Minutes of a meeting held on Wednesday 5 August 2026, at 8.00 p. m., at the Chapter House, Southover Church.
Present: Will Dorman (in the Chair), John Gower, Luke Bray, Charles Meloy, Julian Till, Andrew Winter and Carolyn Beckingham.
1. Apologies for Absence:
Apologies for absence were received from Alex Durn and Roger Maskew.
Will Dorman read a statement from Roger Maskew about the sad passing of his wife Marion
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting:
There was no meeting last month.
3. Executive Committee:
Key items discussed:
(a) High Street – Bronagh Liddicoat updated regarding her representation at two meetings convened by the Mayor who has outlined two priorities for his term of office: affordable housing and the vibrancy of the High Street. Bronagh is part of the sub-group dealing with the High Street following on from her involvement with the 2021 FoL online panel forum. Good non-political representation was provided by retailers, business people and organisations around the town who are suffering badly from increased overheads. A second meeting is to be organised focusing on priorities which include the streetscape as there is a pot of Town Council money that can be used to improve the town. This was very positively received and endorsed by the Executive Committee.
(b) Accounts – FoL’s finances are acceptable with membership rising to 400. The committee questioned the value for money for belonging to the Civic Voice as membership has increased to £600. It was agreed to pay for one more year
(c) North Street Quarter – Peter attended the Lewes District Council Cabinet meeting in Newhaven and questioned the sale of Plot A, which belongs to LDC, to the new Human Nature/Hollybrook partnership. Peter’s three questions will receive a formal answer from the LDC Cabinet. Concern was expressed over the lack of transparency regarding Plot
A and Plot B previously bought for £9 million with £2 million being VAT. Serious concerns were also expressed over the building of residential properties on the flood plain and why Springman House isn’t being developed as affordable housing, being outside of the flood area.
(d) Enforcement/Shelleys – Sarah Earl attended the SDNP Planning meeting in Lewes
(as Peter was at the Newhaven Cabinet meeting on the same day) and read out the
statement regarding the disrepair of Shelleys. Huge thanks to Sarah as her attendance
sparked a good quality debate by the Planning Committee which has been uploaded
onto the website.
(e) Other properties at risk – Lewes signal box and Fitzroy House.
(f) Tourist Information Office – Peter has written to the Town Clerk regarding the
possible transfer of the asset 187 and 188 High Street from LDC to the Town Council
asking for an update.
(g) Trees – 28 have been ordered for next season’s planting. The elm on St Anne’s hill
has been cut down, but a replacement is planned. The Fouch family has given £1,000
to plant trees at the Pells in memory of Paul Fouch. 2025 and 2026 planted trees are
being watered regularly during the extended dry period. John Gower suggested planting
more trees in the pedestrian precinct as part of an initiative to celebrate the 75th
anniversary of the FoL in 2027 and to help mitigate against the urban heat island effect
associated with climate change.
4. Decisions:
The following SDNPA decisions are available online:
SDNP/25/00496/FUL – White Hart Hotel 55 High Street – Demolition of the former hotel annex and construction of 5 new dwellings with parking and associated landscaping. Approved.
5. New Planning Applications:
1 July to 30 July
SDNP/26/02373/HOUS – 18 Eridge Green – Erection of single storey rear extension – Friends of Lewes recommend a condition that roof waters go to soak away, to not overload current drainage/ sewerage systems that are under pressure due to climate change. This will also help alleviate the current pressure on Lewes’s sewerage systems,
which has unacceptable discharges of untreated sewage directly to the River Ouse due to insufficient capacity at Ham Lane.
SDNP/26/02388/LIS – 123A Malling Street – Replacement of front door, door frame and threshold. Existing door is rotten and needs replacing: – JG to supply note
SDNP/26/02502/LIS – Sussex Police Hq Malling House Church Lane South Malling – Proposed external repairs to stabilise masonry structure: Friends of Lewes agreed the information supporting this application is incomplete. The drawings are crude and an expert assessment is needed from a specialist stonemason. The Conservation Officer also needs to look at this scheme.
SDNP/26/02547/DCOND – Old Malling Farm Old Malling Way – Discharge condition 27 (Southeast NMU access) in relation to SDNP/18/06103/OUT : Friends of Lewes object to this proposal for the same reasons listed by the Council’s Highways Authority in their objection letter dated 23 July 2026.
SDNP/26/02571/HOUS – 94 Malling Street – Single storey rear extension : Friends of Lewes object to this proposal as, in line with FoL’s policy, new structures should be prevented in flood plains
SDNP/26/02586/HOUS – 16A Landport Road – Single storey side and rear extensions with internal and fenestration alterations: Friends of Lewes object to this proposal as, in line with FoL’s policy, new structures should be prevented in flood plains. FoL also object because there are errors/inconsistencies in the drawings and because the proposed close boarded fence along the front boundary is unsympathetic with the character of the street and sets a bad precedent. The repositioned front entrance is also obstructed by the front forecourt parking
SDNP/26/02629/DCOND – Old Malling Farm Old Malling Way – Discharge of condition 10 (Levels) for SDNP/18/06103/OUT: Friends of Lewes object to this proposal for the same reasons listed by the Council’s Landscape Officer in their objection letter dated 27th July 2026.
SDNP/26/02631/DCOND – Old Malling Farm Old Malling Way – Discharge of condition 6 (Flood risk) and condition 15 (foul drainage) for SDNP/18/06103/OUT: Friends of Lewes object to this proposal for the same reasons listed by the Council’s Flood Risk Management Team in their objection letter dated 22 July 2026.
The Committee examined the following applications and had no observations to make:
| SDNP/26/02388/LIS: 123A Malling Street. | Replacement of front door, door frame and threshold. Existing door is rotten and needs replacing |
| SDNP/26/02578/HOUS: 24 St Anne’s Crescent | Retrospective permission required for the continued use of the annexe as ancillary accommodation, and for external painting of the annexe in a conservation area. |
| SDNP/26/02594/LDP: 59 The Avenue | 11 solar PV panels on roof. |
| SDNP/26/02613/DCOND: 199 High Street. | Discharge of Conditions 8 (details of extension), 9 (New Dormer) and 12 (new details) for SDNP/25/04946/HOUS. |
| SDNP/26/02655/LIS: 26 Keere Street | Repainting door and window frames. |
| SDNP/26/02741: 2 Highdown Road | Loft conversion including hip to gable conversion, new window and rooflight and solar panels on rear roofslope. |
| SDNP/26/02772/LDP & 02799/LIS: 1 St Michael’s Court, Keere Street | Amalgamation of 2 dwellings into single unit and new internal door. |
| SDNP/26.02784/LDP 5 Mount Harry Road | Storage Unit. |
| SDNP/26/02798 DCOND: 199 High Street. | Discharge of Conditions 4 (ARCH 1) and 8 (Details of Extension) for SDNP/25/04946/HOUS. |
| SDNP/26/02884/DCOND: 199 High Street | Discharge of Condition 7 (Proposed extention) for SDNP/25/04947/LIS. |
6. Flood Report:
John Gower reported:
There have been no incidents of recent flooding in Lewes. Hardly any rain has fallen and July 2026 is likely to be one of the driest and hottest on record.
Lewes obtains all of its water from the Brighton Chalk Block Aquifer, which is now falling to seasonally low levels, having started the year fully recharged after a wetter-than-average winter. Despite the current low water levels there are no hosepipe bans in Lewes, but it is of course still sensible to conserve water as restrictions could easily be required if the dry weather continues.
Hot summers are often compared to 1976, which had an exceptionally long period of dry, hot, sunny days. This followed a very dry winter in 1975, and by late summer 1976 all of England was suffering a serious drought, with multiple restrictions for water use and people having to queue to get water from standpipes in the street as supplies were cut to many homes. The wet winter of 2025 means we are unlikely to get serious drinking water supply issues this year, but the very hot dry weather will still impact farming with lower than usual harvests and possible localised food shortages.
Climate change is predicted to bring more frequent heatwaves, which are likely to increase maximum temperatures by 1C a decade. This means that the current hottest day of 40C will become 45C by 2070’s, bringing severe problems unless we substantially adapt.
7. Any Other Business:
Carolyn Beckinghamm brought up the issue of potholes, particularly in New Road and Bull Lane. It was decided to refer this to the Executive Committee.
Andrew Winter asked who makes the decision on the names of streets in new developments (Charles Meloy said the developers do, but they inform the Council) as he was concerned that recent street names seem to have little or no connection with Lewes. Will Dorman suggested that this should be referred to the Executive Committee to see whether FoL could be consulted by the Council on future street naming decisions.
8. Date of Next Meeting:
The next meeting is set for the 2nd September but as several members of the Planning Committee will be away then, it was suggested that it would be better to re-organise it for the following week (either the 9th or 10th September). WD to investigate.
