#18: Bridges Not Borders; Rethinking Sussex’s Link To The World

The Sussex And The City Podcast

– Episode 19:

Bridges Not Borders; Rethinking Sussex’s Link To The World

Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: Graham Precey – social impact leader (ex-Head of Sustainability, Legal & General); community convenor for the Newhaven–Dieppe (“Le Havre de Paix”) ferry decarbonisation effort; Normandy–Sussex bridge-builder

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🔍 Episode summary

Richard speaks with Graham Precey from across the Channel in Normandy to unpack why the Newhaven–Dieppe ferry is more than a boat: but a living bridge between Sussex and Normandy that carries tourists, freight, ideas and identity — and a testbed for decarbonising short-sea shipping.

Graham traces a career in corporate social and environmental impact long before 'ESG' was a buzzword, and explains how that experience now fuels a community-led, binational mission: cutting ~41,000 tonnes of CO₂ from the route, protecting a 200-year lifeline, and turning Sussex’s “over-the-horizon” into an everyday, low-carbon local journey.

This is a practical conversation about infrastructure that people can see and use — ferries, ports, pallets and power — and how open, ego-free convening is bringing councils, operators, businesses and residents together to solve a problem that matters.

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🎯 Why this matters

“It’s a bridge. 368,000 people and a whole lot of pallets cross it each year. It’s real economy, not just the cloud — and right now about 41,000 tonnes of carbon go straight up the funnel. We need to change that, and we are.” 

“If I were the Sussex mayor, I’d start with the real assets: Gatwick, Shoreham, Newhaven. They bring in people and trade you can count. Then ask: how do we make them work together — and cleaner — fast?” 

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🧠 Topics covered include:

• The ferry as a 200-year “living bridge”: culture, tourism, trade and identity

• Why short-sea decarbonisation (electric, hybrid, hydrogen, fuels) is urgent and doable

• Who pays (and why): the Normandy case for investment, carbon pricing pressures, fleet renewal

• Sussex’s three strategic gateways — Gatwick, Shoreham, Newhaven — and treating them as a system

• Open Space convening: dropping egos, myth-busting, and co-creating the agenda in public

• Practical wins: letters of support from Sussex bodies, technical working groups, Franco-British dialogue

• Making the route busier and fairer: pricing, signage, language, and lowering friction on both shores

• Devolution takeaway: how a mission-led mayoral programme could scale this approach to other regional challenges

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📚 Further reading and references

• Newhaven–Dieppe Ferry (DFDS/Transmanche) – timetables, route and operator info
  👉 https://www.dfds.com/en/passenger-ferries/ferry-routes/ferries-to-france/newhaven-dieppe

• Port of Newhaven – port information and development updates
  👉 https://www.newhavenport.co.uk/

• Département de la Seine-Maritime (Rouen) – the French public owner/funder behind the route
  👉 https://www.seinemaritime.fr/

• Transport for the South East – regional transport strategy and investment pipeline
  👉 https://transportforthesoutheast.org.uk/

• The Crown Estate | Marine – UK seabed, offshore energy and marine leasing context
  👉 https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/what-we-do/marine/

• Open Space Technology (Harrison Owen) – the facilitation method used in the Sussex–Normandy sessions
  👉 https://openspaceworld.org/wp2/

• International Maritime Organization (IMO) GHG Strategy – global decarbonisation framework for shipping
  👉 https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Cutting-GHG-emissions.aspx

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🎧 Production credits

Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: Graham Precey
Sound design / editing / original music: Chris Thorpe-Tracey
Production management: Letitia McConalogue
Recorded: Remote (Normandy ↔ Sussex) with thanks to the calm after the storm

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This episode is brought to you in partnership with:

Let’s Do Business Finance – powering the ambitions of entrepreneurs and small businesses across Sussex and beyond.

As an accredited British Business Bank delivery partner, they’ve supported hundreds of start-ups and scale-ups with loans from £500 to £150,000 – filling the funding gap left by high street banks.

With expert advice and tailored finance packages, they’re backing local jobs, boosting business confidence, and helping communities thrive.

👉 letsdobusinessfinance.co.uk

 

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📣 Get involved

Care about cleaner, faster, fairer Sussex connectivity? Want the new Sussex mayor to consider ideas like the Newhaven–Dieppe link to become a flagship for green growth? Explore more episodes, resources and events:
👉 sussexandthecity.info