Falmer is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles (8 km) north-east of the former.

Due to the proximity of Falmer to the city of Brighton and Hove, the parish has been substantially affected by the twentieth-century development of its large neighbour. Since the 1960s it has been home to the University of Sussex campus, and in the 1990s, the former Brighton Polytechnic Falmer campus became a principal base of the University of Brighton. The village lends its name to the University of Sussex's alumni magazine.

Falmer village is divided by the A27 road. North of the dual carriageway are a few houses and a pub, with a footbridge linking to the southern part of the village, where a large pond is encircled by cottages and the parish church, dedicated to St. Lawrence. There is also a farm shop and (some distance away) a high school. The two halves of the village are also linked by a road bridge just outside this circle of houses. The village has a large pond, which is home to a population of ducks and geese, and which accounts for the name of the village: Old English for 'fallow (pale-coloured) pond'^[1] (though the reason for this precise choice of colour-term is unclear nowadays).

Governance

At a local level Falmer is governed by Falmer Parish Council. Their responsibilities include footpaths, street lighting, playgrounds and minor planning applications. The parish council has five seats available which were uncontested in the May 2007 election.^[2]

The next level of government is the district council. The parish of Falmer lies within the Kingston ward of Lewes District Council, which returns a single seat to the council. The election on 4 May 2007 elected a Liberal Democrat^[3]

East Sussex County Council is the next tier of government, for which Falmer is within the Newhaven and Ouse Valley West division, with responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards and Transport. Elections for the County Council are held every four years. The Liberal Democrat David Rogers OBE was elected in the 2005 election.^[4]

The UK Parliament constituency for Falmer is Lewes. The Liberal Democrat Norman Baker has been serving as the constituency MP since 1997.

At European level, Falmer is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament. The June 2004 election returned 4 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 UK Independence, 1 Labour and 1 Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.^[5]

Sports

Falmer Stadium

The parish is also the site of a future new stadium for Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. After a lengthy process including a public enquiry it was approved by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2005, but Lewes District Council subsequently mounted a legal challenge and overturned the decision. The stadium was finally approved by Secretary of State Hazel Blears on 24 July 2007. Completion of the stadium is due in April 2011.

Transport

Falmer Railway Station

Media

The village church may be seen as the location of a funeral in an episode of the BBC television comedy, Waiting for God.

References

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