Campaign against Lewes District Council's £134,000 spending on the Public Inquiry

[Seagull Stew]

But I would imagine that arguing in favour of a football stadium in, say, Shoreham harbour is not the job of Lewes District council either!

 

[somerset]

The campaigning has already been taken to fans of Lewes FC. This letter was handed out at the Dripping Pan last Saturday:-


Dear Supporter

I am sure you are aware that John Prescott’s assessment of our proposals for the new stadium at Falmer is going into extra time. In the next few months a resumed Public Inquiry will examine other “potential” sites against a list of specific criteria before the Deputy Prime Minister gives his final verdict.

While the delay is very frustrating, we believe the process will prove once and for all that our original assessment was correct and there is only one site in Brighton for a new stadium that will meet Government criteria – Falmer.

The Albion will have to spend many more thousands of pounds on gathering evidence, presenting expert witnesses, legal representation, etc. – in addition to the £2.5 million we have already spent on the Falmer application and original Inquiry.

Our opponents, led by Lewes District Council, will be committing further significant sums of public money towards representation at the Inquiry. We know that they are currently gathering together a team of experts to try and challenge evidence submitted by our team on sites none of which are in the Lewes area. As a resident of Lewes District (which also includes Ringmer, Seaford, Newhaven, Peacehaven and Telscombe Cliffs) you might well resent this use of Council taxpayers’ money. And you won’t be alone, because almost 5,000 of your fellow residents signed the Falmer For All petition compared to under 1,000 who signed the petition against the stadium, a ratio of 5:1!

If you are unhappy with this situation, we recommend that you contact your councillor(s) on Lewes District Council straightaway. I have attached details of names and addresses of all the councillors. Wards have one, two or three councillors. If you are not sure in which Ward you live then contact Lewes District Council on (01273) 471600.

We also recommend that you write to Cllr Ann De Vecchi, Leader of the Council, and to John Crawford, Chief Executive. Both can be contacted at Lewes District Council, 32 High Street, Lewes BN7 2LX. And if you really want to get the message home, send a letter to the local newspaper: Sussex Express, 25 High Street, Lewes BN7 2LU.

Finally, please support the march to the Labour Party conference in Brighton on 27th September if you possibly can. Keep the faith – We will get our new stadium!

Many thanks for your continued support,

Yours faithfully

Martin Perry
Chief Executive


This is accompanied by a list of Lewes councillors, taken from the Lewes DC Website

Yes and the letter was articulate and to the point, but with all due respect LFc get an average of 250 at each home game, my original suggestion was to do the same at all football/sporting clubs that come under the LDC control.... that would perhaps get them all thinking a bit harder about the issue.

 

[Marc]

Yes and the letter was articulate and to the point, but with all due respect LFc get an average of 250 at each home game, my original suggestion was to do the same at all football/sporting clubs that come under the LDC control.... that would perhaps get them all thinking a bit harder about the issue.

good thinking, do they have a Leisure Centre up there? If so might be worth asking the manager to stick up a notice and have a few leaflets hanging around the place. Talking of leaflets...many may burn them but the big abbual Fireworks night is coming up soon! Maybe look at more Lewes based events where handing a few leaflets out would do no harm?

 

[somerset]

the only issue there would be that this manager would be a council employee.................... no I think all the football and rugby clubs ( you would perhaps know better than me, my area of expertise is W Sussex i am afraid)........ and any leisure centres that are privately owned perhaps, gyms too.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

with all due respect LFc get an average of 250 at each home game

ahem ...

twice that.

But the basic point about getting a big campaign going throughout the District is the one that we need to pick up and run with.

Ideas are beginning to appear. Let's have some more of them.

 

[Yorkie]

Could we produce a leaflet similar to the Lewes supporter one but addressed Dear Householder or Council taxpayer?

I would deliver some around my local area.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

But I would imagine that arguing in favour of a football stadium in, say, Shoreham harbour is not the job of Lewes District council either!

Spot on!

And the really stupid thing is that the Planning Consultant that Lewes DC are using is the former Chief Planning Officer of Adur District Council who - more than anyone else in the world - knows how difficult it is to get any major development approved for Shoreham Harbour.

I doubt that even he could explain how a football stadium would work there, with 22,000 people needing to reach it and no easy road or rail access.

 

[Oval Gull]

Recycling and waste collection, Oval Gull ... not waste disposal. That's a County Council job (in East Sussex done jointly with Brighton & Hove City Council).

The precise boundaries between County and District responsibilities are sometimes very baffling. Mouldy meat pies are a District Council concern (Environmental Health). Underweight meat pies belong to the County (Trading Standards). Meat pies that are underweight and mouldy? God knows.

I mean generally "getting rid of the waste" but get your point!

Agree - there is often little sense in how these jobs are shared out.

 

[mrhairy]

Is Rottingdean included in their area. I have a business there and pay council tax etc.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Is Rottingdean included in their area. I have a business there and pay council tax etc.

Nah. Rottingdean is part of the City by the Sea. As is Saltdean. But East Saltdean is in Lewes District.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Warning ...

Don't use that map to travel to Haywards Heath.

Another example of Lewes DC knowing feck all about what lies just outside their boundary.

 

[Comedy Steve]

LEFT at Chailey, guys

 

[Lammy]

People keep banging on about Lewes this and Lewes that. Let's not forget that (as shown above) Lewes District is quite a bit bigger than just Lewes. We need to think bigger than that. For a start Seaford has a much bigger population.

I propose a hard hitting leaflet campaign at the source of all great gossip. The pub! pubs in and around the area also stand to make more money in the area including seaford as Falmer is a short train ride away. As there are no pubs in Falmer (none worth a mention) fans may well stay to drink in the towns they are travelling from before hopping on the train.

I am Newhaven based and at a push could do Seaford too. What we need his a man (or WoMan) in every area to hand out a load of leaflets. or better still Beer mats?

What about a Beer mat campaign? Some people even collect them!

 

[somerset]

People keep banging on about Lewes this and Lewes that. Let's not forget that (as shown above) Lewes District is quite a bit bigger than just Lewes. We need to think bigger than that. For a start Seaford has a much bigger population.

I propose a hard hitting leaflet campaign at the source of all great gossip. The pub! pubs in and around the area also stand to make more money in the area including seaford as Falmer is a short train ride away. As there are no pubs in Falmer (none worth a mention) fans may well stay to drink in the towns they are travelling from before hopping on the train.

I am Newhaven based and at a push could do Seaford too. What we need his a man (or WoMan) in every area to hand out a load of leaflets. or better still Beer mats?

What about a Beer mat campaign? Some people even collect them!

Very good idea, try this for info:

http://www.thirstys.co.uk/

 

[Lammy]

Perhaps we could relate the amount spent to how many pints you could have bought?

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Could we produce a leaflet similar to the Lewes supporter one but addressed Dear Householder or Council taxpayer?

I would deliver some around my local area.

On this idea, if this happens I may well be able to help out again with having them printed, a lá Wycombe away last season. They'll need to be simple (one or two colour tops on a single A4/A5 sheet) but I should be able to organise a larger quantity if somebody can get artwork to me.

 

[Stendahl]

The Lewes posties form a significant core of support at Lewes FC and have been very helpful to the club (leafleting) in the past. Perhaps if you asked very nicely they could include an extra letter to every household for free. Just a thought.

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

I'd like to bet there are Albion fans throughout Lewes District who'd happily deliver leaflets door-to-door. Anyone remember the fantastically co-ordinated leaflet drop in Brighton and Hove before the referendum? Perhaps it would be worth FFA doing something similar to let the people of Lewes District know how their money's being wasted...

 

[adrian29uk]

Is there not a standard letter than we can send to Lewes District and also the ombudsman at the same time, becuase they should not be spending our money like this.

 

[balloonboy]

People keep banging on about Lewes this and Lewes that. Let's not forget that (as shown above) Lewes District is quite a bit bigger than just Lewes. We need to think bigger than that. For a start Seaford has a much bigger population.

Absolutely - How many people live in Lewes DC? How many people is the stadium likely to affect? I would hazard that it's far less than 1 in 1,000 of the total population of the district - how can EVERY council tax payer in Lewes DC be paying for something which affects such a very small number of people? he stadium site at Falmer is making high quality sports facilities much more accessible to most of the population of Lewes DC - and they're not having to pay anything to have the facilities built!