The county also contains seven district and borough councils, and 158 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county council has 70 elected councillors. The chief executive and directors are responsible for the day-to-day running of the council.
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.
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.
In 2026, the council became a member of the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority.
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:
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 no overall control since 2026, having previously been under Conservative majority control since 1997. Following the 2026 election, a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Labour and Local Alliance formed to run the council, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Jay Mercer.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:
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.
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.
Chairs of West Sussex County Council in date order
↑"Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "West Sussex" in search box to see specific results.)
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