Chair of the Council

Councillor Carla Butler became Chair of Lewes District Council 14 May 2008.  Carla has just completed a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Sussex and will be combining a Masters in professional legal practice with a part-time legal practice course at Guildford College of Law from September 2008.  She works part time for EDF Energy to support herself through her degree.

Born in South Western Australia Carla moved to Newhaven in 1991 where she was educated locally.   A campaigner from a young age, her efforts for charity started at aged 8 when she walked from Rustington to Worthing and back for ‘feed the minds’. 

She has been a Newhaven Town Councillor since 2002 and was elected to the District Council in May 2007.  During her time on both Councils, Carla has focused particularly on equality issues having served on the Access in Newhaven and Seaford Group, and Eastbourne and Lewes Victim and Witness Support.  She is  currently a member of the District Council’s Traveller Working Group.       

Carla’s theme for her year of office is Citizenship – involving individuals, groups and communities enabling them to celebrate shared values and encouraging them to work together to enhance the community in which they live.  An ardent campaigner for her local community Carla secured funding for a local Victim and Witness Support Volunteer and re-landscaping and fencing for Gibbon Road Newhaven in 2006.

(Photo courtesy of Edward Reeves Photographer Lewes)

She saved the local theatre group Meeching Amateur Dramatics (MAD) from closure by taking over chairmanship and producing an award winning pantomime ‘Hercules the panto!’  in January 2007.  

Carla aged 26 is the youngest person to be appointed as Chair of Lewes District Council and would particularly like to support the young people living in the District who often get a bad press.