Viva Brighton Issue #77 July 2019

TRIPS AND BOBS
...............................
ON THE BUSES #51: PAUL MILLMORE ROUTE 28
Paul Millmore was central to the campaign that saw the
South Downs designated a National Park. Born in Bradford
in 1949, Paul moved to Lewes in 1973 to become an
assistant planner with East Sussex County Council. This
move sparked a passion for the South Downs: he created the
South Downs Volunteer Ranger Service in 1981, which now
comprises 300 volunteers.
In 1990, Paul wrote the National Trail Guide to the South
Downs Way (still in print today), and he launched the South
Downs Campaign in the same year. He insisted that Lewes
should be included in the National Park designation,
hammering a large knife into a block of clay in one inquiry
meeting, and explaining that “this is what I mean by Lewes being embedded in the Downs”.
Hilary Benn (then Secretary of State for the Environment) did indeed include Lewes when the
South Downs were finally designated as a National Park, in November 2009.
Millmore was heavily involved in the community too, sitting on the executive committee of
the Friends of Lewes – a registered charity who aim to conserve the distinctive buildings and
natural environment of the town – and volunteering as a flood warden. He became an honorary
vice-president of the Southover Bonfire Society towards the end of his life, who used his large
garden for fundraising events. He died of cancer at his home in Grange Road, Lewes in 2012,
aged 62. Joe Fuller
You can read more about Paul's remarkable historic garden in this month's issue of Viva Lewes.
Illustration by Joda (@joda_art)
SPREAD THE WORD
Here’s Evie Lewis on a trip to Edinburgh to
visit her sister Isabel, who recently decamped
from Brighton to the city. She’s delivering
our May issue, full of news from the Brighton
Festival, but I doubt Issy will be feeling left
out for long: Edinburgh’s own epic celebration
of the arts is just around the corner.
Keep taking us with you and keep spreading
the word. Send your photos and a few
words about you and your trip to hello@
vivamagazines.com
....11....