Consultation live: have your say on Government proposals to move parts of East Sussex into Brighton & Hove
People in East Sussex are being offered another say on the future of a unitary authority for East Sussex.
Ministers are asking for views on their suggestion that Peacehaven, Telscombe, East Saltdean and Falmer should form part of an expanded Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) from 2028.
The latest consultation is on a revised version of the One East Sussex proposal, drawn up by all the councils in East Sussex, which suggested a new unitary council should cover the whole county of East Sussex.
The Government agreed One East Sussex has ‘positive strengths’ but said it is concerned about the footprint of neighbouring BHCC which is already a unitary council.
The government’s proposal is to move almost 24,000 people from Lewes District to BHCC. The remaining population of East Sussex (about 537,000) would come under one new unitary council.
A consultation on this proposal runs until 15 June, asking if people think it would strengthen local government, its services and its finances.
Members (and potential members) met for coffee and cake on Saturday 24th January in Southover Church Hall. Members of the Planning and the Trees Committees, as well as other Friends of Lewes committee members where on hand for a chat and visitors where able to watch a presentation of Friends of Lewes activities and achievements. Books, prints, and tea-towels were also on sale.
We need someone to be the Membership Secretary for the Friends of Lewes and to help the FoL with its mission to Keep Lewes Special.
The Membership Secretary role helps by organising, informing and engaging the membership and plays an important function within the Membership Services Committee (MSC) which in turn report to the FoL’s Executive Committee.
The role should take approximately 1-2 hours per week with training and ongoing support available and would suit someone who is reasonably numerate and P.C / I.T literate. You will need to have access to a P.C or Laptop and ideally a printer/scanner. Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed (postage, stationary etc).
As an element of the role involves dealing with personal and financial information, you will need to be conversant with the FoL’s published privacy notice regarding adherence to the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and be mindful of security (e.g. avoiding email scams etc).
The key elements of the role are:
Membership Payments
Process new membership subscriptions and current members renewals via the easy-to-use online system Membermojo.
Handle a small number of renewal reminders and payments by hand.
Provide information on all the payments to the FoL’s Treasurer.
Respond to enquiries from members as appropriate.
Membership Levels
Provide numerical information on the membership to the FoL’s Executive Committee (monthly) and Membership Services Committee (quarterly).
Consider any trends and actions and advise the Committees accordingly.
Consider how to engage members, and to reflect their interests, feedback and needs.
Optionally, it could be possible to have more than one volunteer join the MSC and thus divide the tasks and reduce the time involved.Interested in arranging a chat on a non-commitment basis ?
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
