Category: Uncategorized

Plant Power! 24 February 2024

On Saturday 24th February, 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., Western Road School will be hosting a special event at Lewes Climate Hub, Lewes House, 32 High Street. Come along and find out how they have been using their hedgerows, (planted with the help of the Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes), the Forest School area and their dye garden to improve the biodiversity of the school grounds and support the wellbeing, creativity and learning of the pupils.

On Saturday there will be free educational activities and seeds to take home and sow. Cards and badges, based on the beautiful art work of the pupils, will be on sale.

Visitors to the Hub may also preview the exhibition from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd February.

Lewes History Group Talk : Mr Defoe’s tour through South East England 1724 – 19 February 2024

Monday 19th February 2024, 7:20pm for 7:30pm start – Zoom Webinar

Daniel Defoe is well known as the author of Robinson Crusoe, but he had a multitude of jobs from failed brick maker to government spy! His work on travels in Britain at the turn of the 18th century was published in 1724 as ‘A tour of the whole island of Great Britain’. This talk looks at aspects of his journey in SE England using mainly modern images of the places he mentions alongside his commentary.

Defoe’s ‘Tour…‘ is a travelogue through a country in the initial phases of the industrial revolution, with growing urban centres and a diverse rural economy; but it was a country that had experienced recent internal strife, great political and religious changes and yet at the same time was acquiring a nascent world empire with a rapidly expanding industry-based economy. His tour [or was it his..?] through South East England takes us to places he notes are barely worth a mention (Rye, Winchelsea and Hastings!), along with a town being ‘devoured by the waters’ (Brighton) and a ‘site of much licentious behaviour and gambling’ (Tunbridge Wells). His journey through the agricultural landscapes of the Kent countryside, the High Weald forests and along the West Sussex Coastal Plain are described in some detail. His itinerary takes him west into Hampshire and returns through Surrey and Kent to the capital. The quotations from the ‘Tour’ are illustrated with mainly modern views of the same locations.

To join this talk, you need to:

1) register your intention to attend in advance
2) receive our confirmation email with a link to the talk itself. Save that email, and
3) click on that emailed link to attend the talk 5 minutes before it starts

LHG Members can attend our talks for free. LHG will send members emails with a link to Zoom registration. Then please follow steps 1, 2, and 3 as above. 

Non-members can buy a ticket (£4) from TicketSource. The ticket will provide a link to Zoom registration. Then please follow steps 1, 2, and 3 as above.

Please join the webinar at 7:25pm.

A computer screen or an iPad is recommended as a minimum screen-size for viewing our webinars.

The presenters will be speaking live, and you can ask questions by typing in the Q&A box in Zoom.

See the Talks page for a list of  forthcoming monthly events organised by the Lewes History Group.

Great Big Lewes Litter Pick – 17 March 2024

We hope that you might join a litter-picking event on Sunday 17th March, starting at 10.30 am at The Gallops, on Nevill Road between Lewes Prison and Victoria Hospital and collecting litter by various routes to finish at Cliffe High Street. The starting point is marked by a blue cross on the map below (or use What3Words sobs.handy.double).

If you are part of another litter-picking group, for example, in Malling, Landport, or Nevill, or if you go out litter-picking as a group of family or friends during the Great British Spring Clean between 15th and 31st March, it would be great if you could send us photographs and let us know how many bags of rubbish you collected so that we can count up a Lewes total!

Keep Britain Tidy have a Great Big School Clean as part of the campaign, so we are writing to schools to encourage them to take part too!

We will have some spare litter picking equipment to share when we meet at The Gallops. If you would like to set up your own event you may get litter pickers and bags from: Litter Picking – Lewes and Eastbourne Councils (lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk)

Starting point for the Litter Pick on 17 March at the Gallops, Nevill Road, marked with a blue cross.

More details of Lewes Climate Hub’s “Rethink Rubbish” season which runs 2 March to 17 March below:

Friends of Lewes Planning Committee Report – 10th January 2024

Representations made on planning applications following the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 10th January 2024

Week 29 November 2023 to 8 January 2024

SDNP/23/04978/HOUS: Replacement of windows. 37 Western Road Lewes East Sussex BN7 1RL

Friends of Lewes object to the design of the windows proposed. The existing windows are traditional timber windows with wooden glazing bars. The windows proposed are timber but have double glazed units with fake glazing bars attached to the glass surface and within the double-glazed unit. The materials and construction are not appropriate for use in the Conservation Area.

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

SDNP/23/04924/LIS: 101 High Street.Replace chimney cowl.
SDNP/23/04528/FUL: GAP Hire SouthdownsRoad.Acoustic barrier, bell mouth at access, location of dropped kerb and retrospective installation of acoustic fence and lights.
SDNP/23/04658/HOUS: 12 North Way.Remove conservatory and erect rear extension.
SDNP/23/05119/FUL: 176A High Street.Replace 1st floor windows.
SDNP/23/05120/HOUS: 95 Spences Lane.Single storey side extension.
SDNP/23/05155/FUL: First and Second Floor, 46 Malling Street.Change of use to single dwelling Class C3.
SDNP/23/05184/FUL: Badan Lodge, Cuilfail.Demolish dwelling and replace part single part 2 storey dwelling to include swimming pool and pool house.
SDNP/23/05223/HOUS:Replace roof, window and door, relocate boiler flue, new hob extract and partial rebuild of garden wall.
SDNP/23/05288/HOUS: 3 Barons Down Road.Single storey rear extension.
SDNP/23/05403/LIS: 162 High Street.Retrospective application for painting wall, fascia board, door and window dried sage green.
SDNP/23/05456/HOUS: 49 Cluny Street.14 solar panels.
Planning Application Approved

Become a Friend of Lewes

Coffee Time Talk: Laughton Greenwood – Our Local Community Woodland – 19 March 2024

Tuesday 19 March, 10.30 am, Eastgate Church Hall, Eastgate Street, Lewes, BN7 2LR

Steve Lewis of Laughton Greenwood

The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe. Trees bring us beauty, mindfulness and carbon capture. Within Lewes town we have the excellent work of Lewes Urban Arboretum, planting trees on the verges. But the nearest community woodland to Lewes is Laughton Greenwood, just beyond Ringmer. This is one of the few volunteer-run woods in Sussex. Whereas most of the surrounding woods have signs that say ‘Private – Keep Out’, Laughton Greenwood has signs that say ‘Welcome’. Volunteers try to manage the wood for three purposes. One, to develop the ancient trees and English broadleaf wood, two, to increase nature and biodiversity, and three, to increase opportunities for the public to visit. Regular nature walks and bird or butterfly transects bring the chance to learn more about nature, and we would love to offer visits for local schools. 

Come and hear Steve Lewis, current chair of the volunteer committee talk about Laughton Greenwood and the challenges and opportunities. 

Tree-planting group at Laughton Greenwood, photo: courtesy of Laughton Greenwood

This talk is free for Friends of Lewes. Non-members can pay £4.00 on the door to attend or join here.

See the Diary page for a list of forthcoming events organised by the Friends of Lewes

FoL Response to Human Nature’s latest amendments to the Phoenix Project

The Friends of Lewes have now submitted their comments on the above project, which are now available on the Planning Portal (SDNP/23/00526/OUT).

In preparing this response, as the Friends of Lewes, the Society not only has to assess the details of the proposal, but also how the proposed new development will impact on the existing town and in particular how it will integrate at specific locations.

The remaining outstanding concern is the proposed location of the “Co Mobility Hub”, which is effectively a multi storey car park, so close to Phoenix Causeway. Furthermore, there seems to be limited potential for providing any good quality public realm at this important entrance to Lewes Town Centre.

friends-of-lewes-response-to-the-revised-phoenix-planning-application-jan2024Download

Update on Blake’s Walk, South Malling

After extensive consultation, work is due to be carried out on trees in Blake’s Walk, South Malling between 12 February and 1st of March. The work will bring all of the trees into a size, shape and condition that will make it easier to maintain them in the long term and prolong the healthy life of the trees. It has been discussed and approved by the Blake’s Walk Tree Specialist Group which contains members of the Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes. Full details are below:

blakes-walk-update-jan-2024Download

Blakes Walk, East Side

Consultation on ‘Towards a Lewes Plan’

Lewes District Council has launched a consultation on Towards a Lewes Local Plan: Spatial Strategy and Policy Directions. The document aims to set the planning framework to 2040 and identifies potential locations for new housing in the LDC area outside of the South Downs National Park.

Friends of Lewes intends to comment on the plan and individuals are encouraged to read the plan and submit their own comments by following this link.

The closing date for the consultation has been extended to 12 pm on Monday 19 February 2024. Paper copies of the document can be viewed in Lewes Library and other locations.