TOWN Mayor Nick Hodges joined the High Sherriff of West Sussex, town councillors, Town Clerk Julie Holden and community leaders at the Civic Service held at St Swithun’s on Sunday 29 September.
Photo © Julie Holden
Author: Andrew Taylor
Friends of Chequer Mead are full of Eastern Promise
Town Mayor presents Bloom Committee Awards
TOWN Mayor Nick Hodges was at the Meridian Hall on Friday to present the town’s best gardeners with their Awards from the East Grinstead in Bloom Committee.
Julie Mockford, chairman, said it had been a wonderful year for the town which took nine awards in the South and South East in Bloom competition earlier this month including Best Allotments, Best War Memorial and a Silver Gilt for the Town.
Friday’s Champion of Champions was Mary Birmingham who took the award for 26 The Stennings.
Arthur Weller – collecting the South & South East in Bloom award for Best Allotment.
Tim Baker – Director of the Bluebell Railway collecting his award for Commercial Premises (3rd place)
Kevin & Noreen Daniels – 26 Buckhurst Way – 1st Place Micro Garden
Margaret Cook – collecting the prestigious Doreen Munt Memorial Cup for her beautiful front garden
East Court Grounds Team collecting their Award for all their hard work at East Court this year.
Mary Birmingham of 26 The Stennings collecting her Champion of Champions award.
Cancelled – Great War Talk ‘East Grinstead’s First Casualties’
TOMORROW’S talk at the town library by Tim Stanton has been cancelled due to ill health. Tickets can either be refunded or rebooked for the talk when it is rescheduled.
Linden Homes Hill Place Farm public exhibition
Consultant appointed for the next stage of the Neighbourhood Plan process
East Grinstead Town Council is pleased to confirm that it has appointed Kember Loudon Williams (KLW) as the planning consultant for the next phase of the Neighbourhood Plan work. The Tunbridge Wells based consultant will assist the Council in compiling the evidence base for policies and scoping as needed to bring a revised plan to a second public consultation in spring 2015.
Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Cllr Whittaker said “KLW have an excellent reputation and experience in strategic planning which will greatly assist with the particular complexities that face the East Grinstead Plan. We are building on the draft work of the Council with the previous consultant, taking on board public comments from the first round of consultation and the health check, with the aim that the new draft is able to progress successfully through to the examination and referendum stages later in 2015. We are very much looking forward to the added expertise that KLW can add to this process. ”
The Council in the meantime has been busy working on a draft planning policy position statement document as a holding position, to indicate the important factors that will be reflected in the final plan. This draft policy document is currently being considered by members and will be brought to a future Finance and General Purposes Committee
Mid Sussex District Council paves the way for Ashplats Wood improvements
MID Sussex District Council, in partnership with East Grinstead War Memorial Limited, has announced a series of improvements to the pathways at the popular Ashplats Wood and East Court in East Grinstead that will make it easier for local people to enjoy the beautiful woodland surroundings.
Ashplats Wood and the grounds of East Court is a 40 hectare site managed and maintained by Mid Sussex District Council on behalf of East Grinstead War Memorial Limited and both parties have recently agreed to extend the arrangement for the next 125 years by signing a new lease. This long-term partnership will enable the Council to progress with future improvements that will make Ashplats Wood an even more attractive place for families, dog walkers and nature lovers.
The Council has already started work on a surfaced 2.5 kilometre circular path that will provide an all year round surface for local people. The majority of the path will be laid with crushed stone, in the meadows, strips will be mown to create smooth walkways and in areas of the woodland that can become wet and boggy there will be raised boardwalks and bridges to allow walkers to have access even in wet weather.
“Ashplats Wood in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a stunning part of Mid Sussex and is a great place to enjoy a relaxing walk,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Planning. “The location is so convenient because it’s right on the edge of town but it’s so quiet that you would never know East Grinstead was so close. This ancient woodland is such a tranquil place to be and provides the perfect escape from the intense pace of day-to-day life.
“Our new pathways will allow visitors to reach previously inaccessible areas and see everything that Ashplats Wood has to offer. From closed woodland to open fields, natural ponds to wildflower meadows, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”
Research in 2007/8 found that increased recreational use at the nearby Ashdown Forest has the potential to disturb the protected birds, such as the Dartford warbler and European nightjar, which nest on the ground. Natural England has advised the Council that one of the best ways to protect Ashdown Forest from increasing visitor numbers is to provide alternative areas for people to visit.
Working with East Grinstead War Memorial Limited, Mid Sussex District Council has identified Ashplats Wood as an area of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) to the Ashdown Forest and these improvements will encourage people to visit the wood, helping to protect Ashdown Forest in the longer term. Further improvements are planned for the future and Mid Sussex District Council and East Grinstead War Memorial Limited will consult with the Town Council and other interested groups to agree a rolling 10 year conservation and management plan.
“We are delighted that this new lease for most of the East Court Estate has been successfully concluded,” said Phillip Baker, Chairman of East Grinstead War Memorial Limited. “The arrangement will ensure a significant and steady flow of funds over coming decades that will not only finance scheduled improvements to the major paths in the short term, but will also be available to maintain the Estate well into the 22nd century. The future of East Court and Ashplats Wood as a green open space for the people of East Grinstead is now secured.”
For more information about the planned improvement works at Ashplats Wood contact the Mid Sussex District Council Landscapes team on 01444 477392 or email parksopenspaces@midsussex.gov.uk.
Ashplats Wood and East Court estate designated as a SANG
MID Sussex District Council advised the East Grinstead Town Council at a hastily convened meeting on 10 September, that an extended 125 year lease for use of the Ashplats Woods and grounds was signed by them last week with the East Grinstead War Memorial Company. This will lead to the lands becoming a future SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space) a designated alternative to the Ashdown Forest for residents to exercise themselves and their dogs.
The District Council have asked the Town Council to put forward two representatives to sit on a steering group for the ongoing management of the SANG and this will be considered by the Finance and General Purposes Meeting on 25 September.
Over the next six months or so, the Steering Group will consider and agree contributions towards maintenance and ongoing management of common areas, signage and layouts to ensure that the public understand where the SANG is and how it is to be used. One of the most important issues is the car parking arrangements. The lands owned by the East Grinstead Town Council are reserved exclusively for the use of visitors to and hirers of the Town Council buildings and events , and will not be available for users of the SANG.
Cllr Rex Whittaker leader of the Town Council said: “The East Court arrangements are crucial to maintain and control properly for the Council, as hirers have become more frequent the use of the car park by the public using the MSDC leased lands, or walking in to town has caused friction. Signs to advise people of the use of the car park were recently replaced to explain the use but not everyone abides by this. If the SANG exacerbates this problem then enforcement may have to be considered and this will be closely monitored going forward.”
The East Court car parks surrounding the buildings are owned by the East Grinstead Town Council and are strictly for the use of those using the buildings. The Town Council do not own nor maintain any lands to the west of the lower terrace. Visitors are already asked to keep dogs on a lead on the terraces and any users of lands below the terraces are required to park in the Mid Sussex car park (40 spaces free of charge) alongside the pavilion (access road by the ambulance station).
Town Mayor supports cancer fund
TOWN Mayor Nick Hodges will be attending The Biggest Ever Coffee Afternoon at the Imberhorne Way headquarters of G&G Vitamins at 2pm on 26 September.
Coffee and cake are on offer at the event which is one of many going on nationwide to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Paul Daniels back at Chequer Mead in October
PAUL Daniels and Debbie McGee burst onto Britain’s TV screens in 1979.
BBC’s The Paul Daniels Magic Show topped the ratings and he became the most successful TV magician of the 20th century aided and abetted by ‘the Lovely Debby McGee’.
And Paul and Debbie will be back at Chequer Mead on 18 October with an evening of their favourite magic tricks and some brand new illusions never performed in public before.
Their last tour From Legend to Leg End, performed at Chequer Mead in January, sold out, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £18.50/concessions £15. Family tickets available. Chequer Mead Box Office is 01342 302000.
