Population 54 (Electors-2004) Civil parish St John Without Area 3.84 km² | OS grid reference TQ387138 Sovereign state United Kingdom Dialling code 01273 | |
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St John Without is a small civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, covering an area to the north-west of the town of Lewes.
Contents
Map of Saint John (Without), UK
The parish was formed in 1894 as Lewes St John Without from the part of the ancient parish of Lewes St John outside the borough of Lewes. From 1894 to 1974 it was in the rural district of Chailey.
The parish includes the small hamlet of Chiltington and a few dispersed farms and houses along Allington Road to the foot of the South Downs.
Governance
St John Without is governed at local level by a parish meeting. A merger with East Chiltington parish council has been suggested although no formal plans have been made.
The next level of government is Lewes District Council. The District council supplies services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. St John Without is covered by the Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington and St John (Without) ward which returns a single seat. In the May 2007 election, a councillor from the local Liberal Democrat party was elected.
St John Without lies within the Chailey ward for the next tier of government, East Sussex County Council. The ward also includes Chailey, Ditchling, East Chiltington, Newick, Plumpton, Streat, Westmeston and Wivelsfield. The County Council provides services such as roads and transport, social services, libraries and trading standards. The June 2009 election resulted in a win for the Conservative Meg Stroude.
The UK Parliament constituency for St John Without is Lewes. The Liberal Democrat Norman Baker has been serving as the constituency MP since 1997.
At European level, St John Without is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament. The June 2004 election returned four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, two UK Independence, one Labour and one Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.
Landmarks
Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which stretches from Hassocks in the west and passes through many parishes including St John Without, to Lewes in the east. The site is of biological importance due to its rare chalk grassland habitat along with its woodland and scrub.
Ashcombe Bottom is a wooded area in the south of the parish, which forms part of the National Trust Blackcap reserve. The reserve makes up a section of the Clayton to Offham Escarpment SSSI.