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
Non-metropolitan district
Lewes shown within East Sussex
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Non-metropolitan countyEast Sussex
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQLewes
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyLewes District Council
 • LeadershipLeader & Cabinet
Area
 • Total112.74 sq mi (292.00 km2)
 • Rank134th (of 309)
Population
 (mid-2019 est.)
 • Total103,268
 • Rank233rd (of 309)
 • Density920/sq mi (350/km2)
 • Ethnicity
97.9% White
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code21UF (ONS)
E07000063 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTQ420104
Websitelewes-eastbourne.gov.uk
Lewes District Council
Type
Type
HousesUnicameral
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Leader of the Council
Cllr Zoe Nicholson [1], Green Party
Deputy Leader of the Council
Cllr James MacCleary [2], Liberal Democrats
Structure
Seats41
Political groups
Administration (22)
  Liberal Democrats (9)
  Green (8)
  Labour (3)
  Independent (2)
Opposition (19)
  Conservative (19)
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
See also: Lewes local elections

Elections to the council are held every four years, with all of the 41 seats, representing 21 wards, on the council being filled.

Since July 2019, following the May election, an alliance of councillors from the Green, Liberal Democrat, and Labour parties, plus two Independents, has controlled the council, with Green Councillor Zoe Nicholson as Leader and Liberal Democrat Councillor James MacCleary as Deputy Leader.[4] In accordance with the Alliance agreement, Councillor James MacCleary became Leader from July 2020, returning the Leadership to Councillor Zoe Nicholson in July 2021.[5]

After being controlled by the Liberal Democrats since 1991, the Conservative party regained a majority at the 2011 election.[6] However, subsequent defections of Conservative councillors to UKIP[7][8] and the Liberal Democrats[9] 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.[10] In March 2020, Cllr Sean Macleod resigned from the Green Party,[11] joining the Liberal Democrats in June 2020.[12]

The current composition is as follows:

YearConservativeLiberal DemocratGreen PartyIndependent LabourIndependent (Green)
2018191136 01
2019 19 8 9 2 3 0
2020 19 9 8 2 3 0

Geography

The district wards are:

WardPopulation (2007)CouncillorsRatio
Barcombe and Hamsey202112021
Chailey and Wivelsfield468722344
Ditchling and Westmeston233412334
East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs714632382
Kingston209512095
Lewes Bridge435722179
Lewes Castle471222356
Lewes Priory715332384
Newhaven Denton and Meeching823632745
Newhaven Valley379021895
Newick234312343
Ouse Valley and Ringmer657932193
Peacehaven East432522163
Peacehaven North477222386
Peacehaven West417122086
Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington and St John (Without)239112391
Seaford Central471222356
Seaford East470422352
Seaford North490622453
Seaford South440022200
Seaford West443922220
Total Lewes94723412299

The civil parishes within the district are:

ParishTypePopulation (2007)Area (sq mi)Pop Density /sq mi
BarcombeParish Council14476.9211
ChaileyParish Council27289.6284
DitchlingParish Council20276.0339
East Chiltington & St John Without ‡Parish Council5365.2102
Falmer & St Ann Without ‡Parish Council2816.643
FirleParish Council3275.461
Glynde and Beddingham & Tarring Neville ‡Parish Council5559.857
HamseyParish Council5744.4130
IfordParish Meeting2053.755
KingstonParish Council8432.2383
LewesTown Council162224.43679
NewhavenTown Council120262.74375
NewickParish Council23433.0778
PeacehavenTown Council132682.06621
PiddinghoeParish Council2641.5180
PlumptonParish Council16763.7450
RingmerParish Council459110.0459
Rodmell & Southease ‡Parish Council5024.3115
SeafordTown Council231616.73480
South HeightonParish Council11063.3338
StreatParish Meeting1792.089
TelscombeTown Council71461.83913
WestmestonParish Council3073.394
WivelsfieldParish Council19594.2470
Total Lewes94273112.7836

‡ 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.[13]

The Prime Meridian passes through the district.

References
  1. "Councillor Zoe Nicholson". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. "Councillor James MacCleary". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  3. "Lewes District Council: News and local information". Lewes District Council. 2009. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
  4. "Co-operative Alliance takes control of Lewes District Council from Conservatives". lewes.greenparty.org.uk/.
  5. https://democracy.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=431&MId=3417&Ver=4. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Election 2011 - England council elections - Lewes". BBC News.
  7. "Lewes Cllr Donna Edmunds defects to UKIP". www.bloggers4ukip.org.uk.
  8. "Defection leaves Tories in minority". www.bloggers4ukip.org.uk.
  9. "Former Tory Council leader joins Liberal Democrats in Lewes".
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Council's mental health champion resigns from Lewes Green group". Sussex Express.
  12. "CCouncillor Sean MacLeod joins Liberal Democrats". Lewes Lib Dems.
  13. "Non-emergency enquiries." (Archive) Sussex Police. Retrieved 13 February 2011. "Sussex Police Headquarters Church Lane, Lewes East Sussex, BN7 2DZ."

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