In this, Lewes’ time of need, with Tesco threatening to supersize, Angel Property planning to build a high-rise suburb next to the town centre and Onyx preparing to build a vast incinerator down the Ouse Valley, we need the local media to be strong, vibrant and pro-active. We need to know exactly what is going on with these proposals, exactly how much social and environmental damage they are going to cause, and, if they demand opposition, exactly what we can do to oppose them. Why is it, then, that the Sussex Express, which claims to be ‘The Paper for Lewes’ has dealt with these issues in such an insipid, piecemeal manner? Why is it that most articles on these issues seem to be re-hashed press releases, occasionally written by the very organisations which should be being investigated? Why aren’t any of the paper’s journalists looking under the stones of these local issues to see what murky truths lie beneath them? Why is it that the paper’s most incisive, intelligent and well-written pieces should be located in the letters pages and penned by its readers? We call upon the Sussex Express to use the resources it possesses to get more involved in the issues which really matter to this wonderful town. We call upon the Sussex Express to reassess its editorial policy and to become the sort of newspaper that Lewes deserves and needs in these uncertain times.
We have sent a copy of this editorial to the Sussex Express for submission to the letters pages. Enjoy the week.