Author: Andrew Taylor

16 – 22 February:  Gillian Lloyd in her first photography exhibition.

Gillian, an amateur photographer, has been lucky enough to witness wonderful wildlife living in their natural habitat at home in her garden and much further afield.

EAST Grinstead have beaten Beeston 8-5 in the 2012 Maxifuel Super Sixes Finals to earn their fourth consecutive indoor title.

Report and pictures from the official England Hockey in England website.

Men’s 2012 Super Sixes Final Result: East Grinstead 8 (6) – Beeston 5 (3)

THE crowd were in full voice as Beeston’s Adam Dixon got things under way in the 2012 final.  Neither team allowed the other to settle early on; Richard Potton had the first save to make but it was a straight-forward ask. Davenport had been in fine scoring form in the semi-final and after some skilful work by German Paddy Schmdit, Davenport fired home a powerful shot to give Beeston a welcome lead.

Glenn Kirkham won a penalty corner for East Grinstead in the fifth minute but Ben Hawes was quickly out to snaffle an Ashley Jackson shot. Chances were coming thick and fast as opportunities went begging at both ends, Glenn Kirkham making a last-ditch clearance for the defending champions. A cleverly-worked opportunity from Jackson saw the ball come back off the upright from a reverse shot.

In the ninth minute David De Prez got on the end of a Barry Middleton deflection to bring things back on level terms. Another stunning finish by De Prez put his side ahead after a lethal pass put of defence from Mike Holland. A third goal for East Grinstead came courtesy of  Daniel Koschyk who dinked his way through the opposition  for a great solo effort. Middleton intercepted a pass on half way to lay off to De Prez, who enjoyed his second of the match.

Continue reading “East Grinstead hockey champs take fourth consecutive title in Maxifuel Super Sixes championship”

THE town’s housekeeping team has been at work keeping the town pristine during the winter months, pressure-cleaning benches, and removing graffiti and fly-posting. They have also inspected the town’s twittens and cut back overgrowth where necessary.

TOWN Mayor John Saull will be rounding off his year in office with a Masked Ball (with dinner) in aid of his chosen charities, to be held in the Meridian Hall on 21 April.

Full details on the website soon.

Work to build a new public toilet building in the heart of East Grinstead town centre will start next week after planning permission was granted by Mid Sussex District Council.

Councillors unanimously approved the planning application at a meeting of the North Area Planning Committee in December 2011. Construction work will take place during the first few months of 2012 and the new toilet facilities will open to the public in the spring.

The new toilets will replace the current portacabin toilet block which is located in the southeast corner of the King Street Car Park in East Grinstead. Although functional and well used, the portacabin was only ever envisaged as a temporary measure.

At the meeting, planning committee members recognised the need for a permanent town centre toilet in East Grinstead. The new facility represents a significant improvement in design, with a pitched roof, exposed brickwork and plain tiling giving the building a traditional style that is in keeping with a historic market town like East Grinstead. It is considered that the new building will enhance the character and appearance of the area and that the provision of a purpose-built toilet facility in the town centre will significantly benefit the local community.

The new toilet facility will have distinct female and male areas, a separate wheelchair accessible toilet and a baby changing facility. Mid Sussex District Council will fund the construction of the new toilet facility with East Grinstead Town Council taking on the management, maintenance and cleaning of the new public convenience. The building will be constructed using traditional local materials and the brickwork will be sourced from a local site in West Hoathly.

“With the Olympic Games taking place just up the road in London this summer and the prospect of the Bluebell Railway arriving in the town, we could soon be welcoming a significant influx of tourists to the area,” said Councillor Pru Moore, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Sustainability. “East Grinstead is a charming market town that’s steeped in history and that’s likely to prove attractive to visitors. If we want people to choose East Grinstead, and come back for further visits, then we must offer first class facilities and new public toilets will provide a welcome boost in this regard.”

“I’m delighted that Mid Sussex District Council and East Grinstead Town Council have been able to work together to deliver this much needed amenity for the people of East Grinstead. With planning permission now in place we can get on with the construction process and, all being well, it will only be a matter of months before the people of East Grinstead have access to the brand new facilities.”

For more information about the East Grinstead town centre community toilet project, please contact David Harper, Mid Sussex District Council’s Business Unit Leader for Waste and Outdoor Services, at david.harper@midsussex.gov.uk or call 01444 477487.

The comments in today’s East Grinstead Courier and Observer article that ‘council decides to sell manor’ and ‘Town Council is selling East Court’ under the photo of the building are not correct.

There is no intention of any sale of East Court.

[content-image title=”East Court” src=”page_eastcourt_small.jpg” link=”page_eastcourt.jpg”]

Here follows the response from East Grinstead Courier and Observer:

Dear Julie and Norman

I’m writing to express my sincere apologies about a mistake in today’s Courier & Observer.

You may have heard we had a big power cut on Tuesday which set us back three hours and left us short of time to fill the paper.

Things were then done in such a rush that I did not notice a serious error when I checked over our pages before sending them to press yesterday – our production team has misread Gemma’s story about the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and wrongly thought that East Court was being sold off, instead of the Parish Halls, when writing the picture caption and the ‘strap’ under the headline.

Unfortunately, as is the case with almost all local newspapers these days, the design and layout of our paper is all carried out in a centralising ‘subbing hub’ based in Essex. So inevitably a lot of mistakes are made by those people who are operating from the Essex office and do not know East Grinstead or its issues.

But it is my fault for not picking up on it. I should have spotted it – and I am very sorry if it causes you to receive any strange telephone calls as a result. Please feel free to direct any complaints or confusion my way.

I will of course write a correction to be published in next week’s paper.

Perhaps you may like to forward this email to all the councillors to help them fend off any complaints they receive from residents.

Again, sincere apologies. I am so angry at myself for missing this – I will be much more meticulous in future.

Claire.
Claire Cromie | News Editor | 01293 597614

RUNNERS have been invited to take part in a unique three-part Marathon which will take place in Mid Sussex over the May Bank holiday weekend.

The Sussex Living Marathon Weekend, which has the backing of East Grinstead, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath Town Councils, and the Mid Sussex District Council, will see the traditional Marathon distance divided amongst the three towns, over three days.

Hundreds of runners are expected to tackle the courses along routes which will be as far as possible traffic-free, using footpaths and trails around the towns.

Continue reading “Ready, steady – run!”

TOWN tourist officer Simon Kerr made a seasonal appearance on the BBC last month to recall that Good King Wenceslas, one of the world’s most famous Christmas carols, was written in East Grinstead.

There can be few people whose Boxing Day activities are better known or more spiritually uplifting than those of the “good” King, because while most of us settle for a day of cold turkey, lukewarm levity and a rerun of Only Fools and Horses on 26 December, the eponymous monarch was made of altogether sterner – and saintlier – stuff.

Continue reading “Good King puts East Grinstead on the global Christmas map”

Brambletye School Annual Art Exhibition
20 January to 1 February
Admission: Free