Breakfast Briefing: Local Government Reorganisation in Surrey & Sussex

On Friday 15th May 2026, Chelgate Local and Vail Williams co-hosted a Local Government and Devolution Breakfast Briefing at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. The event was chaired by Nick Wood- Dow, Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey.

Nick Wood-Dow kickstarted the event after attendees enjoyed the breakfast buffet. He welcomed the audience to Denbies Wine Estate and introduced the four speakers; Michael Hardware, Marisa Heath, Katy Bourne OBE and Chris Wilmshurst.

The first speaker was Michael Hardware, Chelgate Local’s director of planning and property and also the cabinet member for local government reorganisation and devolution at Harlow Council. Michael provided an overview and background of local government reorganisation and devolution and briefly discussed the impact of the May 2026 local election results in Essex County Council. He highlighted that Reform UK gained 53 seats and gained control of Essex County Council and are opposed to local government reorganisation, so the future is uncertain. Michael mentioned mayoral elections were pulled in Essex, which was “political suicide” and highlighted the importance of the mayoral elections in Surrey.

Our second speaker was Marisa Heath, cabinet member for the environment and planning at Surrey County Council. Marisa discussed the new planning map and the 2 new unitaries; East Surrey and West Surrey, replacing the two-tier model. She also highlighted the key milestones for planning teams and applicants and the importance of development teams and councillors working closely together. In addition, she discussed the changes for planning and development and the potential gains and transition risks of the spatial development strategies (SDS).

Katy Bourne OBE, the Surrey police and crime commissioner (PCC), was the next speaker. Katy discussed what local government reorganisation looks like in Sussex and highlighted the importance of a mayor and parish councils. She suggested planning authorities would collapse with less integration and highlighted the importance of having a representative of planning and development in the meetings of the council of regions and council of the nations. Katy is the Conservative Party candidate for Mayor of Sussex and Brighton in the 2028 mayoral election and highlighted if she was mayor, she would ensure voices are heard from parish and town councils as a local voice is always needed.

The final speaker was Chris Wilmshurst, partner at Vail Williams with over 35 years’ experience in both local government and private consultancy. Chris took a technical approach regarding planning and devolution and discussed spatial development strategies (SDS), highlighting the principles and do’s and don’ts. He mentioned SDS will grow economies and improve the environment and climate resilience, they should identify broad location for growth and development and should not be inconsistent with national policy.

Overall, the event provided a good insight into the local government reform and devolution in Surrey and Sussex and how it is to likely impact councils.