Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Contact Norman at:
Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
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Phoenix development in Lewes
The planned Phoenix Development is of course a major issue for Lewes. In brief however, I broadly welcome the principle of development, which I think will do much to regenerate a pretty rundown area of Lewes. Without such a development, I think that we will see more and more businesses pulling out and something of a ghettoised industrial area would be the result. The development also has a benefit, in theory, of providing adequate flood defences for one particular part of the town, which the government have made clear that they have no intention of providing in the short to medium term themselves. There are also other benefits implied, such as a cinema, something which people in Lewes I think would warmly welcome.
There are clearly however a number of downsides to the proposed scheme, including, in my view, the height of some of the buildings, the road layout, the possible creation of crime-attractive spaces, and most of all perhaps the possible impact on the existing shops in the centre of Lewes.
I have made a number of detailed comments to the architects and proposed developers and I hope very much that they will be taken on board. I have also spoken to the District Council at some length about this matter and made my views known to them. I have also indicated to them that, with such a major proposal for the town, I would expect architecture of the highest possible quality and with cutting edge environmental benefits. I have also indicated to the Council that it is important that community benefits are required to be built early in any development, to stop the developer from building the profitable bits and then walking away from the scheme, which I am afraid sometimes happens.
Public comments:
"The proposed Phoenix development, if it proceeds, will alter the nature of our town significantly. The proposal represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the planners on Lewes District Council.
"I strongly encourage our council to learn from what has been achieved elsewhere to ensure that the Phoenix plan, if it goes ahead, is not simply another dreary off-the-shelf development, but one that meets the highest environmental standards and which can be an example to be held up to other planners across the country."