Author: EditorP

A Summer with Swifts, Swallows and Martins. Zoom Talk on Wed 13 November 2024 at 7.30 pm by Paul Stevens.

An overview of the four summer visitors, their identification, nesting biology and conservation.

Paul Stevens is a respected ecologist, specialising in Swifts and hirundines and advising on handcrafting and supplying house martin nest cups around the UK.  He will outline how the natural world functions in relation to habitat management especially the chalk downland, wildflower meadows and wetland ecosystems.

Friends of Lewes Members free, Non members £4 (Via Ticket Source)

“Tremendous Trees” at Lewes Climate Hub

From 5th June to 15th June, open Wednesdays to Saturdays, 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

All events at Lewes Climate Hub, Lewes House, 32 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2LU

The Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes manage the Lewes Urban Arboretum Project, which has led to global recognition of Lewes by ArbNet as an “arboretum town”. Since 2012, the Committee has been working with the community, local councils, and schools to increase tree canopy cover in Lewes – both for wildlife and for their beneficial ecosystem values.

Their i-Tree Ecosurvey suggests that Lewes needs to almost double the existing number of trees to become resilient to climate change. Drop into the Climate Hub to find out more about their work, the importance of trees for wildlife, and browse their suggestions of trees you might grow in your garden.

  • Add to our “Taking Steps for Wildlife” collage by sharing your ideas for improving biodiversity in Lewes.
  • Have a go at our Tree Quiz for a chance of winning a £25 garden token – you may check all your answers by looking at the displays!

PLUS: Saturday 8th and Saturday 15th June: Make your own tree medallion to celebrate the wildlife that depends on trees.

Saturday 8th June, 11.00 am-3.00pm, Join Rustic Tim to learn how to make your own beautiful flower decoration out of wood, (£2 a flower).

Saturday 15 June, 1.30pm, “Trees for your garden and how to look after them”, a talk by Keith Sacre, arboriculturalist and member of the Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes. Keith will share his knowledge to help us all know what to think about when choosing a tree for our gardens and the different steps to take to help it thrive.

The Benefits of Trees – a talk by Keith Sacre

Lewes S.T.E.M Festival 16th -17th November 2024

LEWES SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS FESTIVAL 2024

The centrepiece of the Lewes STEM Festival, the STEM Fair will include exhibits contributed by the Universities (Brighton and Sussex), companies, charities, and other organisations.  Last year’s STEM fair included over 30 different exhibits and welcomed more than 1100 visitors.

Saturday 16th November – Lewes STEM Speakers Symposium

Sunday 17th November – Lewes STEM Fair

Please click on the link below for details

https://curiositysussex.github.io/lewes/24.html

SDNP – Design Awards – ‘People’s Choice Award’

The public is able to vote for a ‘People’s Choice Award’ ahead of the closing date of midnight on Friday 6 September. The Landscape category contains two projects in Lewes: the Wallands School rain gardens project which FoL visited in 2023; and the recent restoration of the Cockshut Stream. Please see the link below if you are interested in voting.

Exciting shortlist announced as public poll opens for coveted awards

A public park makeover, café, eco-home, temple, and the restoration of a 570-year-old timber house are among the exciting mix of projects shortlisted for a prestigious South Downs Design Award.

More than 60 nominations were received across Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex for the National Park’s award scheme that celebrates outstanding design, architecture and innovation.

Sixteen unique projects have been shortlisted by judges and are now in with a chance of winning a stunning trophy, beautifully hand-carved in South Downs oak by acclaimed West Sussex-based sculptor, Alison Crowther.

Among those shortlisted are the restoration of a river, a glasshouse, a school extension and many more.

A judging panel, which includes members of the National Park’s Design Review Panel, will visit each shortlisted site and decide the winner in each category: Residential; Non-residential, Landscape and Conservation.

The public can also vote for their favourite out of the 16 for an overall “People’s Choice” award, with voting now open.

All the winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony, to be held at the South Downs Centre – itself a converted Victorian school – in Midhurst on 2 October.

Mike Hughes, Planning Director (Interim) for the National Park Authority, said: “I want to thank everyone who nominated and it’s been a really difficult task to shortlist as the calibre was so high.

“We’ve got an incredible mix of projects that show how diverse the built environment is in the South Downs, which is by far the most populated of any National Park in the UK and is a place where people, nature and history come together.

“Many of the projects incorporate first-class biodiversity and climate change mitigations, while others showcase design innovation that creates wonderful living spaces or the amazing restorations of extremely old buildings. Other projects show the vision for the future to continue enhancing this treasured landscape.

“I’m looking forward to finding out the public’s favourite and I would invite everyone to find out more about each project.”

The last South Downs Design Awards were held in 2019.

The shortlisted projects for 2024 are:

Residential category

Black Timber House, Rodmell, East Sussex

Hocking House, Petersfield, Hampshire

Lannings Way, Midhurst, West Sussex

The Mile House, Amberley, West Sussex

Non-residential category

Handlebar Café, Winchester, Hampshire

New Temple Complex, Liss, Hampshire

Prince’s Mead School Extension, Winchester, Hampshire

Landscape Category

Cockshut Stream Restoration, Lewes, East Sussex.

Wallands Community Primary School Raingarden, Lewes, East Sussex

Woolbeding Glasshouse, Woolbeding, West Sussex

Wild Park, Brighton, East Sussex

Conservation category

The Dower House, Chawton, Hampshire

The Restoration of Stanmer Park, Falmer, East Sussex

Tote Hill Barn, Stedham, West Sussex

Wiston Estate Winery, Washington, West Sussex

Chalk-based Renovation, Remediation and Regeneration (Shoreham Cement Works), West Sussex

Find out more and vote in “The People’s Choice” at www.southdowns.gov.uk/landscape-design-conservation/design-in-the-south-downs/awards/peoples-choice/

Voting will close at midnight on 6 September.

New historical plaque in St Anne’s Crescent

A new historical plaque has been added at 29 St. Anne’s Crescent to commemorate Lewis Bilbie Rees, a jockey born in 1898, who lived there from 1924 to his death in 1972. He won the 1922 Grand National on ‘Music Hall’. His brother Fred had also won that race in 1921 on ‘Shaun Spadah’, now buried near Lewes Racecourse. For a full list of historic plaques please see Friends of Lewes List of Plaques (June 2024 update)

Friends of Lewes Planning Committee Report – 4th October 2023

Representations made on planning applications following the meeting of the Planning Committee held on Wednesday 4th October 2023

16/8/2023 to 3/10 /2023

SDNP/23/03221/HOUS: 2 Friars Mews, Pinwell Road: Replacement of all double glazed windows excluding rear ground floor, with white wood grain effect UVPC.

The Friends of Lewes actively discourage the use of UVPC within the Conservation Area, however in this particular case the Society has read with interest the comments of the Senior Conservation and Design officer, and would like to support her conclusions that this proposal should be permitted.

SDNP/23/03552/HOUS: 2 St. John’s Terrace: Demolition of shop front and installation of front bay window, open up front lightwell and installation of balustrade.

The Friends of Lewes support this application, as the existing shop front has been in a very poor state of repair for a number of years and the Society welcomes both the repair of this corner building within the conservation area, and its conversion to residential use.

SDNP/23/03612/FUL: Builders Yard Timberyard Lane: Erection of 2no residential dwellings and associated landscaping.

The Friends of Lewes object to this proposal as a result of its adverse visual impact at the southern end of Morris Road. In this context, in order to maintain the distant view of the downs, the Society considers that the gap between the two proposed buildings should be increased. Of particular concern is the large blank brick façade of the larger unit on the western side of the site, which is considered to be very dominant and stark in appearance. In contrast, the smaller unit on the eastern part of the site barely visible in context along Morris Road.

In order to improve this proposal, the Society suggests that the following amendments should be considered:-

(1) That the gap between the buildings should be increased, in order to improve the view of the downs.

(2) That a pedestrian link should be provided between Morris Road and Timberyard Lane in order to improve the ‘connectivity’ of the area for local residents.

(3) That pedestrian access to both units could be achieved from this pedestrian link.

(4) That the size of the larger unit on the western side of the site should be reduced.

(5) That the flank wall of the above unit, facing Morris Road, be redesigned to be less ‘stark’ in appearance and more sympathetic to the local context. 

The Committee examined the following applications and had no observations to make:

SDNP/23/03143/HOUS: 61 Western Road: Installation of 1no front-facing and 1no, installation of 1no rooflight in the rear roof slope, painting of existing window frames and replacement of the front door.
SDNP/23/03158/LIS: 9 Fisher Street:S73A retrospective application for replacement of two timber windows to front and rear with timber windows, refurbishment of eight timber windows to front and rear and repainting all windows in Shade Invisible Green by Little Green.
SDNP/23/03411/HOUS: 13 Mill Road: Demolition of conservatory and construction of single storey side extension.
SDNP/23/03608/FUL & 03609/LIS: 18 Castle Ditch Lane: Retrospective application for removal and replacement of existing garden building, replacement of fences to South and West boundaries.
SDNP/23/03660/HOUS: 124 Western Road:Erection of single storey infill extension to rear, replacement sash windows to front elevation and other associated alterations.  
SDNP/23/03840/HOUS: 1 Firle Crescent:Rebuilding of front porch structure, alterations to rear ground floor door and window openings, garage conversion to home office with new pitched roof and landscaping.
SDNP/23/03861/HOUS: 26 Barons Down Road: Conversion of garage into bathroom for use by a disabled occupant.
SDNP/23/03869/LIS: HMP Lewes, 1 Brighton Road: Amendments to CCTV and internal alterations.
SDNP/23/03930/LIS: 28A Station Street:Replacement of 2 front existing front-facing windows with new double-glazed equivalents.
SDNP/23/03738/HOUS: 1 Anne’s Path:Installation of 12 Solar Panels to roof.
SDNP/23/04011/LIS: 117 High Street: Extension of rear lightwell, addition of walk-on glazing and addition of glass balustrade to rear.
SDNP/23/04053/HOUS: 122 South Street:Replacement rear windows to French doors with Juliette balcony.
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