Located 38 miles ( 62 km ) south of London , 10 miles ( 16 km ) north of Brighton and Hove , and 29 miles ( 47 km ) east-northeast of the county town of Chichester , it had a population of 28,803 at the time of the 2001 Census . Other nearby towns include Haywards Heath to the north and Lewes , the county town of East Sussex , to the east . Burgess Hill is situated in the Sussex Weald , 10 miles ( 16 km ) north of Brighton , and about 4.5 miles ( 7.5 km ) south of Haywards Heath .