Harveys Depot

Anyone aware of the Transition Town Lewes initiative will know that the future is relocalisation – food, energy, transport, community. The Harveys Depot bid by the hastily-formed Lewes Community Partnership is very much a part of this ‘Vision For Lewes’ – we use that strapline on our presentation material. We want to rename the site ‘Harveys Yard’, retaining the existing buildings and adding some appropriate new build to make it an exciting, vital, commercial and community centre.

Harveys Depot is very juicy piece of real estate in the centre of town right by Lewes station. A piece of land that local and national housing developers are slavering over. They want to to build their 25 flats, pocket their 2.5 million and move on. LCP wants it for Lewes. Our town has lost its market and manufacturing base in the last 50 years and urgently needs to reacquire it if it is to survive the coming 50 years. LCP’s proposal can help Lewes do that.

Harveys directors Hamish Elder and Miles Jenner are very sympathetic to our proposal. They have accepted our low bid of 1.6m, conditional on us guaranteeing the finance. They want us to do it. They want us to pull it off. But they need the money from the sale to balance their books because they have just bought a bigger depot in Daveys Lane.

So we have to find the money. We have until May 4th. We are working very hard at this and we’re confident. Triodos Bank is backing 80% of the bid price based on a sound business plan. Unity bank is backing local food co-operative Just Trade to the tune of 100K. We have pledges on our site of over 100K. We have five or six businesses keen to relocate to Harveys Yard.

Go to www.lewescommunitypartnership.co.uk. You can donate or pledge money, or contact us for information. We can tell you about our company structure, planned share issues and anything else you need to know. Harveys Yard is the first brick in the ‘yellow brick road’ to Lewes as a relocalised, sustainable community. We can make it happen together. We have to.

Update 23rd May 2007
As you probably know, the bid made by the Lewes Community Partnership to acquire Harveys' Depot in Pinwell Road has failed because we were unable to come up with a business plan that could attract bank guarantees in the very limited time given.

The offer that has been accepted is from the developers Rees Elliott who own the bus station and are responsible for a number of developments in Lewes.

So is it all over?

We certainly don't think so. Various ideas are being proposed that could still realise the original vision and maintain the tremendous support this project has generated.

We have met with Martin Elliott of Rees Elliott. It will take between 1 and 2 years before any development begins on this site. He is keen to see the site being used as soon as possible. It would be possible in theory to establish a permanent local produce outlet in the warehouse part of the building if desire for that is strong enough.

Alternatively we could consider buying, or leasing (long-term) some parts of the site.

Another possibility is that we could even plan to buy the site after development has been completed, asking Rees Elliott to design it to work to our specification. This would be possible if we were able to attract charitable funding or a lottery grant.

We are talking to Charity Bank again - they have been extremely supportive and are a) experts in community-led enterprises, b) keen to be involved in a project in Lewes.

We have arranged a public meeting at Pelham House on Wednesday 23rd May 2007, 7.30 - 9.30 pm. This will take the form of a short presentation covering events so far and possible options for the future, followed by an Open Space structure in which all present can contribute to the direction and the next step for this initiative.

Dirk, Howard, Keith, Lorraine, Nicola and Paul
Lewes Community Partnership

Railway Land Nature Reserve

Linklater Pavilion
The demand for its use and the exciting potential of appreciating  and learning about wildlife on our doorstep has led the Trust to launch an appeal for the Linklater Pavilion – centre for the study of environmental change.  A planning application for this innovative building at the entrance to the Reserve has been lodged with Lewes District Council and the appeal needs to raise £250,000 by the end of December 2007.  This would be in addition to £250,000 already promised by Viridor Credits and the Mettyear charitable trust.  We hope everyone in Lewes will feel able to back this community scheme that has been 10 years in the making.  It’s now or never!

John Parry
Chairman, Railway Land Wildlife Trust