New Chair at Lewes District Council vows to tackle ‘cost-of-living, climate and ecological crises’

Councillor Adrian Ross has been elected Chair of Lewes District Council for 2022/23 marking his second term in the role.

The Green Party councillor for Lewes Bridge ward served as Chair in 2020/21 and was Vice-Chair last year.  

Councillor Graham Amy, Liberal Democrat councillor for Newhaven South, was elected as Vice-Chair.  

Councillor Ross said: “I am delighted to be elected as Chair again and thank everyone who has put their trust in me, I will do my very best to repay this honour. 

“My theme of office is ‘tackling the cost-of-living, climate and ecological crises’. All of these crises require rapid action and coordinated solutions.  I will be pleased to help organisations working in these areas in any way I can."

He added his thanks to the outgoing Chair, Councillor Brett, who said: “This has been a challenging time for many in our community as we start to spend time together after many months of social isolation and distancing.  “When I chose my theme for the year, ‘improving food security’, nobody could have predicted how the cost-of-living crisis would impact so many of us, especially in terms of food and fuel poverty.   

“The projects I have visited have been working hard to try and address some of this, offering hope and support to those who are severely impacted as well as building community spirit and resilience.  

“I wish all of you well going forward and thank everyone for their support.”  

During her period of office, she donated to an array of local projects including Common Cause (Lewes House Garden project), Havens Community Hub (Slow Cookers initiative), The Peverells Community Garden, Landport Community Café, Friends of Sutton Downs (Edible hedgerow project).  

She is also in the process of making donations to the seven food banks in Lewes District and made a donation to the East Sussex Women of the Year Fund.