Town and Parish Councils across Lewes District

Matthew Bird is a Chartered Environmentalist with over 20 years of experience in climate change and sustainability. He has lived and worked in Lewes since 2000, and is Climate Lead for the Sussex Wildlife Trust. As a Lewes District Councillor and Cabinet member for sustainability 2019-23 he led the District’s widely acclaimed Climate and Biodiversity Strategies. In 2023 he successfully led Rights of Rivers motion in England, which has featured in the Guardian, Times, BBC and Al Jazeera.

Nicky moved to Lewes in 2009 and feels that being elected a Lewes Town Councillor would be an opportunity to give something back to a place she loves. Previously a school governor, she is passionate about nature and biodiversity and is a volunteer beekeeper at MACS Farm in Ditchling. she co-runs a successful theatre company and wants Lewes Town to be a place where people can be creative. 

Dirk has been an active environmentalist for most of his life and a member of the Green Party for many years. He was at the centre of the launch of Transition Town Lewes and the Lewes Pound and was also a founding director of OVESCO, the award-winning community renewable energy company. He believes passion for our environment goes hand in hand with action for local people and is active on local issues.

James was elected as a Green Lewes Town Councillor in 2019 and says he’s had a great time there. He has contributed to the Town Council’s progress by promoting Green environmental, democratic, and inclusive values. Even though the Lewes Town Council does a lot to help the local community (by recognising and giving money to various clubs, societies, groups, and individuals), James wants to see this support ramped up.

James grew up in Laughton and Ringmer, moving to Lewes in 2009. He is passionate about both environmental and community issues and the points where they meet, including how to take effective action on the housing crisis. He is keen to bring his experience to Lewes Town Council to ensure that the interests of local people and our planet are looked at together.

Wendy Maples has lived in Lewes for 25 years with popular rescue dog, Bonnie. She is an East Sussex County Councillor where she led action on toxic herbicides and lighting at Lewes station, and is their representative on the Fire Authority. As a Lewes Town Councillor since 2019, she has worked to improve policies on grants, allotments and animal welfare, access-friendly benches and made Lewes the first Town in the UK to sign up for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

James Meek loves Seaford, where he has lived for decades and has brought up his children. He is a volunteer for the Seaford Foodbank, Trees for Seaford, and the Seaford Environmental Alliance.  He was elected as Seaford’s first ever Green Town Councillor in 2019, where he has been highly active, from environmental policies to litter. He has spent a lot of time listening to residents and helping resolve their problems, and looks forward to doing the same as a District Councillor.

Dinah Morgan has served as a Parish Councillor in Kingston for three years, campaigning for the cycle path from Kingston to Lewes. She is a long-standing environmental and community activist in Lewes, co-founding the Lewes Climate Hub, the Lewes Community Fridge, and the Nevill 2030 neighbourhood group. She wants to see positive change in the town on housing, transportation, waste, social justice, food, biodiversity, water, and the economy.

Jacob Todd has lived in Lewes for 25 years. He has worked as a researcher at the University of Sussex, and also founded a takeaway delivery service in Lewes, experiencing both the challenges and opportunities of running a sustainable business. He is keen to support local, community-driven initiatives, from collective weeding instead of using toxic herbicides to litter picking, as well as the numerous food-based initiatives in which he has been involved.

Nick Tigg has lived in Lewes for 14 years where he runs a charity that produces theatre for children and families. He is passionate about nature and green spaces, and has worked with the County Council to reduce the use of glyphosate weed killer and promote renewable energy throughout the town. As a Town Councillor, he wants to make Lewes not only nature friendly but as accessible and family-friendly as possible.

Jonathan Vernon has lived in Lewes for 23 years. As a keen swimmer and initially a volunteer swim teacher and coach he became a trustee of Wave Leisure Trust and their first Chair. Elected to the Town Council in 2019 he has been active across several committees, and the chair of the Task & Finish group reporting to the Planning Committee on Human Nature’s development of the North Street Quarter.