West Sussex

ceremonial county in England

On 1 April 1974, the old county of Sussex in South East England was split into East Sussex and West Sussex. About 810,000 people live there.

West Sussex
Flag of West Sussex
Coat of arms of West Sussex
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Members of Parliament8 members
Ceremonial county
Area1,991 km2 (769 sq mi)
 • Ranked of 48
Population (2005 est.)764,300
 • Ranked27th of 48
Density384/km2 (990/sq mi)

Unlike many of the changes made by the Local Government Act 1972, the new counties are popular with the local people.

The ceremonial county contains the districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex as well as the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing.

The West Sussex County Council was formed in 1889 in the ceremonial County of Sussex. Because of the Local Government Act 1972, the East and West Sussex County Council took over the ceremonial responsibilities in the two halves with Mid Sussex and parts of Crawley being given to West Sussex from East Sussex.