County Hall

Christmas and New Year opening times

County Hall will close from 5pm on Tuesday 24 December 2024 and will open again at 8am on Thursday 2 January 2025. See our services with seasonal opening hours.

Opening times

County Hall is closed today (Saturday)

Monday 8am to 5pm
Tuesday 8am to 5pm
Wednesday 8am to 5pm
Thursday 8am to 5pm
Friday 8am to 4:30pm
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed

By train

There are regular train services to Lewes from:

  • London Victoria
  • Portsmouth, Chichester and Brighton
  • Ashford, Hastings and Eastbourne
  • Seaford and Newhaven.

For train times see the National Rail Enquiries website.

County Hall is approximately 1km from Lewes station. Exit the station and turn right, walking up Station Street. Turn left at the top of the hill onto the High Street. County Hall is about 10 minutes walk, at the top of the hill. The main entrance to our office is behind the Parish Church of St Anne, access is via the lane next to the church.

There is a taxi rank adjacent to the station.

By bus

The following buses stop near County Hall:

  • 28: from Brighton, Ringmer, Hailsham, Polegate and Eastbourne
  • 29: from Brighton, Uckfield, Crowborough and Tunbridge Wells
  • 29A: from Brighton, Uckfield and Heathfield
  • 121: from Newick and South Chailey
  • 122: from Barcombe
  • 123: from Newhaven and Kingston. The nearest stop to County Hall is Friars Walk is Fisher Street (Friars Walk towards Newhaven)
  • 125: from Eastbourne, Willingdon, Polegate, Alfriston, Firle and Glynde. The nearest stop to County Hall is the bottom of School Hill
  • 128: from Lewes Friars Walk, Station Street (near Lewes Railway Sation) and Nevill
  • 166: from Haywards Heath, Wivelsfield Green and Plumpton Green
  • 167: from Burgess Hill, Hassocks, Ditchling and Plumpton Green

See Journey information, maps and real time bus times for interactive bus map and timetable information.

Cycling

There is ample secure cycle parking at the entrance to County Hall.

By road

From the Cuilfail roundabout at Lewes, take the A2029 exit. At the traffic lights (outside Boots) turn right up School Hill (the A277). Pass St Anne’s Church at the top of Western Road. At the traffic lights turn left onto the County Hall campus.

From the prison crossroads, take the A277 into Lewes town centre and turn right at the traffic lights into County Hall.

Visitor parking

There are some short-stay (3-hour) bays in the West car park. You can also park in the other West car park bays (with the exception of the car share spaces which are reserved for staff use between 7am and 10am, Monday to Friday).

The East car park is reserved for staff permit holders only, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Car parks at County Hall are pay and display and managed by NSL.

The pay and display machines accept cash and contactless payment by card. Please buy sufficient time at the machine when you arrive. There is also pay and display on-street parking available close to County Hall, which is charged at a similar rate.

If you do not have a valid permit and ticket, you may receive a parking ticket, with a penalty of £70 (reduced to £35 if paid in seven days).

Outside working hours

The County Hall car parks are also available to the public outside of working hours.

The car parks are available for public use at the weekend and costs £1 for all day on Saturday and is free on Sunday.

Disabled parking and access

Disabled drivers may park in any available space if they are displaying a blue badge. There are disabled spaces available directly in front of the entrance to County Hall. There are also disabled bays in the East car park.

There is ramp access to main reception and there are lifts to all floors. Disabled toilets are available on the ground floor.

Conditions of entry to County Hall

Conditions of entry v.1 080822

These visitor regulations provide for the safety, wellbeing and security of our staff, visitors, and premises.

There is no public right of entry into or through County Hall and it is a condition of entry that you abide by these visitor regulations.

1. Admission
1.1 We warmly welcome you to County Hall and wish you an enjoyable visit.

1.2 We regret that it may be necessary, for example in the interests of security or public safety, for us to alter County Hall’s opening hours or close specific areas of County Hall at any time, and without prior notice.

1.3 If it should be necessary to close all or part of County Hall temporarily for any reason, we may direct you to leave by certain routes, or prevent you from leaving by certain routes.

2. Opening hours
Please see opening hours displayed at the top of this page.

County Hall is closed Saturdays and Sundays, and also on bank holidays and over the Christmas period.

3. Bag searches and other searches
3.1 If asked, you must allow our security officers to search your bags when you enter County Hall.

3.2 A list of items (please see appendix A at bottom of this page) that we do not allow you to bring into County Hall is displayed in the search areas at the entrances to County Hall. If, on searching your bag, our security officers find any of these items (or any similar item that may be a risk to the building, staff, or other visitors) they will remove it, and return it to you when you leave County Hall.

If our security officers find an illegal item in your bag they will confiscate it, and hand it to the police. Please be aware of regulation 6.1 below.

3.3 At our discretion we may ask our security officers to carry out more general searches as a condition of entry to County Hall. The reason for such a search will be explained and it will be conducted by security officers of the same sex as the visitor who is searched. This may involve the use of hand-held metal detectors.

3.4 There may be times when all visitors shall be requested to surrender all bags and any other suitable item to security staff or ESCC representative and these will be placed into a secure locker and returned at the end of the visit.

3.5 Refusal to abide by such a request may result in entry being denied and you being asked to vacate the building.

4. County Hall right to exclude
4.1 Our staff or representative may:

a. refuse any person entry (or ask any person to leave), if it is reasonably believed that the person is intoxicated, behaving antisocially (including, but not limited to, using foul, racist, sexist, or homophobic language or other threatening, noisy or derogatory behaviour ), failing to comply with reasonable verbal requests of our staff or representative(s) or where there is reasonable cause to believe the person may cause damage or injury to persons or property, or is acting unlawfully

b. limit the number of people permitted into our premises at any time.

5. Consideration for other persons
5.1 County Hall can become a busy environment at times. You are asked to be patient and considerate to other visitors and our staff.

5.2 You are asked not to use your phone to make calls in communal areas.

5.3 At the end of your visit, you are asked to leave the premises quietly and with due consideration for our residential neighbours.

6. Reception Services and Security staff
6.1 Our Reception Services and Security staff are identifiable by their County Hall identity passes. They are authorised by East Sussex County Council Facilities Management Team to require you to comply with these visitor regulations or any directions given under them. If our security officers believe you are intoxicated or behaving antisocially or that your conduct causes or is likely to cause annoyance or disturbance to other visitors, to our staff, or to property, you may be refused admission to County Hall and/or you may be asked to leave. In the event you refuse to leave when requested to do so, you may be escorted from the premises which includes the building, grounds and carparks.

6.2 Please be aware that we will not tolerate violence, foul, racist, sexist, homophobic language or behaviour, or other threatening, noisy or derogatory behaviour to any member of our staff and that failure to cooperate with the lawful directions of our security staff may put you at risk of committing a criminal offence.

7. Parking of vehicles and provision for disabled visitors
7.1 There is visitor parking available at County Hall, with parking for disabled visitors clearly marked.

7.2 However, if there is any further assistance needed, please ask a member of staff or at Reception.

8. Health and Safety
8.1 In the interests of health and safety, you must not:

a. smoke anywhere in County Hall (and this prohibition extends to the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping products) except in a smoker’s refuge or in the car park

b. run within County Hall

c. sit on any stairs

d. block or obstruct entrance doors in any way

e. leave any children in your care unattended, or allow them to behave antisocially

f. climb on any part of the building, or the fabric of the building including walls, monuments, barriers and columns

g. disregard any safety signs or barriers put in place for public protection

h. cross barriers, cordons, or protective spaces

i. disregard fire alarms or any directions for the evacuation of County Hall

j. use any laser pointer or laser pen (a small handheld device with a power source and a laser diode emitting a very narrow coherent low-powered laser beam) for any purpose within County Hall other than during a presentation or meeting but only then by the presenter/host

k. point or gesture towards people or objects within the building using sticks, umbrellas, poles, flags or any other object.

8.2 If you do not comply with this any part of this regulation, you may be asked to leave County Hall. Please be aware of regulation 6.1 above.

9. Fire alarms
9.1 Fire Action Notices in the building explain how you should raise the alarm in the event of a fire or suspected fire.

9.2 Our fire alarm provides the following audible signal:

a. A constant alarm signal means that you must evacuate County Hall and leave by the nearest fire exit immediately. Our staff will ensure you are aware of the alarm and direct you away from any fire-affected areas. If you require help to evacuate County Hall you should seek the assistance of a member of our staff.

10. Access to non-public areas
10.1 If you are found by our staff in a non-public or closed area without authority, you will be required to explain your presence and provide proof of identification. You may also be escorted from County Hall premises. Please be aware of regulation 6.1 above.

11. Bags and luggage
11.1 You are requested not bring into County Hall any item of luggage (other than fold-up pushchairs, or mobility aids if you have a disability).

11.2 Access to public meetings may be subject to additional restrictions on bags and luggage.

12. Unattended and lost property
12.1 You must not leave any of your property unattended at any time in County Hall, including in any outdoor areas. We reserve the right to have unattended property removed and/or destroyed without warning in the interests of safety and security. The Council accepts no liability in respect of the removal or destruction of any property that has been left unattended.

12.2 If it is handed in to us, we will keep any lost property in accordance with the Council’s lost property operating procedure.

13. Film, photography, 3D imaging and audio recording
13.1 You may NOT use photographs, scanned data, film, and audio recordings for your own private, commercial, and non-commercial purposes, which include use in personal, commercial, non-commercial social media profiles, blogs and websites.

13.2 An exception to regulation 13.1 is that any member of the public has the right to record, film, broadcast and report meetings of the Council that are open to the public.

14. Mobile phones and Tablets
14.1 Any mobile phones and hand-held computers taken into Council meetings shall be switched off at all times.

14.2 You must confirm in advance with our Facilities Department if:

a. you intend to use equipment for filming, photography, or audio recording in the grounds of County Hall

b. you wish to take any commercial or professional film or photography - please email countyhall.reception@eastsussex.gov.uk.

14.4 If a visitor complains that your photography is intrusive you may be asked to stop or leave County Hall. Please be aware of regulation 6.1 above.

14.5 The use of ‘selfie sticks’ (or similar devices) is not permitted within County Hall building.

15. Bicycles and scooters
15.1 Mobility scooters are welcome in County Hall.

15.2 You are not permitted to cycle or ride a scooter on County Hall’s forecourt.

15.3 You may leave your bicycle in the racks provided at your own risk. You are not permitted to bring folding bicycles or adult scooters inside County Hall.

16. Food and drink
16.1 Members of the public are not allowed to consume food and drink inside County Hall, other than drinking water.

17. Animals
17.1 Animals are not allowed in County Hall under any circumstance, unless you have a disability, when you may be accompanied by a guide, assistant, or companion animal.

18. Demonstrations
18.1 If you are proposing to demonstrate outside County Hall, you should notify County Hall reception at least 24 hours in advance - please email countyhall.reception@eastsussex.gov.uk.

County Hall may set conditions on such events in the interest of safety, security, and other visitors’ enjoyment of their visits. If you demonstrate at County Hall, please be aware of regulation 6.1 above.

18.2 We would request that all demonstrations remain peaceful and respectful to all and that any participants adhere to all and any requests from Security staff or ESCC representatives for safety reasons.

19. Closed circuit television
19.1 You should be aware that we operate a secure, closed circuit television system throughout County Hall in the public interest for the protection and safety of our visitors, staff and property. See our privacy notice for more information.

20. Comments and feedback
20.1 We welcome enquiries, opinions and comments from visitors and members of the public. You can:

a. email countyhall.reception@eastsussex.gov.uk

b. phone 01273 481634

c. write to:
County Hall reception
East Sussex County Council
County Hall
St Anne’s Crescent
Lewes
East Sussex BN7 1UE

21. Amendments
21.1 We may change our service provision or amend these visitor regulations from time to time and we recommend that you check this page for our latest information before visiting.

Appendix A

List of items that we do not allow you to bring into County Hall:

  • Bags which are over 10in H x 4in D x 8in W - but can be stored in lockers provided
  • Large umbrellas are to be left in reception
  • Aluminium and glass drink containers, any unclear plastic bottle or a clear plastic bottle over 500ml
  • Alcohol
  • Food and drink
  • Selfie sticks
  • Weapons and tools, including sharp items whether manufactured or adapted, real or imitation.
  • Any liquid gel paint, glue, or dye
  • Large-bodied cameras and camcorders
  • Banners, signs or flags.

Address

East Sussex County Council, County Hall
St Anne's Crescent
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 1UE


Contact us

Phone

Main number

0345 608 0190

Fax

01273 481261


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