, where council boundaries sit, and whether the current mix of county, district, borough and city councils should be replaced by fewer unitary authorities.

We are in the process of moving from 14 county, district, borough councils plus 1 city unitary authority into 4 unitary authorities.

A unitary authority is a council that is responsible for most local government services in its area. That includes things such as adult social care, children’s services, housing, planning, waste, transport and local economic development.

That sounds technical. But it is really about something very practical: who makes decisions, at what scale, and how close those decisions feel to the people and places affected by them.

Yes. The major is due to be elected on 4th May 2028. There will be a public vote, so make sure you are registered to vote before then.

So far, the candidates that have put themselves forward are:

• Martin Webb (Independant)
  
• Caroline Baxter (Labour
• Ben Dempsey (Liberal Democrats)
• Rachel Millward (Green Party)
• Paul Linehan (Reform) - currently has no live website
• Katy Bourne (Conservative)

These candidates could be subject to change between now and May 2028.

Have a listen to our podcast episodes with Ben Dempsey and Martin Webb.

No. They are connected, but they are not the same.

LGR is about the structure of local councils: which councils exist, what areas they cover, and what services they are responsible for.

Devolution is about regional power: what decisions and funding Sussex can hold closer to home, and how those decisions are made across the whole area.

One changes the map of local government. The other changes the balance of power between Sussex and central government.

Both matter because they will shape how Sussex plans, invests and speaks for itself over the next decade.

Primarily, Sussex And The City is a project about devolution, but of course, there is some overlap.

The government consultation on Sussex and Brighton devolution ran in 2025. The first consultation on Local Government Re-organisation proposals ran between November 2025 and January 2026.

The Sussex & Brighton Strategic Authority came in to existence in March 2026. This is led by a board of council leaders from East, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. A mayor will be elected in May 2028.

In May 2026, government opened further consultations on modified LGR proposals. These closed on 15 June 2026.

A full final decision is expected in autumn 2026. If changes go ahead, elections for new shadow unitary councils are expected in 2027, with the new councils operating in 2028.

So by the end of May 2028, 15 current councils will become (most likely) 4 (One for East Sussex, one for Brighton & Hove and two in West Sussex). And a directly elected mayor will lead a strategic authority covering the whole of Sussex.

If Sussex gets this right, it could mean better join-up across transport, skills, culture, housing, business support, health, culture, the environment and local services.

If Sussex gets it wrong, it could mean bigger systems that still do not understand the difference between Crawley and Hastings, Brighton and Bognor, Lewes and Littlehampton, rural villages and coastal towns.

Change is already here.

Can Sussex use this moment to become more connected, more honest about its challenges, and more ambitious about what it can do together?

Most people will experience devolution (in its fullest sense) when they need a service, try to get a decision made, apply for support, travel across the county, run a business, build a home, organise a community project, or look for a job.

The promise of council re-organisation is simpler services, lower costs and clearer accountability.

The promise of devolution is more investment and strategic decision making in the region, based on local need.

The risk is disruption, confusion, and a sense that decisions have moved further away.

For businesses, charities, social enterprises, cultural organisations and community groups, this could change who they speak to, where funding sits, how strategy is made, and how local priorities are understood.

It could create better routes into decision-making. It could also create new gaps if the people designing the system do not listen carefully enough to those already working on the ground.

Sussex has no shortage of energy, talent or ideas. But, what it often lacks is join-up.

This is why we are interested in devolution and LGR as a test of whether Sussex can organise itself around the places, people and possibilities it already has.

No.

The councils are led by politicians, and the mayor will be a political figure most likely backed by a political party (although, of course, independents can also run for office).

That should help to clarify some of the underpinning values and mission.

But local and regional politics is not the same as parliament.

It is about the everyday systems that shape life in Sussex: buses, homes, skills, care, jobs, town centres, coast, countryside, culture, climate and community infrastructure.

It is about whether Sussex can make decisions at the right scale without losing sight of local identity.

It is about whether we can talk about growth without pretending every place needs the same thing.

And it is about whether we can build a shared future without flattening the differences that make Sussex interesting in the first place.

Most mayors consider their priority to be place first, party second.

Sussex And The City is creating space for people across Sussex to understand, question and contribute to this moment.

We are not here to sell devolution. We are not here to dismiss it either.

We are here to ask better questions.

Who benefits? Who gets heard? What could this unlock? What could be lost? What would Sussex need to do differently if it had more power? And what kind of place does Sussex actually want to become?

It is an independent project, crowdfunded and supported by businesses, charities and citizens. It has no political affiliation.