Sussex businesses will have a say on decisions made by a new strategic authority.
On Wednesday (July 29), the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority (SBSA) agreed to establish a Business Advisory Board, which will be responsible for helping shape policy on growth, innovation and investment.
It will comprise 15 full members, including representatives from the area’s universities and further education providers. Its chairman will join the SBSA board as a non-voting associate member.
The proposal was welcomed by Cllr Bella Sankey, who is the Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and the SBSA board’s chairman .
Speaking at County Hall in Lewes, Cllr Sankey said: “Sussex already has a thriving business ecosystem and what today’s paper proposes is that we bring that wealth of knowledge and experience into the heart of how this strategic authority makes decisions.
“Economic outcomes will form part of how we think, how we prioritise and how we make the case for Sussex to government and to investors.”
The chairman of the business board will be one of three associate members sitting on the SBSA board.
The other members will be: Ian Smith, chairman of the Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board; and Vanessa Rowlands, chairman of the South Downs National Park Authority.
Mr Smith will be associate member for health outcomes, a role to help the board consider how its decisions and priorities can support healthier communities and reduce inequalities.
Ms Rowlands will be associate member for protected landscapes. She is expected to help the board understand how its strategic priorities will affect the area’s significant landscapes — particularly in terms of planning, infrastructure, economic growth, transport connectivity and environmental sustainability.
The rest of the board is made up of six elected representatives: two each from Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council and West Sussex County Council.
The representatives include the leaders of each authority, who will each take turns as the board’s chairman until the election of the first mayor of the county in May 2028.
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