Town planning
"I believe that before Lewes District Council grants planning permission to any major development proposals, it should construct a comprehensive, visionary plan for the whole town, with proper consultation. If elected, I will fight for a freeze on major building developments while we create a proper vision for Lewes."
Lewes faces a potentially massive explosion in building at the moment - taken together, the various proposals for the town add up to an expansion that is unprecedented. In a town of under 16,000, it has been calculated that they could bring more than 3,500 new people into the town.
According to government average statistics, this expansion would include approximately:
- 2100 adults potentially looking for work
- 435 children requiring primary school places - leading to the need for a new primary school and rows of portakabins in our playgrounds for years to come. The Phoenix proposals alone could produce 256 primary aged children, which would, for example, more than treble the number of children (presently 120) at Pells primary school, the nearest primary that side of the river
- 421 children needing secondary and further education places, which would presumably mean a huge expansion at Priory, portakabins galore and a fundamental change to the nature of the school
- 1,500 new cars needing parking and road space - the Phoenix proposals alone could result in 883 cars, more than double the proposed 415 in the multi-storey car park
- a 24% increase in demands for fresh water and waste water disposal in an area that already suffers summer water shortages and has trouble with its sewers
- major pressure on our health services
Growth in Lewes also raises the spectre of worsened flooding. Some of the proposed developments are riverside, with flood protection for their own areas but apparently no overall scheme for the town as a whole. Since the last floods, protection has been built alongside Tesco. New developments offer flood protection along the bank opposite Tesco and - as I understand it - at other riverfront new builds. But the flood water has to go somewhere and if not there, then where? Logically those places already under threat and imperfectly protected, including (in my ward) Pells and Landport, will simply be hit harder.
These, then, are just some of the major reasons why growth in Lewes needs to be planned properly, if at all: they're why we need to take a step back, decide what we want and look at the town as a whole before we dive headlong into expansion. These are reasons why the District Council should (but sadly isn't) be taking the lead, showing foresight and vision.