Category: Uncategorized

Changes to the planning process affecting decision making in Lewes District

SDNPA update on Lewes planning web page

Letter to Siôn McGeever ( CEO South Downs National Park Authority)

Letter to Siôn McGeever – PlanningDownload

Response from Tim Slaney (Director of Planning South Downs National Park Authority)

Friends of Lewes 16 December 2025Download

Change in Victorian and Edwardian Sussex 1840-1914 Study Day

Saturday 11th October 2025, 10am-5pm

Between 10am and 5pm at Kings Church, Brooks Road, Lewes BN7 2BY. Lewes is accessible on level land from the bus stops and Lewes railway station. Free Car parking available to delegates a short walk away. 

Organisers: Sussex Archaeology and History

An exploration of how much Sussex changed between 1940 and 1914. Aided by the railway, Sussex was transformed from a rural county into an urbanised one, dominated by the development of the seaside resorts to which many rural workers moved. The Weald of Sussex became an important centre for small leisure estates, some famous for their plants. The resorts undermined the role of the county towns, which grew very slowly.

09.15-10am REGISTRATION, time to browse the bookstalls

10.00 Welcome by David Rudling 

10.05 The establishment and impact of the railway – setting the scene.

John Minnis

10.50 “ A man may have constant employ”: The changing industrial landscapes of Sussex

Geoffrey Mead

11.35 COFFEE BREAK, bookstalls

11.55  Resort development at the Sussex seaside

Kathryn Ferry

12.40  Riot and Respectability in a seaside town

Chris Hare

1.25   LUNCH BREAK

2.15   Still a Remote Backwater – the slow development of Chichester

 Alan H J Green

3.00 Complementary or competitive? Agricultural progress and the search for a rural idyll in Sussex 1840-1914

Brian Short

3.45 TEA BREAK, bookstalls

4.05 The railways, rural recession, and the Country House – Wealden new builds and Downland decline.

Sue Berry

4.50- 5pm Conclusion and Finish

£28 Full Price, £25 Concessions (subscribers and students), £18 online.

TO BOOK on Eventbrite:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1260935565219

Price includes teas and coffees and a copy of the handbook for those who attend on the day, but not food.  There is a Tesco and Costa nearby and Lewes coffee shops in nearby Cliffe.

Energy Efficiency and Retrofitting Listed Buildings and Older Buildings in Protected Settings – Alex Moojen – Talk follow up

As a follow up, the links contained in the presentation are below. Alex’s has also made available an an additional S.D.N.P Design Guide.

SD Design Guide 2022_23-web-legibleDownload
nergy Efficiency and Retrofitting Listed Buildings and Older Buildings in Protected Settings Presentation LinksDownload

Volunteer needed – Membership Secretary for The  Friends of Lewes ( Revised Feb 2025)

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 ?

Please get in touch with Diana Freestone via enquiries@friends-of-lewes.org.uk .

Download description here: https://friends-of-lewes.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/fol-mem-sec-role-feb-2025.pdf

Energy Efficiency and Retrofitting Listed Buildings and Older Buildings in Protected Settings. Zoom talk on Tuesday 18th February 2025 at 7.30pm – Alex Moojen

The presentation will address some of the primary issues and questions associated with retrofitting or upgrading listed buildings and older buildings sited in protected settings such as conservation areas:

What can owners do without listed building consent and/ or planning permission?

What are some of the acceptable materials and methodologies?

What permissions might be required?

Where to seek advice?

These are a just a few of the questions that often arise and that can sometimes overwhelm and create confusion with those seeking answers and guidance.

This is an extensive and sometimes complex issue, so the presentation aims to cover some of the more salient points within this topic, and address the more frequent enquiries that are received by the Local Planning Authority. The presentation will be around 30 mins with Q and As welcome afterwards.

Alex has been in post as Conservation Officer for Lewes and the surrounding area for over 2 years since graduating in 2022 from Kent Uni with an MSc in Architectural Conservation. He has relished his first job in conservation in Lewes. The diverse and extensive architectural landscape and the protected Lewes Conservation Area have given him the opportunity to work with a varied and wide array of buildings and applications – all of which have involved him in the challenges of improving energy efficiency and retrofitting older and historic building, both listed and not listed. 

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

Lewes is now a Swift-friendly town!

In September 2024, Lewes Town Council formally approved a proposal from Lewes Swift Supporters to designate Lewes as a Swift-friendly town.

The aims of this initiative are: 

  • To spread the word about Swifts so that more people learn about these marvellous, red-listed birds.
  •  To encourage people to become “biodiversity champions” and take an action, however small, which will help to increase biodiversity across Lewes.

Swifts can be seen as an indicator of good biodiversity – where there is a rich mosaic of biodiverse habitats, there will be Swifts too! The population of Swifts has declined by 58% since 1995. They live in the air and depend on airborne insects and invertebrates for food, but Buglife research estimates that numbers of insects have fallen by 78% since 2004. 

Friends of Lewes have joined with other community groups to lend their support to this project. They have already given direct support through funding the purchase and installation of Swift boxes to expand existing colonies in De Montfort Road. One of these boxes was visited by Swifts in 2024. They also help by monitoring planning applications to safeguard existing nest sites. The trees and hedges planted by the Trees Committee provide food and habitat for a wide range of insects and invertebrates – in the evenings you may often see Swifts circling above trees to hunt for food. 

Find out more about how you may help Swifts:   https://e-voice.org.uk/lewesswiftsupporters/lewes-a-swift-friendly-town/