Death of Former Hailsham Town Councillor

Hailsham Town Council is saddened to report that former town councillor Barry Marlowe has recently passed away, aged 83.

Barry, who lived in Sussex for over 30 years, was a well-respected and active member of the local community, having been elected on to the Town Council in May 2011 and serving as a member until 2015.

Representing what was then the Hailsham Central & North Ward, Barry served on various Town Council committees, including the Council Projects & Assets Committee and Planning & Development Committee.

Barry was also a local councillor for Wealden District Council, having been elected in 2011 to represent the same Hailsham ward and in 2015, the Uckfield Ridgewood Ward.

As a town councillor, Barry helped many local residents with several diverse issues, including planning, housing, benefits, parking and perhaps most notably, public transport – of which he was extremely passionate and was responsible for many local initiatives to enable Hailsham residents greater access to bus and rail services.

As ‘oversight councillor’ for transport links, Barry was founder and Chairman of the Wealden Bus Alliance (originally the Hailsham Bus Alliance), founding member of the Hailsham Quality Bus Partnership  and director of the Access2Healthcare scheme, which assisted patients needing transport to doctors’ surgeries in the Hailsham area and Wealden district.

Barry’s funeral was held at the Wealden Crematorium on 5 March.

Town Clerk John Harrison offered his condolences on behalf of Hailsham Town Council: “Barry was a popular and well-respected town councillor, having served the community well and caring passionately about Hailsham and its residents. We are all greatly upset by the news that our friend has passed away.”

“I know I speak for all my colleagues at the Town Council, as well as the wider community, when I say that Barry will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

Town Mayor & Chairman of Hailsham Town Council, Paul Holbrook commented: “I can only add to the many wonderful messages which have already circulated about Barry – this is such a huge loss for everyone who knew him. As a town councillor for many years, he worked tirelessly on behalf of the community that he was proud to represent and contributed significantly to the various Council committees on which he served during his term in office.”