Uncertainty over the future of local government
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There is fresh uncertainty over the future shape of local government as the Labour administration launches a new review into how councils across West Sussex should be reorganised.
The county has spent more than a year waiting for a decision on whether its seven district and borough councils will be abolished and replaced with new unitary authorities, but ministers have now confirmed they are considering further changes to the proposals submitted last autumn.
The review means West Sussex remains in limbo and for residents and businesses in Midhurst, Petworth and the wider Rother Valley, the delay leaves key questions unanswered: who will run local services from 2028, how responsibilities will be divided, and what the eventual shake‑up will mean for planning, waste collection, highways and council tax.
The leader of Chichester District Council Adrian Moss said: “Our immediate priority is to provide clarity and reassurance to our staff and councillors, who continue to face significant uncertainty during what has been a prolonged and unsettling period.”
Harsha Desai, the district councillor for Petworth, told the Midhurst and Petworth Observer that the delay meant that local councillors can “get on with delivering for residents, knowing that the council will be functioning for longer than we all thought when we were elected.
“It means I can see the pump track through to completion and get on with sorting out the litter problems.”
In Easebourne, Councillor Francis Hobbs said: “I think I stand by the maxim of ‘if it ain't broke, don't fix it.’
“ Whilst I understand the desire for unity of structure, the model in Sussex, a large county, seems to work.
“It was always a balance between representation and the cost of delivery. Changing the system was going to cost quite a bit without a clear benefit.
“I've got no problem with change if there are clear benefits, and these have not yet been demonstrated.”
For communities across the Rother Valley, the latest delay means day‑to‑day services will carry on as usual, even as councillors wait to learn whether the system they work within is about to be dismantled.