Lewes corporate plan

Tackling the climate crisis and nature emergencies is central to all our activities. We are committed to supporting measures to help arrest biodiversity losses, restore habitats, reduce pollution and work for climate resilience to promote healthy and thriving communities.

We will continue our journey to reduce carbon emissions and aim to become a fully climate-resilient council by 2030. We will prepare a climate and nature action plan for a net zero carbon district. Meaningful nature-based solutions and adaptation measures are at the heart of these ambitions.

We will also seek to influence and enable in areas outside of the council's direct control, working with our partners, so that we can make a real difference to our local communities and to the planet. Our key partners include the Environment Agency, Ouse Valley Climate Action, Town and Parish Councils, East Sussex County Council, Transition Town Lewes, The Living Coast (UNESCO Biosphere), Changing Chalk, South Downs National Park Authority, The Railway Land Wildlife Trust, Sussex Nature Partnership, Sussex Wildlife Trust, Ouse & Adur River Trust, Ouse Sussex Flow, Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre, Natural England, Sussex-air and a wide variety of local volunteer groups.

Key areas

We will:

• Refresh, with our partners and residents, our climate and nature action plan, clearly setting out our aspirations and how they will be measured.
• Engage the community energy sector and others in the shift to low or zero carbon electricity generation, and directly invest in local renewable energy schemes and providers where opportunities arise.
• Improve the energy efficiency of homes including by supporting low-carbon heating technologies in our own council houses, whilst also supporting homeowners and private renters.
• Work with partners to deliver nature-based solutions (e.g. tree planting, wetlands etc) to achieve connection between natural environments (ecological connectivity), improved biodiversity and climate resilience in our local landscape and waterscape.
• Deliver a programme of nature restoration including an additional high profile river and nature restoration project, following the Cockshut Stream restoration.
• Increase native flora, pollinators and healthy habitats through biodiversity-friendly council land management practices.
• Consolidate our focus on our rivers, seas and water quality. Prioritise efforts with partners to manage the risks posed by flooding, support the Environment Agency and other partners to address coastal erosion and explore a 'rights of rivers' approach with partners Love our Ouse.
• Build, and encourage the development of, housing which is affordable, energy efficient, climate resilient, adaptable and locally sourced, and utilise the Modular Housing Framework to increase the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in the delivery of new council homes.
• Monitor, and work with partners to improve, air quality in the district, focusing in particular on nitrogen dioxide and particulate levels, making use of air quality action plans for relevant areas.
• Work in partnership towards more sustainable food systems in the region.
• Deliver a new local plan with the greenest possible policies at its centre, including building on existing successes in delivering Biodiversity Net Gain and aim for higher levels of delivery in future, ahead of national guidance on this area.
• Work in partnership on opportunities arising from the Seaford to Eastbourne Nature Recovery Project, launched in summer 2023 by Defra and Natural England'.
• Move our waste and recycling vehicles to lower emission alternatives.
• Encourage lower emission travel across the district by increased access to Electric Vehicle charging, car share schemes and car clubs.
• Increase opportunities for public transport, cycling and walking in the district by working with partners such as community cycling groups, East Sussex County Council, Ouse Valley Climate Action and others to improve infrastructure and reduce barriers to accessible, low carbon active travel between and within our towns and villages.
• Achieve waste reduction overall by encouraging a 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' approach that is collaborative with the community.
• Work with residents to increase separation of food waste from 'residual' household waste, encouraging residents to join our garden waste service, increasing the amount of high quality compost created by our partners.
• Create opportunities to reduce littering, flytipping and graffiti and improve the public realm in collaboration with local and national partners, supporting their campaigns (e.g. on disposable vapes) and through our own 'Educate Remind Enforce' campaign.
• Continue to utilise the Clear Futures Joint Venture Partnership and Framework to support sustainable and transformational change.
• Hold water companies and their regulators to account to drive for improved water quality in the district.

4 year goals:

• Achieve the indicators in the refreshed Climate and Nature Action Plan
• Reduction in council carbon emissions to be net zero by 2030
• Reduction in direct fossil fuel use
• Increase the level of biodiversity net gain delivered
• Reduction in levels of non-recyclable household waste