November 20 2013.

Local MP Norman Baker joined Seaford Councillors in speaking out against East Sussex County Council at the Seaford Baptist Church public meeting last Friday. The packed meeting was attended by an estimated 400 residents, with more outside. Another meeting has been arranged for 7.00pm on Friday, November the 29th at the same venue, primarily aimed at those who were unable to make last week's meeting. 

The popularity of the meeting displays the level of objection to the new proposals. Also present at the meeting were residents from Newhaven, notably town mayor Julie Carr, a sign that both towns are opposed to the plans and those that use Newhaven recycling centre currently are concerned about the massive influx of new visitors should these changes take place.

Norman says: "I was delighted to see the towns united in opposition to this disastrous proposal. I hope that, working together, we can show East Sussex County Council that the plans are not in the best interest of the towns. With this strength of feeling and in these numbers, the county council really must listen.

“These proposals are based on hypothetical numbers that may not be reached in the near future and rely on a number of assumptions. First, they assume Lewes District Council will reform the way it deals with rubbish collection and kerbside recycling. Secondly, they assume the proposed merged site at Newhaven will be able to cope with the combined number of visitors and the resulting increase in waste. Third, they assume the extended distance that Seaford residents will have to travel to reach the new site will not discourage them from recycling and will not lead to an increase in incidents of fly tipping. I think they are probably wrong on all three counts.”