West Sussex County Council

History

Sussex was historically divided into six sub-divisions known as rapes. From the 12th century the practice arose of holding the quarter sessions separately for the three eastern rapes and the three western rapes, with the courts for the western rapes of Arundel, Bramber and Chichester being held at Chichester. This position was formalised by the County of Sussex Act 1865, with the eastern and western divisions of Sussex treated as separate counties for the purposes of taxation, law enforcement, asylums and highways, whilst still deemed to be one county for the purposes of lieutenancy, militia and the coroner.

Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 to take over the administrative business of the quarter sessions. The eastern and western divisions of Sussex therefore became the administrative counties of East Sussex and West Sussex with separate county councils. The two administrative counties were still treated as one county for certain ceremonial purposes, notably sharing the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex and Sheriff of Sussex.

The first elections were held in January 1889 and West Sussex County Council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1889. It held its first official meeting on 4 April 1889 at the Assembly Rooms in the Council House, Chichester. Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, a Conservative peer, was appointed the first chairman of the council.

Local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which made West Sussex a non-metropolitan county. As part of the 1974 reforms it gained the Mid Sussex area (including Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath) from East Sussex and Gatwick Airport from Surrey. East Sussex and West Sussex also became separate ceremonial counties, with West Sussex gaining its own Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff. The lower tier of local government was rearranged at the same time, with the county being divided into seven non-metropolitan districts.

In 2019, the council's Children Services department was described in a Children's Commissioner's report as "clearly failing across all domains in the strongest terms" leading to the resignation of then council leader Louise Goldsmith.

Governance

West Sussex County Council provides county-level services, such as education, transport, strategic planning, emergency services, social services, public safety, the fire service and waste disposal. District-level services are provided by the area's seven district councils:

• Adur District Council
• Arun District Council
• Chichester District Council
• Crawley Borough Council
• Horsham District Council
• Mid Sussex District Council
• Worthing Borough Council

Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1997.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1985 have been:

Composition

Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2025, the composition of the council was:

Four of the independent councillors sit with the Green councillor as the "Green and Independent Alliance".

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the county has been divided into 70 electoral divisions, each electing one councillor. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at County Hall, Chichester, which was purpose-built for the council between 1933 and 1936, with various extensions having been added to the complex since. It also has offices in Horsham and smaller area offices or customer service centres in Worthing, Bognor Regis and Crawley.

Having held its first few meetings at the Council House in Chichester, the council resolved in November 1889 to hold meetings alternately there and at Horsham Town Hall. This pattern continued until 1916 when the council bought a large seventeenth century house called Wren House (since renamed Edes House) on West Street in Chichester, converting it to be their meeting place and main offices. Wren House was purchased with a view to later building a new headquarters in the grounds of the house, which ultimately came to fruition when County Hall opened in 1936.

Chairmen and chairwomen

Since 2011 most chairs of the council serve a two-year term, previously the term was more usually four years though before 1962 the position could essentially last almost a lifetime. Peter Mursell was the only individual to serve two non-consecutive terms, the second being after his 1969 knighthood. Cliff Robinson (died 2009) was the only chairman elected as a Liberal.

References

References

1. "Council minutes, 22 March 2024".
2. "Council minutes, 16 May 2025".
3. (18 October 2019). "New Leader of West Sussex County Council elected". West Sussex County Council.
4. (14 October 2019). "West Sussex County Council names new leader as Paul Marshall".
5. (22 March 2024). "New chief executive appointed at county council". BBC News.
6. (1865). "A Compendious Abstract of the Public General Acts". Law Journal Reports.
7. {{cite legislation UK. (1888)
8. (10 April 1889). "The County Council". Chichester Observer.
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
10. "Understand how your council works".
11. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
12. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
13. "West Sussex". [[BBC News Online]].
14. "West Sussex". [[BBC]].
15. (29 March 1985). "Tories 'only choice'". Arun Gazette.
16. (2 March 1989). "Direct plea to MPs". East Grinstead Observer.
17. (15 December 1989). "Housing swamp: Creeping concrete fears". East Grinstead Observer.
18. (7 April 1993). "Your instant news update". East Grinstead Observer.
19. "Council minutes, 16 February 2018".
20. (7 June 2023). "Minute's silence for former leader of West Sussex County Council, who served Worthing and Lancing for 24 years". Sussex World.
21. (8 March 2015). "Devoted to family, his job and people". Sussex World.
22. (30 September 2020). "Former leader of West Sussex County Council quits Tory party". Sussex World.
23. "Council minutes, 18 October 2019".
24. "County Council structure".
25. "West Sussex". Thorncliffe.
26. "Your councillors by party".
27. (5 February 2025). "Council shake-up sees elections delayed in nine areas". BBC News.
28. {{cite legislation UK. (2016)
29. (2016). "Chichester Conservation Area Character Appraisal". Chichester District Council.
30. "County Council office".
31. (16 November 1889). "The West Sussex Times". The West Sussex Times.
32. (1911). "Kelly's Directory of Sussex".
33. (2 October 2018). "The history of Edes House". Chichester Observer.
34. (2 August 1916). "A County Council Bargain! New offices scheme: The purchase of a site a Chichester agreed to.". Worthing Gazette.
35. (31 July 1936). "The New County Hall: Council's first meeting". Hampshire Telegraph and Post.
36. (11 November 2019). "Former Adur District Council chairman made a huge contribution to the Lancing community".
37. Names and dates as listed on the carved boards in County Hall, Chichester
38. "Lt. Col. Sir Herbert Shiner, D.S.O., M.C., D.L., Chairman 1945-1962.".