Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex, England. The district is named after the town of Lewes. The largest town is Seaford, and the council is based in Newhaven. The district also includes the towns of Peacehaven and Telscombe and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
The district lies on the south coast, and a large part of it lies within the South Downs National Park. The district covers an area of , with of coastline. Plumpton Racecourse is within the district. There are 28 parishes in the district.
The neighbouring districts are Brighton and Hove, Mid Sussex and Wealden.
History The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: Chailey Rural District Lewes Municipal Borough Newhaven Urban District Seaford Urban District The new district was named after Lewes, the ancient county town of Sussex.
Since 2016 the council has shared a chief executive and other staff with nearby Eastbourne Borough Council.
Local government reorganisation is being considered for the area. In July 2026, the government announced reforms across East Sussex which included abolishing Lewes district. Under these proposals, East Saltdean, Telscombe and Peacehaven would be transferred to an enlarged Brighton and Hove, and the rest of the current Lewes district would become part of an East Sussex unitary authority. In September 2026 these proposals were paused for further review.
Governance
Lewes District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by East Sussex County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.
In the parts of the district within the South Downs National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the South Downs National Park Authority. The district council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 27-person National Park Authority.
Political control The council has been under no overall control since 2018. Since the 2023 election an alliance of the Greens and Labour has formed the council's administration.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "Lewes" in search box to see specific results.)
Party in controlYears 1974–1991 1991–2011 2011–2013 2013–2015 2015–2018 2018–present
Leadership The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:
Councillor Party From To Ann De Vecchi May 1999 May 2011 Tony Nicholson 25 May 2011 20 Feb 2012 James Page 20 Feb 2012 26 Feb 2014 Rob Blackman 26 Feb 2014 Sep 2015 Andy Smith 14 Oct 2015 May 2019 Isabelle Linington 20 May 2019 15 Jul 2019 Zoe Nicholson 15 Jul 2019 20 Jul 2020 James MacCleary 20 Jul 2020 15 Jul 2021 Zoe Nicholson 15 Jul 2021 18 Jul 2022 James MacCleary 18 Jul 2022 May 2023 Zoe Nicholson 22 May 2023
Composition Following the 2023 election, and changes of allegiance up to April 2026, the composition of the council was:
Party Councillors 18 14 8 1Total41
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 41 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.
The wards, with their populations at the 2021 Census, are: WardPopulation(2021 Census)Number ofCouncillorsPopulationper CouncillorChailey, Barcombe and Hamsey5,20422,602Ditchling and Westmeston2,55412,554East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs7,39432,461Kingston1,90411,904Lewes Bridge4,83422,417Lewes Castle3,96421,982Lewes Priory7,91632,639Newhaven North4,87722,439Newhaven South7,81422,605Newick2,44612,446Ouse Valley and Ringmer6,51332,171Peacehaven East5,37722,689Peacehaven North5,18622,593Peacehaven West4,87222,436Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington and St John (Without)2,22212,222Seaford Central5,02322,512Seaford East4,77622,388Seaford North5,20722,604Seaford South4,38822,194Seaford West4,47122,236Wivelsfield2,96412,964Total Lewes99,905412,437
The district straddles the constituencies of Lewes and Brighton Kemptown.
Premises The council is based at Marine Workshops, a former industrial building in Newhaven which it shares with East Sussex Colleges Group.
When created in 1974 the council inherited four sets of offices from its predecessor councils: Lewes House, 32 High Street, Lewes from Chailey Rural District Council. Lewes Town Hall and the adjoining municipal offices at 4 Fisher Street from Lewes Town Council. 20 Fort Road, Newhaven from Newhaven Urban District Council. The Downs, Sutton Road, Seaford from Seaford Urban District Council.
The Downs was converted into housing and a leisure centre built behind it. The new council's offices were divided between the other three buildings. In 1998 the council acquired Southover House on Southover Road in Lewes, which had previously been offices of East Sussex County Council, to serve as its main offices, remaining there until 2023 when it moved to Marine Workshops.
Geography The Prime Meridian passes through the district.
Sussex Police has its head office in the town of Lewes."Non-emergency enquiries." (Archive) Sussex Police. Retrieved 13 February 2011. "Sussex Police Headquarters Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2DZ."
Towns and parishes The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Lewes, Newhaven, Peacehaven, Seaford and Telscombe take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.
ParishTypePopulation (2021 Census)Area (km2)Pop Density per km2BarcombeParish Council1,49117.8183.7BeddinghamParish Council27315.7117.4ChaileyParish Council2,97517.81119.4DitchlingParish Council2,26515.50146.1East Chiltington & St John Without ‡Parish Council45813.5833.7Falmer & St Ann Without ‡Parish Council25017.0214.7FirleParish Council26713.8719.3Glynde & Tarring Neville ‡Parish Council1949.7220.0HamseyParish Council73411.4464.2IfordParish Meeting1779.7118.2Kingston near LewesParish Council8165.70143.1LewesTown Council16,72311.421,464.4NewhavenTown Council12,6937.181,767.6NewickParish Council2,4457.80313.4PeacehavenTown Council15,4425.182,979.4PiddinghoeParish Council2343.8061.5PlumptonParish Council1,5999.66165.5RingmerParish Council4,76525.91183.9Rodmell & Southease ‡Parish Council42911.2738.1SeafordTown Council23,86517.311,378.7South HeightonParish Council1,0158.49119.6StreatParish Meeting1645.1831.6TelscombeTown Council7,3924.731,563.5WestmestonParish Council2908.4834.2WivelsfieldParish Council2,96010.79274.3Total Lewes 99,905292.10342.0
‡ St John Without, St Ann Without, Tarring Neville and Southease are separate civil parishes with parish meetings, but due to their small size population statistics are not published separately for them.
References