Author: Andrew Taylor

A Neighbourhood Plan referendum will take place in Ashurst Wood alongside the Police and Crime Commissioner election on Thursday 5 May 2016.

Residents will decide if they would like the Neighbourhood Plan produced by Ashurst Wood Village Council to be used to determine planning applications in their area.

Neighbourhood Plans give people the opportunity to influence the future development of their local area. Town and Parish Councils work alongside local residents to develop plans that will influence the planning of the area where they live and work.

Ashurst Wood Village Council has now finalised a Neighbourhood Plan and, if over 50% of people who vote in the referendum support the plan, it will be used by Mid Sussex District Council to decide local planning applications.

Recent home movers should check that they have updated their details on the electoral register and will be eligible to vote. Only residents in Ashurst Wood are eligible to vote in the Neighbourhood Plan referendum.

The deadline for new registration applications is Midnight on Monday 18 April 2016 and the deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday 19 April 2016.

New applications to appoint someone to vote by proxy must be made by 5pm on Tuesday 26 April 2016 and applications for an emergency proxy vote must be received by 5pm on Thursday 5 May 2016.

If you have any questions regarding registration or the electoral process then please contact the Mid Sussex District Council Electoral Services team on 01444 477003 or email elections@midsussex.gov.uk.

Students from all years at Imberhorne School last month celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight and participated in helping raise awareness for Fairtrade in the school. The Mayor attended their ‘Big Fairtrade Day’ at the Windmill Lane site.

The Imberhorne Fairtrade Group sold Fairtrade chocolate bars and cookies which were bought in from fairly-trading organisation Traidcraft. Students sold the bars to their peers at lunchtimes.

The Group also gave assemblies to all seven year groups. In these, they spoke about this year’s theme – Big Fairtrade Breakfasts – and the concept of food security. All the people who wrote and delivered the assemblies were student members of the Group, who then visited local primary schools in Lingfield and Dormansland to run workshops.

In these, the students investigated a mystery, and had to figure out how Fairtrade had helped a Kenyan tea farmer with environmental changes. They were then served a Big Fairtrade Breakfast including jam sandwiches, juice, snack bars and muesli. Then then visited the 6^th EG Beavers, where they also served Fairtrade breakfasts!

During their ‘Big Fairtrade Day’, year 8s had been tasked to come up two or three ‘unfair’ game stalls per form, to set-up and play – form 8Y won the prize for most money raised (£50.50). The year 9s played an “Unfair Dodgeball Match” against the teachers. Town Mayor, Cllr Dick Sweatman, attended the event for the second year running, and commented on how well it was ran and how it was good to see students so enthusiastic.

The Fairtrade Group’s Chairman, year 13 student Henry Grub, said: “Fairtrade Fortnight 2016 was bigger and better than last year, and raised much more money! The students work so hard and really get stuck into the celebrations and we are so proud to be able to put on an event like this. Last year we won an award and £350 for our Fortnight activities and I definitely hope we can do it again!”

In total, the Fortnight raised £476.68, which will all be going to the school’s investment scheme with “Lend with Care”, an organisation providing microloans to producers and entrepreneurs in the developing world, who will be chosen by the students.

 

West Sussex Young Persons Substance Misuse Service – Vacancy

Three new walking trails have been launched by the Kingscote Valley Project, including one that starts off from the town’s historic High Street. This comes as the countryside springs into life, and many of us get the urge to put on our boots and explore. The new routes give you detailed instructions and background to the countryside you pass through. There are some outstanding views over the Kingscote Valley and many opportunities to break your journey if you need refreshments.

The walking route leaflets are available here.

Buddy up with friends or work colleagues and get a team together for the Reaching Rio Challenge. Funded by West Sussex Wellbeing and promoted by West Sussex County Council, it’s a fun way to exercise, burn off some calories at any sport from walking to football, dance to swimming, and  logging your team’s results  online and converting them into miles. Teams work together to race to Rio along the interactive map. Miles are gained by doing physical activity such as walking, cycling, team sports and dancing see the website for more details http://reachingrio.org/

Mid Sussex District Council has posted out Poll Cards to every registered elector in Mid Sussex ahead of the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner election on Thursday 5 May.

Anyone who has not received their Poll Card by Tuesday 5 April 2016 should contact Mid Sussex District Council immediately because it could mean they are not registered and are therefore not eligible to vote.

Paying Council Tax or logging details with another Council department does not automatically entitle people to vote. Voter details must be entered onto the Electoral Register separately.

“The deadline to apply to be included on the Electoral Register for the Police and Crime Commissioner election is Monday 18 April 2016, so there is still time to sign up,” said Tom Clark, Returning Officer for Mid Sussex District Council. “Registering to vote only takes a few minutes so don’t miss out on the chance to make your voice heard.”

The quickest and most convenient way to register is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

If you have any questions regarding registration or the electoral process then please contact the Mid Sussex District Council Electoral Services team on 01444 477003 or email elections@midsussex.gov.uk.

The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride and Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend are working together to recruit event volunteers and seek local people to invest their time to help realise far-reaching benefits.

Mention the word “volunteering” and how do you react? “I haven’t got time”; “I won’t get paid”; “it won’t benefit me”? You wouldn’t be the only one. But two prominent local events, The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride and Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend, are trying to alter opinions by raising the profile of their volunteers and identify the true value of volunteering.

The community relies on its volunteers, not least sports clubs and events. Some ground-breaking research released in 2015, found sport to be the single biggest sector of volunteering in the UK, with 3.2 million people investing their time. The figures were revealed by Join In as part of their work to identify the hidden value of sport volunteers. Join In was established in 2012 to capture the enthusiasm generated by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and channel it into local sport. After the Bank of England’s Chief Economist noted that the social worth of volunteering was rarely valued, Join In set about quantifying the real benefit.

The results offered a different perspective of how volunteers should be viewed, as “investors” rather than a cost-saving or a free resource. The return on time invested into sport was valued at £16,032 per volunteer; over 30 times the previous valuations of sport volunteering.

How does one volunteer make such a difference, you may ask? Firstly, let’s consider the benefit of a volunteer’s role on other people. Research discovered that one volunteer in a club creates the capacity for 8.5 players. The economic benefits of additional players and members to local and national economies, along with the wellbeing gains the volunteers will experience were valued at over £12,500. Then we should contemplate the volunteers themselves, who were found to have a higher sense of happiness. This resulted in greater emotional and physical wellbeing, making volunteering an effective way for people to alleviate the symptoms of depression, loneliness and isolation. The findings demonstrate that the longer someone volunteers the greater their wellbeing, and these benefits continue long after they stop volunteering.

“It is increasingly difficult for events like The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride and Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend to recruit volunteers year after year”, said Simon Adby, Event Director of Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend. “This research helps demonstrate the true value that we get from our volunteers and will hopefully encourage more people to get involved, knowing that they have a much more significant and longer lasting effect than perhaps is initially anticipated.

Mike Oliver, Chair of The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride added: “Both events collectively hope to provide over 1,500 participants with a memorable sporting opportunity this year, so we require 150 individuals to help us stage safe and fun experiences for the cyclists and runners. We hope people can now put more of a value on the few hours we are asking them to invest in our events.”

Both events will provide opportunities for participants to raise money for causes close to their hearts. In addition, The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride registration fees are going to the Maternity Unit of the Princess Royal Hospital and the Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend profits will be re-invested into community sport projects.

Organisers of The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride, to be held on Sunday 10th April 2016, are seeking 40-50 volunteers to marshal the 4 different race routes in order to provide participants with a safe and enjoyable experience. Marshalling roles are required on all routes with volunteers being required for no more than 2 hours each from 9 am to 3pm. For more information about the event please visit: http://www.haywardsheathlive.org.uk/hh-bike-ride/

The Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend will held over 3 days (30^th April to 2^nd May) in the 3 towns of Mid Sussex; East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill. Volunteers will be asked to marshal each race route, attending from 9am to 1pm. If you would be happy to give up your time on any of the days please register your interest at www.midsussexmarathonweekend.co.uk.

 

The Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride:

• Sunday 10^th April – starting and finishing on The Broadway, Haywards Heath.

For further information please visit http://www.haywardsheathlive.org.uk/hh-bike-ride/ or contact Mike Oliver (Chairman); mike@moaifa.co.uk or mobile: 07973 847973.

Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend:

• Saturday 30^th April 2016 – East Grinstead (East Grinstead Rugby Club):
  • 9:30am Mid Sussex Wellbeing Mile Fun Run
  • 10:30am East Grinstead 10 Mile
• Sunday 1^st May 2016 – Haywards Heath (Victoria Park):
  • 9:30am Mid Sussex Wellbeing Mile Fun Run
  • 10:30am Haywards Heath 10 Mile (Sussex Grand Prix race)
• Monday 2^nd May 2016 – Burgess Hill 10k (Oakmeeds Community College):
  • 9:30am Mid Sussex Wellbeing Mile Fun Run
  • 10:30am Burgess Hill 10K

All races are UK Athletics affiliated.

For further information please visit www.midsussexmarathon.co.uk or contact Simon Adby (Event Director); simon@activehousesolutions.co.uk or mobile: 07415 020861.