Author: Andrew Taylor

We are doing our best to clear pavements and MSDC staff are also helping. We are unable to refill salt bins today – we need more supplies from WSCC and the time to get to the bins.

Please note that from 1 April the Town Council will no longer be able to offer you the service of administering free bus  passes/alternate free railcard  for senior citizens or disabled persons.

The Town Council has been an access point for many years however from 1 April 2013 we have been advised that these can only be applied for  by downloading an application form from the WSCC’s website (buspasses@westsussex.gov.uk) or collecting one from any WSCC library/Help Point, and all District and Borough Council Offices.

Once these forms are completed residents will need to submit their form along with copies of the required documentary evidence and a recent passport sized photo to PO Box 212, Waterlooville, PO7 6ZN (this address will be printed on all forms).

A new dedicated phone line for bus pass/free railcards queries will be available to all residents after 1 April 2013 (0845 0751018).

Please note that this does not apply to the  senior persons/disabled persons subsidised annual rail cards which can still be obtained from the Town Council offices for the reduced cost of  £20.50 rather than the full £28.00.  The reduction is met partly from Mid Sussex District Council (£4.20) and East Grinstead Town Council of (£3.30) per pass.

Residents will know that the Town Council have been taking concerns of noise complaints back to the official communication groups for Gatwick.

Officers are encouraging residents who wish to make complaints to record details of disturbances and periodically send them in to the Town Council (perhaps quarterly to the townclerk@eastgrinstead.gov.uk email) along with reporting it to Gatwick’s Flight Performance Team (FPT) either by email or telephone, The telephone number to ring is 0800 393070. The web site is noise.line@gatwickairport.com.

Please do not report individual complaints to the Town Council, these must be made direct to Gatwick, but we would be pleased to have copies of your records to build up any evidence that would be needed to try to bring forth a change in the future.

Wednesday 13th March, 4.30pm – 6.30pm at Central Sussex College’s Crawley campus

You can register for apprenticeship vacancies, pick up hints and tips on CV writing and interview techniques, and talk to the experts about becoming an Apprentice.

If you’re a business thinking of employing an apprentice, come along and find out more about the range of training available and how we can support you.

We’re working with Gatwick Airport Ltd to help them recruit apprentices – jobs available now!

Bring your CV along to this advice session and apply.

Call: 01293 442205/206 or find out more at http://www.centralsussex.ac.uk/news/eventdisplay.asp?eventid=141

NOT a single complaint was made against East Grinstead Town Council, or any of its 18 councillors, during 2012 according to a disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Council Leader Norman Webster called the findings a reflection of the Council’s “hardworking attitude and its commitment to residents”.

“We are pleased that we have been able to address the concerns of residents and business people to the degree that they have not found it necessary to lodge any formal complaints,” he said.

“We appreciate the feedback which we receive from people, as it certainly assists us in establishing priorities for the town – the Neighbourhood Development Plan consultation process has been a good example of this two-way communication.”

* The Town Council’s responsibilities include burial grounds, street furniture and the maintenance of public spaces.

AS the elections returning authority, Mid Sussex District Council is conducting a review of two East Grinstead wards, which will be the subject of a 12-week consultation running from 8 March until 31 May 2013.

The proposals are for:

• The movement of the Imberhorne/Baldwins ward boundary to bring it into line with the District Council boundary.
• The merger of the wards of Town North and Town South back into a single ward known as Town.

East Grinstead Town Council has been contacted to formally submit their views on the proposals, as has West Sussex County Council.

Following the consultation, proposals will be considered by the Council’s Leader and Service Delivery Scrutiny Committee on 2 July and then by Full Council on 24 July 2013. Any changes to be made to the electoral arrangements will come into effect at the next full elections of Parish and Town councillors in May 2015.

Full details are available on the Mid Sussex District Council website at www.midsussex.gov.uk/communitygovernancereviews where there is detailed information about the reviews and consultation arrangements.

Monday 11 March 10am – noon at Glen Vue Wareland House, Railway Approach, East Grinstead RH19 1BS

DROP in for a cuppa and have a chat about eating and exercising to keep warm, and affordable warmth in the home. Leave with a goody bag of information, a room thermometer and some soup.

You can expect to talk to a number of people including:

• Committee Members of Mid Sussex Older People’s Council
• Val, aged 75, still teaching yoga, and
• a representative from the Sussex Energy Centre.

If you would like more information please contact Anita Wright, Development Officer, Mid Sussex Older People’s Council, on the Mid Sussex Older People’s Council answerphone on 01444 242 760 or email anita@msopc.org.uk.

* Grateful thanks to the Sussex Community Foundation who gave MSOPC a grant for this event, and Glenvue who have provided the accommodation.

SEVEN East Grinstead car parks are among 17 in Mid Sussex to have retained a prestigious Police award for safety and security following a recent assessment by an independent inspector.

The car parks have been recognised as examples of excellent parking design and will proudly display the ‘Park Mark’ sign of quality for the next 12 months.

The British Parking Association, on behalf of Sussex Police, assessed the award-winning car parks. The assessors declared that all had measures in place to deter criminal activity and create a safer environment for both the public and their vehicles. The Police checked that the car parks are properly managed, maintained and have appropriate levels of surveillance, lighting, signage and cleanliness – all of which contribute to reducing the opportunity for crime.

Crime records show only 13 crimes were reported across all 17 Park Mark car parks in the past year. With 1.4 million vehicles passing through the car parks each year, the chance of becoming a victim of crime is extremely unlikely, around 1 in 100,000.

Mike Bibby, Area Manager for the British Parking Association, said: “It gives me great pleasure, once again, to commend Mid Sussex District Council on this achievement and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all personnel involved. Users of these facilities can be confident the council is making every effort to ensure their safety, and that of their vehicles, is taken seriously.

“The working practices of the Council, and the actual condition of their car parks, is an excellent example for other Local Authorities as to what can be achieved.”

Councillor John de Mierre, Mid Sussex District Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development agreed.

“Securing these Park Mark awards for another year shows our commitment to protecting residents from crime and making our car parks as safe as possible. Figures show that instances of crime in our car parks are exceptionally rare and I hope that motorists take confidence from these Park Mark awards, knowing that nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of the people who use our parking facilities.”

* The ‘Park Mark’ is part of the UK Police flagship initiative ‘Secured by Design’ that promotes crime reduction through effective design and security standards in public buildings, roadways, footpaths and car parks as well as private houses.

The award-winning car parks in East Grinstead are :

• Chequer Mead
• Christopher Road
• King Street
• Norton House
• Queensway
• Railway Approach
• Vicarage Road

TOWN Mayor Liz Bennett has unveiled a series of new signs to guide visitors around Ashplats Wood.

It is hoped that the signs, produced in a joint project by East Grinstead War Memorial Ltd, the Ashplats Conservation Group and Mid Sussex District Council, will guide visitors  around the ancient woodland which borders the lower end of East Court, and explain more about the history of the area which has been actively managed for the past four centuries.

* To join the volunteers who help to manage the wood see the website at www.ashplats.org

Town Mayor Liz Bennett cuts the ribbon on one of the new signs at Ashplats Wood
(Picture courtesy of the East Grinstead Courier and Observer)

TOWN Mayor Liz Bennett led more than 700 walkers along the Bluebell line from East Grinstead to Kingscote in a fundraiser which raised £50,000  for the historic steam railway.

Conditions for the walk were freezing which meant the ground was hard underfoot instead of the mudbath of recent weeks which had necessitated calling the walk off twice before.

But with conditions perfect, the walkers enjoyed their last chance to walk the length of the line before the first train steams into East Grinstead station at the end of March – and raised twice as much money as had been initially hoped.