Horsham District Council will run services until April 2029, a year later than planned. Its May 2027 election goes ahead for a likely two-year term, and no decision has yet been made on what replaces it.

Horsham District Council will keep running local services until April 2029, a year later than first planned. The government has pushed back the date when new unitary councils take over across West Sussex, and it still has not decided what those councils will look like.

The new timetable is in a letter sent on 29 October by Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, to the 15 areas still waiting for a decision, West Sussex among them (GOV.UK, review letter to 6 areas, PDF). Horsham District Council published its own response the next day (Horsham District Council, 30 October 2026).

What has changed

The council’s own reorganisation page still describes the original plan: a new unitary council elected in May 2027 and starting on 1 April 2028 (Horsham District Council, local government reorganisation). That has now moved back a year. The minister’s letter sets out the new order:

  • By Christmas 2026: the government will announce outcomes for “another set of areas”. It has not said whether West Sussex is one of them.
  • By early 2027: every area waiting will have an outcome announced.
  • May 2027: elections go ahead to the existing councils, on existing boundaries.
  • May 2028: elections to the new councils.
  • 1 April 2029: vesting day, when the new councils take over services.

The council says the district councillors elected in May 2027 will sit for “a likely two-year term”, rather than the usual four.

The election for a Mayor of Sussex and Brighton is separate and is still set for May 2028, the council says. The mayor will lead the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority, which handles transport, the economy and other county-wide matters, not bins or planning.

Timeline of local government reorganisation in West Sussex. Old plan: new unitary council elected May 2027, starting 1 April 2028. New plan: outcome for West Sussex expected by early 2027; Horsham District Council elections May 2027 on existing boundaries for a likely two-year term; elections to new councils and the first Sussex and Brighton mayoral election in May 2028; new councils take over on 1 April 2029.
Graphic by Horsham Daily, from the minister's letter of 29 October 2026 and Horsham District Council.
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Still no decision on the shape

The letter confirms that no decision has been taken for West Sussex, and that “all options and proposals in your area will remain under consideration”. Two shapes are on the table, both splitting the county in two:

  • The councils’ own plan. Horsham and the other six district and borough councils proposed two unitary councils in September 2025. Horsham’s preference, shared with the other districts, is a northern council of Horsham, Crawley and Mid Sussex.
  • The government’s variation. In May 2026 the government consulted on moving Chichester into that northern council instead, with Adur, Arun and Worthing on the coast. The northern council would serve around 566,000 people and the coastal one around 349,000 (GOV.UK consultation, May 2026). That consultation closed on 15 June.

Cllr Martin Boffey, the council’s leader, wants ministers to pick the councils’ version. “The Government should use this additional time to give serious consideration to the proposal jointly developed by West Sussex local authorities, rather than continue pursuing their own alternative proposal that many councils believe would be less viable in the long term and less effective in serving local communities,” he said.

He also warned of “a longer period of uncertainty for residents, staff and local authorities across West Sussex”.

Money while the review goes on

West Sussex has had no decision at all so far, so the government will pay £500,000 to the area towards the cost of preparing for reorganisation. It has asked the councils to say by 6 November which one should receive it. More transition money, £900,000 for each new unitary council, follows once a final decision is made, minus what has already been paid.

What it means for you

Nothing changes in how you get services. Bins, planning, council tax and housing stay with Horsham District Council, and roads, schools and social care stay with West Sussex County Council, until at least 1 April 2029.

  • You will vote in May 2027 for district councillors, as planned, and for the new Parish Council of Horsham if you live in the town (our report on the parish changes).
  • You will vote again in May 2028, for the new unitary council and the first mayor of Sussex and Brighton.
  • Your council tax for 2027/28 and 2028/29 will still be set by the current councils. The district’s own forecast shows budget gaps of £737,000 in 2027/28 and £1.05m in 2028/29, and says future savings plans “are not currently being worked on” because reorganisation was expected first (our report on the budget gap). How bills in the different districts would be brought together is not yet known (council tax bands).

Sources