About us

East Sussex County Council has its administration based at County Hall in Lewes providing services across the county.

The residents of East Sussex elect 50 councillors (also known as members).

The Leader and Deputy Leader

The Leader has overall political control of the Council, although many key decisions are delegated to other senior councillors (lead members). A full description of the role of the Leader of the Council is detailed in the East Sussex County Council Constitution. The Deputy Leader assists the Leader with these duties. The Leader is elected for a 4-year term by the Council at the first meeting following an election.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet is responsible for most day-to-day Council decisions and meets approximately every month. The Leader of the Council appoints councillors to the Cabinet. The Cabinet must make its decisions in line with the overall policies priorities and budget set by the Council.

Lead Members

These are senior members of the Council who hold specific responsibilities for different policy areas. Each lead member is also a member of the Cabinet. Full details of the role of Cabinet members are detailed in the East Sussex County Council Constitution.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman

The Chairman’s role is similar to that of a mayor in other councils. It is a non-political role, working primarily to promote the county as a whole rather than the specific policies of the Council. The Vice-Chairman assists the Chairman with these duties. Both are elected (or re-elected) each year by the Council. The role and function of the Chairman is detailed in the Constitution.

The Chairman is happy to:

support activities within the County Council and beyond
be invited to present awards
officially open new buildings and projects
visit County Council teams in their local offices

If you have an event in the future, which you would like the Chairman to attend or visit, please contact:

The Chairman’s Office, East Sussex County Council, Westfield House, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes BN7 1RJ

Email: Tracey Cochrane
Phone: 01273 481956

Campaigns

Continue to protect the vulnerable, young, old and those most in need; work to maintain and improve our OUTSTANDING Children’s OFSTED inspected services. We will continue to lead on integrated health and social care services with the NHS, as recognised by CQC as best practice.

Looking after PEOPLE

Your Conservative-run county council has... Delivered high quality care services for those who needed them, including opening a new children’s home in the east of the county; worked with the NHS to improve health, wellbeing, and mental health services, reducing health inequalities.

Supporting our local ECONOMY

Growing a sustainable economy and creating rewarding jobs for local people is a key priority of our administration. Since 2014, Conservative-run East Sussex has secured over £600 million in investment from the Local Economic Partnership to support the county's economy. W

Investing in ROADS and TRANSPORT

During the May 2021 elections we promised to do to more to improve our County’s transport infrastructure.In the four years to May 2021, your Conservative county council had….Invested £160-million in our road network; resurfaced over 300 miles of roads; across the County, delivered road imp

Supporting future GENERATIONS

Your Conservative county council continues to: Focus, as part of its Post-Covid Recovery Plan, on improving young people’s job and career opportunities; equipping them with the skills and training they need Deliver OUTSTANDING Children’s Services, as judged by

Protecting our local ENVIRONMENT

Your Conservative-run county council believes in ACTION not words on the Environment The Declaration of a climate emergency was, for us, a clear statement of intent to reduce our CO2e emissions and to do our part in cleaning up our own services as well as influencing the businesses that we wo