83-653: East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county ; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove . East Sussex is divided into five local government districts . Three are larger, rural, districts (from west to east: Lewes ; Wealden ; and Rother ). The other two, Eastbourne and Hastings , are mainly urban areas. The rural districts are subdivided into civil parishes . The council has been under no overall control since 2023, being led by
166-450: A Conservative minority administration. It has its headquarters at County Hall in Lewes ; there are a number of other administrative buildings located throughout the county. 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
249-406: A municipal borough as a result of the 1972 Local Government Act , losing unitary control of town affairs to East Sussex County Council . This reform was later followed by a reduction of wards to 16 in 1983. Brighton Borough Council remained under this structure until unification with Hove. A small parish at the end of the 18th century, Hove began to expand in the early 19th century alongside
332-449: A Sussex gentry family that gave their name to the present parish of Poynings . Hangeton was a medieval downland village in the 13th century, and by the early 14th century it had a population of about 200. Later, the village was abandoned for around six hundred years. It started to grow again in the 1950s with other areas of Brighton and is now popular for its views of the sea and green spaces. Between Hangleton and Westdene , south of
415-413: A council chamber and committee rooms and also built a large office block called Southover House in the former gardens of Pelham House, with the two neighbouring buildings then serving as the council's main offices and meeting place, and the old County Hall reverting to being purely a judicial facility. By the 1960s the council again needed more space and so the current County Hall was built. Southover House
498-550: A flowery bank on its western slope ( TQ 286 091 ), a bushy lynchet and an old dewpond site on its brow. The Sussex Border Path takes you north to Pangdean Bottom and the Pyecombe parish. Pangdean Bottom is the west of the A23 and is rented by a tenant farmer from Brighton and Hove City Council , who have owned it since 1924. It includes ancient chalk grassland slopes where there are still chalkland flowers and butterflies. In late summer,
581-405: A landmark church and a former convent. Mile Oak is a newer development. Until the 1920s it was only a small group of farm buildings with surrounding corn fields, sheep downs and market gardens. Then, suburban housing started to be built, and there was considerable further development in the 1960s with the construction of bungalows and other private housing. In the 1990s, after the construction of
664-535: A layer of superficial acidity, with sorrel , bent-grass , and tormentil growing there. To the south is Hollingbury Golf Course, the Roedale allotments and Hollingbury Park ( TQ 314 075 ). The park was originally part of the golf course. Its Edwardian pavilion was the original (circa 1908) clubhouse. East of the Park is the two-century-old Hollingbury Woods , now full of the rotting carcasses of beech giants toppled in
747-399: A number of new counties were created, several of the new authorities (such as Cornwall or Northumberland) continued to have the boundaries set in 1974. The 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England have involved changes to the non-metropolitan county of Dorset (2019), and the abolition of the non-metropolitan counties Northamptonshire (2021) and Cumbria (2023). In addition,
830-619: A royal county. With the creation of numerous new non-metropolitan counties, the areas used for lieutenancy and shrievalty began to diverge from local government areas. This led to the development of ceremonial counties for these purposes, a fact recognised by the Lieutenancies Act 1997 . A further wave of unitary authorities were created in 2009 under the terms of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . While
913-489: A single body. Berkshire has a unique structure. Non-metropolitan counties cover the majority of England with the exception of Greater London , the Isles of Scilly , and the six metropolitan counties : Greater Manchester , Merseyside , South Yorkshire , Tyne and Wear , West Midlands and West Yorkshire . The non-metropolitan counties are all part of ceremonial counties . Some ceremonial counties, such as Norfolk , contain
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#1732855526648996-639: A single non-metropolitan county, but many contain more than one and it is also common for ceremonial counties and non-metropolitan counties to share a name. Lancashire, for example, contains the non-metropolitan counties of Lancashire , Blackpool , and Blackburn with Darwen . Prior to 1974 local government had been divided between single-tier county boroughs (the largest towns and cities) and two-tier administrative counties which were subdivided into municipal boroughs and urban and rural districts . The Local Government Act 1972 , which came into effect on 1 April 1974, divided England outside Greater London and
1079-571: A stretch of coast and some downland areas. Just to the south of Brighton and Hove in the English Channel is the Rampion Wind Farm , which provides renewable energy to the country. Brighton has been the most populous settlement in Sussex since at least the 17th century, and a town hall and evidence of citizen's control over town affairs predates 1580. The original parish of Brighton covered what
1162-421: Is Ladies Mile Down ( TQ 318 093 ), which has designated as a Local nature reserve . The area is a remarkable survival of plateau chalk grassland on Downland, where almost all such flattish sites have been destroyed by modern farming. The ancient turf has preserved lots of odd linear banks, which are surviving fragments of an Iron Age and Romano-British lynchetted field system. The banks once stretched across
1245-646: Is a city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex , England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administered by Brighton and Hove City Council , which is currently under Labour majority control. The two resorts, along with Worthing and Littlehampton in West Sussex, make up the second most-populous built-up area of South East England , after South Hampshire . In 2014, Brighton and Hove City Council and other nearby councils formed
1328-474: Is a subdivision of England used for local government . The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales , and were the top tier of a two-tier system of counties and districts . 21 non-metropolitan counties still use a two-tier system; 56 are unitary authorities , in which the functions of a county and district council have been combined in
1411-718: Is a lot of history on the slopes, including a large 4000 year old Bronze Age settlement, a possible 'henge' (as in Stonehenge ), now lost under the A27 bypass, and evidence of Iron Age and Romano-British field systems. To the north of the city boundary is Fulking parish. The final stretch of the Monarch's Way passes through Mile Oak and Porstlade. It is a 625-mile (1,006 km) long-distance footpath that runs from Worcester to Shoreham . Aldrington sits between Portslade-by-Sea to its west and Hove to its east. For centuries Aldrington
1494-500: Is famous for its glowworm displays on midsummer evenings. On the steep east side of the hill there is large thyme , autumn gentian and many butterflies. Bee orchids can be also found in some years. To the north of this area is the Poynings parish and the impressive geography of Devil's Dyke . To the east is Round Hill where there are many signs of the past from different periods of human history. There are several old barrows in
1577-533: Is now known for its windmill and secondary school. To the east of West Blatchington is Westdene . Hangleton is to the north of Aldrington and sits between Portslade Village and West Blatchington. The manors of Hangleton and Aldrington formed part of the Fishersgate Half Hundred , together with the neighbouring manor of Portslade. The lords of the Hangleton manor from 1291 to 1446 were the de Poynings,
1660-562: Is one of the commonest flowers here, with some of its associated fungi. The west facing slopes of Varncombe Hill ( TQ 279 105 ) were sold by Brighton Council with the rest of Saddlescombe Farm to the National Trust , but the Trust did not dedicate them as Access land , though they qualified and the National Trust had the power to do so. To the east of Waterhall is Sweet Hill . The Hill has
1743-592: Is quite different in character. Portslade-by-Sea is largely an industrial port, with a busy canal area that opens up to the River Adur and the English Channel . It has a long history of human settlement and the name came from the Roman port, Novus Portus. Portslade Village has kept more of its antiquity and retains many elements of the downland village it once was. Many of the buildings have their original flint walls, and there are some early manor house ruins, tree-lined parks,
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#17328555266481826-486: Is still good for butterflies. In spring one may still see the green hairstreak or orange-tip or find the wacky small bloody-nosed beetle and there are still adonis , chalkhill and common blues and brown argus and glowworms in midsummer. There are also orchids, harebells , sheets of rockrose , Sussex rampion , devil's-bit , and carline thistle . In autumn there are fungi too, including penny-bun bolete , collared earthstar , stinkhorn , and shaggy inkcap in
1909-507: Is to the east of the London Road, and is home to the national collection of lilacs with over 250 varieties. Collections of berberis , cotoneaster and viburnum can also be found here. Withdean Woods is next to Withdean stadium and is a wooded hillside nature reserve approximately 2.47 acres (1 ha) in size. It is the home of several woodland birds including the great spotted woodpecker , tawny owl , goldcrest , firecrest, and in winter
1992-535: Is today much of central Brighton. The parish border ran from Little Western Street and Boundary Passage in the west, to Whitehawk Road in the east, and roughly followed the Old Shoreham Road and Bear Road to the north. The Great Reform Act of 1832 created the parliamentary constituency of Brighton . Brighton obtained a royal charter for incorporation in 1854 and was organised into six wards: Park, Pavilion, Pier, St Nicholas, St Peter, and West. The ward of Preston
2075-675: The 1987 gale . It is a popular walk, with Fittleworth Stone walks, glades, and benches. It has received the loving care of a local "Friends" group for many years now. To the west of Moulsecoombe is Wild Park ( TQ 327 080 ). The park is a valley/coombe which runs down from Hollingbury Castle and was opened in 1925. In the 1850s the valley, then known as Hollingbury Coombe, was one of the most famous of Sussex sites for lepidopterists (butterfly and moth experts), but dark green and silver-washed fritillary and silver-spotted skipper , once present in numbers, are rarely seen there now. Despite this, there are parts which are still rich in diversity and it
2158-598: The Adur District . Support within Brighton for its own unitary authority was high, however respondents in Hove expressed reservations towards a merger with Worthing and Adur. A report following consultation noted that more than 25% of respondents in both Brighton and Hove had "unprompted, indicated support for a merger of those two areas." Although this option had not been included in the draft proposals, subsequent polling indicated that
2241-478: The Brighton Pavilion "passed through the fire", for this was their "ghat", or place of cremation. Its white Sicilian marble dome is in good condition, but the surrounding memorial garden is often unkept. What is now considered to be Hollingbury is the slope facing west, east of Patcham and north of Fiveways . However, old Hollingbury was the crest of the hill by the hillfort , Hollingbury Park and even
2324-473: The Greater Brighton City Region local enterprise partnership area. In 1992, a government commission was set up to conduct a structural review of local government arrangements across England. In its draft proposals for East Sussex, the commission suggested two separate unitary authorities be created for the towns of Brighton and Hove, with the latter authority to include Hove, Worthing and
2407-752: 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 large towns of Brighton and Hastings were deemed capable of providing their own county-level services and so they were made county boroughs , independent from East Sussex County Council. Eastbourne
2490-543: The Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations, Brighton had been shortlisted as a candidate for city status , though eventually lost out to larger Derby . Following unification of the towns, Brighton and Hove applied for city status again as part of the Millennium City Status Competition, and was subsequently granted city status on 31 January 2001. As a result, the borough council became a city council . Although
2573-423: The stinking hellebore . To the west of the A23 and north of Westdene and the A27 is Waterhall ( TQ 284 087 ), and its lost 18th century farm is now the site of football and rugby pitches. The Waterhall Golf Course has just been given over to a version of rewilding which involves the restoration of species-rich chalk grassland There is still a significant population of adders. By the bridlepath just downhill of
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2656-465: The 'Right to Roam' network, organised a mass trespass in protest against the lack of public access to this valley and its management for game bird shooting, which has badly affected its chalk grassland wildlife. Over 300 people walked from Waterhall, Brighton, to Pangdean Bottom in protest. The public are actively discouraged from walking in the area and scrub has been allowed to grow on the pristine downland, whilst other parts have been ploughed out. To
2739-402: The 1920s and 1930s, with a mix of detached, semi-detached and mid-rise flats. The Withdean manor was originally the property of the great Cluniac Priory of St. Pancras at Lewes, until 1537. This was then given to Anne of Cleves in 1541 by Henry VIII . The manor was demolished in 1936. Westdene sits to the north of Brighton , east of West Blatchington and north of Withdean . Withdean Park
2822-694: The A27 are two golf courses, the West Hove and Brighton and Hove Golf courses. The two are divided by the Old Dyke Railway Trail which follows part of the route taken by the old Dyke Railway Branch Line. The line opened in September 1887 and took people from Hove to the popular downland beauty spot of Devil's Dyke . When the railway closed in December 1938, the line lay unused until the Dyke Railway Trail
2905-462: The A27 roundabout and the eastern track takes you up Ewebottom Hiil leaving Scare Hill to its west, passing the Chattri to the east and on to Holt Hill and the Pyecombe parish. The western track takes you to Waterhall across the A23. Those walking from Patcham towards Standean farm descend the hill into Ewe Bottom and have the pleasure of the intact, old Tegdown pastures to their right, where
2988-401: The A27, is Toads Hole Valley . Its west slope, below Downland Drive, was once an unspoilt place for wildlife and still home to threatened species such as dormice , hedgehogs , and adders . The valley has been unmanaged for many years and the area has turned to scrub. It has now been designated for development and up to three hundred homes are planned to be built on the site. To the north of
3071-694: The South Downs and Stanmer Estate that ten years ago had been proposed to be a Local Nature Reserve . Bevendean is in a valley nestled between Bevendean Down and Heath Hill. Moulsecoomb is on the other side of the Lewes Road and backs on to Falmer Hill, and is home to the University of Brighton's Moulsecoomb campus and Moulsecoomb Place . North of Moulsecoomb is the Falmer train station , University of Brighton's Falmer campus, and Falmer Stadium . In this area to
3154-450: The administrative structure of the non-metropolitan counties. It was anticipated that a system of unitary authorities would entirely replace the two-tier system. The Commission faced competing claims from former county boroughs wishing to regain unitary status and advocates for the restoration of such small counties as Herefordshire and Rutland. The review led to the introduction of unitary local government in some areas but not in others. In
3237-626: The area. There is an old flint barn ( TQ 269 090 ) called the Skeleton Hovel which is thought to commemorate a prehistoric burial site. Round Hill's eastern slope ( TQ 269 085 ) is the richest chalk grassland site in Hangleton, though it desperately needs grazing management for its many downland flowers such as field fleawort , chalk milkwort , orchids, cowslips, hairy violet , rockrose, crested hair-grass , and devil's bit scabious . There are two rare Forester moth species, fox moth and heath moth, purse-web spider , moss, and pygmy snails. To
3320-510: The best of this type in the county". It consists of a circular bank with a ditch and a flattish interior. It lies just south of a big dried up dew pond. From Tegdown you can see the three Iron Age camps of Hollingbury Castle , Ditchling Beacon , and the Devil's Dyke . To the north of the city boundary is the long Ditchling parish. The Mid Sussex track of the Sussex Border Path starts at
3403-449: The ceremonial county of East Sussex. East Sussex County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the county's five district councils: Eastbourne Borough Council , Hastings Borough Council , Lewes District Council , Rother District Council and Wealden District Council . Most of the county is also divided into civil parishes , which form an additional tier of local government. The exceptions are
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3486-499: The circling woods. Coldean , Moulsecoomb , and Bevendean are suburbs developed by Brighton Corporation in the 1950s necessitated by the acute housing shortage in the area after World War II . The districts are all in beautiful downland areas. Coldean occupies a deep valley on the historic boundary of Falmer and Stanmer parishes and is only separated from Hollingbury Hillfort by Wild Park. It has recently been approved to build over two hundred new homes in green land adjoining
3569-447: The city now operates as a single entity, locals generally still consider Brighton and Hove to be separate settlements with different identities. Hove is largely residential and has its own distinct seafront and established town centre located around George Street, while Brighton has a higher profile as the country's most popular seaside resort , a significant digital economy, and hosts several festivals of national prominence. Recognition of
3652-500: The city's twin identities is evident from the continued popularity of the local saying "Hove, actually" , a phrase which long predates unification. Some organisations such as the local football club, Brighton and Hove Albion , and the bus company Brighton & Hove , predate the unification of the towns by several decades. In 2014, Brighton and Hove formed the Greater Brighton City Region with neighbouring local authorities. The City of Brighton and Hove consists of many districts,
3735-513: The composition of the council was: Two of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Democrats" group, the other two are not aligned to any group. The next election is due in 2025. The council is based at East Sussex County Hall on St Anne's Crescent in Lewes, which was purpose-built for the council in 1968. There are additional offices in Eastbourne and Hastings. When first created
3818-518: The corner of the Saddlescombe Road and the turn-off to the golf clubhouse, there is a sarsen stone ( TQ 278 090 ) marking this point in the medieval boundary between Patcham and West Blatchington parishes. To the north is Varncombe Hill , which borders the Newtimber parish. Its south-west facing slope( TQ 280 099 ) is heavily scrubbed-up, though lovely old pasture glades survive. Rockrose
3901-433: The council met at the old County Hall in Lewes, now known as Lewes Crown Court , which had been built in 1812 as a courthouse and had served as the meeting place for the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. The council outgrew the space available there and in 1928 it purchased a large sixteenth century house called Pelham House to use as additional offices. In 1938 the council extended Pelham House to include
3984-470: The courts for eastern rapes being held at Lewes . 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
4067-451: The east and low-rise flats in the central part, with late 19th- and early 20th-century terraced houses towards Fiveways . There is an oasis of undeveloped green space at the peak of the Down between Hollingbury , Hollingdean , and Coldean . At its centre is Hollingbury Castle or Hillfort ( TQ 322 078 ).This Iron Age hillfort is a scheduled ancient monument , of Iron Age date, whilst
4150-423: The east-facing slope. Until the 1930s the area was open downland with farms, small-holdings and piggeries. After World War Two, Hollingbury was used for a factory estate with the housing for the workforce. Hollingdean is in the combe east of Ditchling Road and rising up to the north-facing slope to Roedale allotments, the golf course and hillfort . It is now mainly a residential area, with many council houses to
4233-404: The four mounded round barrows within its ramparts are made by Bronze Age people, who held this place sacred. There are thickets of gorse which shine yellow in spring and are home to linnets and goldfinch. European stonechat is a familiar bird, too, and the rarer whinchat and redstart are seen regularly on passage to and from their breeding grounds. The soil within and around the camp has
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#17328555266484316-403: The line of the A27 bypass, beyond which one or two more fragments also survive. At the eastern end of the Down, is a Bronze Age burial mound recognisable as a low, grassy tump. The area is rich with summer flowers. Harebell , Sussex rampion flower, rockrose, and yellow rattle are enjoyed by locals here and at midsummer there are still good numbers of glowworms . Later in the summer months,
4399-486: The majority of unitary authorities an existing district council took over powers from the county council. The 1972 Act required that all areas outside Greater London form part of a non-metropolitan county, and that all such counties should contain at least one district. Accordingly, the statutory instruments that effected the reorganisation separated the unitary districts from the county in which they were situated and constituted them as counties. The orders also provided that
4482-405: The merger between Cumberland and Westmorland . The counties were adopted for all statutory purposes: a lord-lieutenant and high sheriff was appointed to each county, and they were also used for judicial administration, and definition of police force areas. The Royal Mail adopted the counties for postal purposes in most areas. A Local Government Commission was appointed in 1992 to review
4565-413: The merger was the most popular option among residents. Nevertheless, the proposal of a merger proved controversial, particularly in Hove. Hove Borough Council opposed the move on the grounds that Brighton would dominate affairs in the city, and the commission acknowledged that residents of Hove "have significant negative feelings towards Brighton" and greater identification towards Sussex . Ultimately,
4648-561: The new A27 road , Mile Oak's access to the Downs was largely blocked, stopping the spread of development. To the north of Mile Oak, on the other side of the A27, are a number of downland areas that are still in the Brighton and Hove area. These include the ancient chalk grassland slopes of Cockroost Hill , Cockroost Bottom and Mount Zion . They are all special areas because of the remarkable wildlife still surviving there, including rare downland flowers, orchids, butterflies and rare insects. There
4731-547: The non-metropolitan counties of Buckinghamshire (2020), North Yorkshire (2023), and Somerset (2023) are unchanged, but their councils became unitary authorities as the existing non-metropolitan districts in these areas were consolidated and the district councils abolished. The following list shows the original thirty-nine counties formed in 1974, subsequent changes in the 1990s, and further changes since then. 1980: renamed Shropshire 1998: Renamed Telford and Wrekin In Wales there
4814-403: The non-metropolitan counties were largely based on existing counties, although they did include a number of innovations. Some counties were based on areas surrounding large county boroughs or were formed by the mergers of smaller counties. Examples of the first category are Avon (based on Bath and Bristol) and Cleveland (based on Teesside ). An example of the second category is Cumbria , formed by
4897-429: The north east of Coldean are two further valleys. The first is occupied by Stanmer village ( TQ 33 09 ), a village with much historical value. The upper village street has eighteen flint cottages, with colourful gardens. The church was reconstructed in 1838, but the date of the original church can be guessed from the two huge and knotty yews in the churchyard. Next to the church is a pond, which although often unkempt,
4980-420: The north of Round Hill is the Newtimber parish. Patcham , Westdene , and Withdean are divided by the London Road. Of the three, Patcham ( TQ 301 090 ), has much the longest history of human settlement and retains much from its agricultural past. It was one of the bigger settlements in Sussex at the time of Domesday book, with 10 shepherds and six slaves and a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury came from
5063-548: The north of the city boundary in this area is the Pycombe parish. The Downland to the north of Patcham leads up to Ditchling Beacon and the western end of the Clayton to Offham Escarpment . Tegdown Hill is the next hill to the west of the downland Ditchling Road. A remarkable "ring barrow" survives ( TQ 313 101 ) on its brow, together with the slight mounds of two other bowl barrows. Tegdown ring barrow has been described as "probably
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#17328555266485146-460: The old clubhouse there are the damaged remains of a Bronze Age round barrow ( TQ 283 087 ) which has long acted as a marker on the old parish boundaries. Since the cessation of golf play harebell , scabious , cowslip , rockrose , betony , Sussex rampion and horseshoe vetch have flowered ebulliently. There are large old anthills and chalkhill , small and adonis blue and brown argus butterflies, and all three species of Forester moth. At
5229-543: The population of the town substantially. As a result, the number of wards had by now increased to 19. The rest of Falmer, Coldean and the parish of Stanmer were added to Brighton by the Brighton Extension Act 1951, completing the northward extension of the town. A final expansion of the town's boundaries was approved in 1968, incorporating reclaimed land from the sea for the Brighton Marina project. Brighton
5312-428: The provisions of the 1972 Act that every county should have a county council should not apply in the new counties, with the district council exercising the powers of the county council. An exception was made in the case of Berkshire , which was retained with its existing boundaries in spite of the abolition of its county council and the creation of six unitary authorities. This was done in order to preserve its status as
5395-467: The six largest conurbations into thirty-nine non-metropolitan counties. Each county was divided into anywhere between two and fourteen non-metropolitan districts . There was a uniform two-tier system of local government with county councils dealing with "wide-area" services such as education, fire services and the police, and district councils exercising more local powers over areas such as planning, housing and refuse collection. As originally constituted,
5478-411: The steepest slope and the lynchets have fine chalk downland flowers. Opposite the slope is the mouth of Deep Bottom ( TQ 303 105 ), the southerly slope of which is a colourful old pasture site with abundant rockrose and which rises up to the Chattri . In autumn there are boletes and several old meadow waxcaps and a fairy club fungus. To the south of the A27 and on the western edge of Patcham
5561-476: The two boroughs of Eastbourne and Hastings, which are unparished . The council has been under no overall control since a by-election in August 2023, prior to which it had a Conservative majority. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 1999 have been: Following the 2021 election and by-elections and changes of allegiance up to June 2024,
5644-501: The unparished non-metropolitan district of Hove. It also incorporated the nearby town of Portslade-by-Sea into the new district. The new boundaries established by the Act remained largely the same until unification with Brighton a quarter of a century later. To the west of Brighton and Hove is Portslade . The area has three distinct centres with different histories, and includes Portslade-by-Sea , Portslade Village and Mile Oak . Each
5727-496: The valley's north side has one of the largest populations of autumn ladies-tresses orchid has been recorded, together with a large population of the white variety of the self heal violet . The scrub at the head of the valley is old and diverse, with wayfaring tree , old man's beard , honeysuckle , hazel , and gorse . In July 2021 the Sussex-based 'Landscapes of Freedom' group, together with Nick Hayes and Guy Shrubsole of
5810-461: The view was taken that support for a single tier of government in both towns outweighed opposition to unification, and as a result the commission recommended that the borough councils of Brighton and Hove be made a single unitary authority independent of East Sussex County Council . In 1997, Brighton and Hove Borough Council was formed, and assumed responsibility for all matters of local government across both towns. Twenty years earlier, as part of
5893-439: The village. The area still has many old flint cottages, big allotment sites and winding twittens. There is Patcham Place and Park. The best cluster of buildings comprise its Norman church (which has kept part of its medieval wall paintings) and the old buildings of Patcham Court Farm, with a 17th-century flint farmhouse and dovecot. The areas of Withdean and Westdene were historically farmland but have been developed, mainly in
5976-420: The violet-blue of devil's-bit scabious and the powder-blue lesser scabious radiate. The Chattri ( TQ 304 110 ) is a place of memorial and a destination for walks. It can be accessed from the Sussex Border Path to its west or by scrambling through the thickets of Deep Bottom. It is a solemn place where the bodies of First World War Indian Sikh and Hindu soldiers who died from wounds whilst being nursed at
6059-450: The westward development of Brighton, and in 1832 became incorporated into the parliamentary constituency of Brighton . In 1873 commissioners from Hove, West Hove and Brunswick were amalgamated as means to guard against the dominance of Brighton. The first public buildings were completed in the late 19th century, including the original town hall in 1882. The parish of Aldrington was annexed by Hove in 1893. A municipal borough of Hove
6142-520: Was added in 1873, expanding Brighton to the north. In 1889 Brighton attained county borough status. The Brighton Corporation Act of 1927 added the settlements of Ovingdean and Rottingdean , as well as western parts of Falmer , Patcham and West Blatchington . These reforms expanded the Brighton the north and west dramatically. Between 1920 and 1950 housing estates were developed in Woodingdean , Moulsecoomb , Bevendean , and Whitehawk increasing
6225-408: Was created in 1988. There are a number of ways through Hangleton to a bridge over the A27 bypass where the trail begins, but the original route took you from Aldrington railway station and above the Hove cemetery. Much of the trail across the Downs is on a hard surface. There are many archaic Down pastures in the area. To the west is Benfield Hill ( TQ 261 078 ), a Local Nature Reserve which
6308-428: Was formed by royal charter in 1889, granting Hove administrative autonomy. Further expansion took place in 1927, with the addition of the parishes of Preston Rural and Hangleton and westerly sections of West Blatchington and Patcham . Hove gained its own parliamentary constituency in 1950. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished the remaining parishes of Hove, Aldrington and Hangleton and West Blatchington to form
6391-475: Was largely countryside, with very few people living there for most of the Middle Ages, but it is now a residential area. Like Aldrington, West Blatchington was once primarily down and sheep grazing area, but is now built up. West Blatchington manor had various lords over the centuries, but unlike Adrington and Hangleton, it was always associated with lords in the east such Lewes , Falmer , and Patcham . It
6474-453: Was later also made a county borough in 1911. The first elections were held in January 1889 and East Sussex County Council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1889, holding its first official meeting on the same day at County Hall in Lewes. John Dodson, Lord Monk Bretton , a Liberal peer and former Member of Parliament , was appointed the first chairman of the council. Local government
6557-574: Was no distinction between metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties: all upper tier areas were designated "counties". The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 amended the 1972 Act, abolishing the Welsh counties and creating instead new Welsh principal areas , some of which are also designated "counties". For the purposes of lieutenancy the counties constituted in 1974 were preserved. Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( / ˈ b r aɪ t ən ... ˈ h oʊ v / BRY -tən … HOHV )
6640-425: Was rearranged at the same time, with the county being divided into seven non-metropolitan districts . In 1997 the two districts of Hove and Brighton were merged to become a unitary authority called Brighton and Hove , independent from the county council, leaving only five districts in the area administered by the county council. Brighton and Hove (which subsequently gained city status in 2001) remains part of
6723-548: Was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , which made East Sussex a non-metropolitan county . As part of the 1974 reforms it ceded the Mid Sussex area (including Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath ) to West Sussex , but gained the three former county boroughs of Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. East Sussex and West Sussex also became separate ceremonial counties , with East Sussex gaining its own Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff . The lower tier of local government
6806-487: Was sold to Lewes District Council in 1998. Full council meetings continued to be held in the council chamber at Pelham House until 2003 when a new council chamber was created in the 1968 County Hall and Pelham House was sold. Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 50 electoral divisions . Elections are held every four years. Non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county , or colloquially, shire county ,
6889-412: Was split into two parliamentary constituencies in 1950. The first, Brighton Pavilion , covers the centre and north of the town. The second, Brighton Kemptown , covers the east of the town. The latter has since expanded further east to include the neighbouring towns of East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs , and Peacehaven , all of which are administratively within the adjacent Lewes District . Brighton became
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