Dr Wendy Maples

East Sussex County Council

Lewes District

Cllr Dr Wendy Maples works in education and has lived in Lewes for 25 years. Wendy says, ‘What drew me to Lewes was its unique traditions, its rebelliousness and its human scale. I love being able to walk from one side of town to the other: there’s always something interesting to see and someone amazing to talk with’. She is committed to prioritising resilience in the town and addressing the disparities in access to transport, housing and a social life. As an elected county and town councillor, she now hopes to become a ‘District Councillor’ and, with the connection between each authority, ‘make resilience happen’. Wendy is one of few county councillors with 100% attendance, and has served as the East Sussex Green Group representative on the Fire Authority, worked on the sub-committee scrutinising Adult Social Care’s use of digital technology, put forward motions on reducing the use of toxic herbicides, has petitioned for more benches to improve access for people with mobility difficulties and successfully brought together all the relevant stakeholders to reduce the over-zealous lighting at Lewes Train Station. On the Town Council, Wendy has worked on major revisions of Town Council policies, including formalising small and large grant application processes, bringing allotment policies up to date, creating a successful animal welfare motion and bringing the successful motion that made Lewes the first Town in the country to sign up to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. She is Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee and Deputy Chair of Personnel. Wendy is a proud owner of Lewes Community Football Club and is a qualified softball (‘Yes, it’s like rounders’) coach. She has a rescue dog named Bonnie. Wendy says, ‘I’m not sure what it says about me – or maybe Lewes – but lots of people don’t recognise me unless I’m with the dog’.