Lewes District
Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex in southern England covering an area of 113 sq mi (290 km2), with 9 miles (14.5 km) of coastline.[3] It is named after its administrative centre, Lewes. Other towns in the district include Newhaven, Peacehaven, Seaford and Telscombe. Plumpton racecourse is within the district. There are 28 parishes in the district.
Lewes District | |
|---|---|
 Lewes shown within East Sussex | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Non-metropolitan county | East Sussex |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district |
| Admin HQ | Lewes |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Lewes District Council |
| • Leadership | Leader & Cabinet |
| Area | |
| • Total | 112.74 sq mi (292.00 km2) |
| Area rank | 134th (of 317) |
| Population (mid-2019 est.) | |
| • Total | 103,268 |
| • Rank | 233rd (of 317) |
| • Density | 920/sq mi (350/km2) |
| • Ethnicity | 97.9% White |
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 21UF (ONS) E07000063 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TQ420104 |
| Website | lewes-eastbourne |
Lewes District Council | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Non-metropolitan district council of Lewes |
| Houses | Unicameral |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Leader of the Council | |
Deputy Leader of the Council | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 41 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
| Website | |
| lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk | |
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the former borough of Lewes along with Newhaven and Seaford urban districts and Chailey Rural District.
Politics
Elections to the council are held every four years, with all of the 41 seats, representing 21 wards, on the council being filled. After being controlled by the Liberal Democrats since 1991, the Conservative party regained a majority at the 2011 election.[4] However, subsequent defections of Conservative councillors to UKIP[5][6] and the Liberal Democrats[7] left the council in no overall control. In the subsequent council election on 7 May 2015, the Conservatives regained control with an increased majority and heavy losses for the Liberal Democrats.[8] In July 2019, following the May election, an alliance of councillors from the Green, Liberal Democrat, and Labour parties, plus two Independents, took control of the council, with Green councillor Zoe Nicholson as Leader and Liberal Democrat Councillor James MacCleary as Deputy Leader.[9]
In March 2020, Cllr Sean Macleod resigned from the Green Party to sit as an independent Mental Health champion, as he was unable to support changes the Green-led council was imposing on staff that he claimed would be detrimental to their mental health and also that the Lewes GreenParty continued to a blind eye to Transphobia from one of there councillors.[10] In June 2020, Cllr Macleod joined the Liberal Democrats, citing their policies around mental health 'far outweighing any other party'. This makes the Liberal Democrats the largest party within the ruling group.[11]
The current composition is as follows:
| Year | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Green Party | Independent | Labour | Independent (Green) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Geography
The district wards are:
| Ward | Population (2007) | Councillors | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcombe and Hamsey | 2021 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chailey and Wivelsfield | 4687 | 2 | 2344 |
| Ditchling and Westmeston | 2334 | 1 | 2334 |
| East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs | 7146 | 3 | 2382 |
| Kingston | 2095 | 1 | 2095 |
| Lewes Bridge | 4357 | 2 | 2179 |
| Lewes Castle | 4712 | 2 | 2356 |
| Lewes Priory | 7153 | 3 | 2384 |
| Newhaven Denton and Meeching | 8236 | 3 | 2745 |
| Newhaven Valley | 3790 | 2 | 1895 |
| Newick | 2343 | 1 | 2343 |
| Ouse Valley and Ringmer | 6579 | 3 | 2193 |
| Peacehaven East | 4325 | 2 | 2163 |
| Peacehaven North | 4772 | 2 | 2386 |
| Peacehaven West | 4171 | 2 | 2086 |
| Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington and St John (Without) | 2391 | 1 | 2391 |
| Seaford Central | 4712 | 2 | 2356 |
| Seaford East | 4704 | 2 | 2352 |
| Seaford North | 4906 | 2 | 2453 |
| Seaford South | 4400 | 2 | 2200 |
| Seaford West | 4439 | 2 | 2220 |
| Total Lewes | 94723 | 41 | 2299 |
The civil parishes within the district are:
| Parish | Type | Population (2007) | Area (sq mi) | Pop Density /sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcombe | Parish Council | 1447 | 6.9 | 211 |
| Chailey | Parish Council | 2728 | 9.6 | 284 |
| Ditchling | Parish Council | 2027 | 6.0 | 339 |
| East Chiltington & St John Without ‡ | Parish Council | 536 | 5.2 | 102 |
| Falmer & St Ann Without ‡ | Parish Council | 281 | 6.6 | 43 |
| Firle | Parish Council | 327 | 5.4 | 61 |
| Glynde and Beddingham & Tarring Neville ‡ | Parish Council | 555 | 9.8 | 57 |
| Hamsey | Parish Council | 574 | 4.4 | 130 |
| Iford | Parish Meeting | 205 | 3.7 | 55 |
| Kingston | Parish Council | 843 | 2.2 | 383 |
| Lewes | Town Council | 16222 | 4.4 | 3679 |
| Newhaven | Town Council | 12026 | 2.7 | 4375 |
| Newick | Parish Council | 2343 | 3.0 | 778 |
| Peacehaven | Town Council | 13268 | 2.0 | 6621 |
| Piddinghoe | Parish Council | 264 | 1.5 | 180 |
| Plumpton | Parish Council | 1676 | 3.7 | 450 |
| Ringmer | Parish Council | 4591 | 10.0 | 459 |
| Rodmell & Southease ‡ | Parish Council | 502 | 4.3 | 115 |
| Seaford | Town Council | 23161 | 6.7 | 3480 |
| South Heighton | Parish Council | 1106 | 3.3 | 338 |
| Streat | Parish Meeting | 179 | 2.0 | 89 |
| Telscombe | Town Council | 7146 | 1.8 | 3913 |
| Westmeston | Parish Council | 307 | 3.3 | 94 |
| Wivelsfield | Parish Council | 1959 | 4.2 | 470 |
| Total Lewes | 94273 | 112.7 | 836 |
‡ St John Without, St Ann Without, Tarring Neville and Southease are separate Parish Meetings but have been merged with their neighbouring parishes for the population statistics.
The Sussex Police has its head office in Lewes, Lewes District.[12]
The Prime Meridian passes through the district.
References
- "Councillor James MacCleary". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- "Councillor Zoe Nicholson". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- "Lewes District Council: News and local information". Lewes District Council. 2009. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
- "Election 2011 - England council elections - Lewes". BBC News.
- "Lewes Cllr Donna Edmunds defects to UKIP". www.bloggers4ukip.org.uk.
- "Defection leaves Tories in minority". www.bloggers4ukip.org.uk.
- "Former Tory Council leader joins Liberal Democrats in Lewes".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Co-operative Alliance takes control of Lewes District Council from Conservatives". lewes.greenparty.org.uk/.
- "Council's mental health champion resigns from Lewes Green group". Sussex Express.
- "CCouncillor Sean MacLeod joins Liberal Democrats". Lewes Lib Dems.
- "Non-emergency enquiries." (Archive) Sussex Police. Retrieved 13 February 2011. "Sussex Police Headquarters Church Lane, Lewes East Sussex, BN7 2DZ."
