THE cost of staying in East Grinstead’s long-stay car parks will be reduced by Mid Sussex District Council on December Saturdays as a goodwill gesture in the run-up to Christmas.
The special tariff of £1 to park all day will be introduced on 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th December. Charges on other days will remain the same.
Special tariffs will also apply on the same days at the long-stay car parks in Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath.
EAST Grinstead has been chosen as one of the towns on next year’s historic round-Britain tour of the Olympic Torch.
The torch will leave Land’s End on 19 May, one day after the flame arrives from Greece, and will then be carried by 8,000 “inspirational torch bearers” on a 70-day journey of celebration around the UK.
Town Clerk Julie Holden called East Grinstead’s inclusion on the torch route “an iconic moment in the town’s history, which will live on in the memory of everyone who witnesses it ”.
Full details have yet to be released, but the torch will pass through the town on 17 July.
The public will be invited to line the route, after which local school children will be invited to take part in a sports event at East Court.
Deputy Mayor Liz Bennett, who as next year’s Town Mayor will perform the official welcome, said she was thrilled at the prospect of taking part in such an historic event.
“The Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympic Games will make next year one to remember for all of us, and I will be proud and honoured to represent the town during the events planned to mark both these landmark occasions.”
The torch, which is is being made by east London designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, will travel for 12 hours a day, for 70 days, before arriving at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony.
Thousands of people throughout the UK will have the chance to cheer it on its way, along a route which will be marked by concerts, shows and other celebrations.
Of the 8,000 torchbearers, 7,200 will be chosen from among people nominated by the public, and half the places are expected to go to young people between the ages of 12 and 24.
The origins of the Olympic torch relay go back to ancient Greece, when messengers were sent out from Olympia to announce the competition dates and call for a halt to all wars during the Games.
The relay was revived at the 1936 Berlin Games, and since then has grown into a popular curtain-raiser to the sporting events.
For the modern Olympic Games, the flame is lit in Olympia from the Sun’s rays using a parabolic mirror and then taken on a relay around Greece before going to the country hostingthe Games.
MID Sussex District Council is offering grant funding to local voluntary and community organisations which work to improve the lives of residents through sport, physical activities and cultural events.
With the London 2012 Olympic Games on the horizon, the District Council would like to give support to community projects which capture the spirit of the Games. If residents have ideas for exhibitions, performances, sporting or celebratory events, but lack the funding to complete the projects, they may apply for grant funding.
The Council hopes to create an Olympic Legacy by encouraging residents to come forward with inspirational projects which will be part of the community for many years to come.
The maximum grant award will be £500, however, most grants are expected to be in the region of £200-£300. The deadline for the acceptance of applications is Friday 25 November 2011 and all applications will be considered in January 2012. Applicants will need to demonstrate how their project meets Council priorities as well as detailing how their project will create an Olympic Legacy.
“The London 2012 Olympics is a wonderful opportunity for us to experience the Games on home soil and I am sure that there will not be many people who fail to be gripped by Olympic fever next summer,” said Councillor Christopher Snowling, Cabinet Member Health and Community.
“The 2012 Olympics Games promises to be a truly memorable spectacle with inspirational images of cultural harmony and sporting achievement which will capture the imagination of the nation. It is so important that we harness that enthusiasm for sport and culture locally by giving our residents opportunities to participate themselves, not just during the Olympic Games, but for many years to come. I hope that by offering this funding many organisations will come forward with proposals for exciting new sporting and cultural projects which will benefit our residents and leave a lasting legacy of the Olympic Games.”
For further guidance on the application process, or to download an application form, please visit www.midsussex.gov.uk/grants. Alternatively, please call Lin Parkinson, Mid Sussex District Council Community Development Officer, on 01444 477495.
EAST Grinstead Town Council is making grants available up to the sum of £500 towards the cost of new initiatives to encourage participation in sport.
The Town Council hopes to encourage new opportunities for East Grinstead residents to try sporting activities which will improve the health of those who take part.
Application forms are available from the Town Council’s East Court offices, and should be returned there by 30 November.
The Town Council is particularly keen to support sports initiatives which focus on junior participants and which are fully accessible to the disabled wherever possible.
Applications will be considered by the Finance and General Purposes committee in January.
MID Sussex District Council is making some changes to its collection of garden waste, to include an additional Saturday collection, in order to clear its waiting list, and accommodate the collection of up to 13,500 bins.
The changes will affect about 500 customers in the East Grinstead area and will be effective from Monday 28 November.
All affected customers will be informed, by letter, why the changes are being made, what their current collection day is, what their new collection day will be, and when their first collection on the new day will be.
A calendar with the new collection dates will also be included. All the relevant information will also be available on the MSDC website from 18 November. Customers currently on the waiting list (approximately 450) should have their garden bins delivered, weather permitting, by Christmas.
For further information please contact Joy Dyson on 01444 474706.
MID Sussex District Council is encouraging residents to visit organised fireworks displays this year because they are the safest way to celebrate the 5 November.
At organised displays, fireworks are handled by trained professionals and are kept at a safe distance from the crowd. They also help to minimise disruption for local residents because everybody is gathered in the same place, often away from built-up areas, instead of annoying their neighbours next door.
For some young children, older people and vulnerable members of the community, Bonfire Night can be an anxious time. The loud noises and explosions associated with back garden fireworks are closer to neighbouring properties and this can be unsettling, especially for those with pets, so Mid Sussex District Council is encouraging residents to attend an organised display instead and be considerate to others.
With 5 November coming up, bonfire and firework displays will soon be taking place all over the District. Organised firework displays are planned for Cuckfield and Lindfield on Saturday 5 November, as well as many other locations in and around Mid Sussex over the next few weeks.
In these tough economic times, organised displays also offer the best facilities and value for money. Organised displays are often free to attend or require just a small entrance fee, so they can work out far cheaper than buying fireworks for a personal display. Organised displays also produce a spectacular and often carefully choreographed show that would be impossible to create at home without significant financial outlay.
Mid Sussex District Council understands many residents will still want to set off their own fireworks and strongly recommends the advice on the safe handling of fireworks which has been given by the West Sussex Fire and Rescue service.
When using fireworks at home, residents are reminded to use the Fireworks Safety Code:
Sussex Police are also reminding local shops that it is an offence to sell fireworks to anyone under the age of 18 and that it is illegal for any person to throw, cast or fire any firework into any highway, street, thoroughfare or public place.
“The safest way to enjoy Bonfire Night is always to attend one of the big organised events,” said Councillor Christopher Snowling, Cabinet Member for Health and Community. “The shows can be spectacular and all the fireworks are handled by trained professionals.
“For those who choose to let off their own fireworks at home, it is important to remember that all fireworks are potentially very dangerous, if not handled properly. I hope that, by following the simple safety tips provided by West Sussex Fire and Rescue service, everybody will have a safe and enjoyable time this 5 November.”
TOWN Mayor John Saull will be attending the following events in November:
CHEQUER Mead will be celebrating 15 years as one of the south east’s premier arts centres in November, and the whole town has been invited to join the fun.
There will be a week of special events to mark the theatre’s birthday, including backstage tours, competitions and demonstrations, and a celebratory show on 12 November.
For details see the posters below, or check with the box office on 01342 302000.
THE Farmers Market is to continue as a weekly event after crisis talks between the stall holders and the Town Council to save it.
The former market manager Tony Martin had announced he was pulling out after stall numbers fell dramatically over recent months. But the remaining traders were keen to continue, and with the help of the Town Council have now reached an agreement which will enable them to remain in the High Street for the foreseeable future.
Town Clerk Julie Holden called Mr Martin’s decision "a great shame" but said the Council was fully behind the remaining traders, and would hope to encourage more quality stalls in the coming months.
Chris Veasey, who runs the fish stand with his father, welcomed the decision to carry on.
"The amount of rent we were being charged put a lot of people off coming to East Grinstead, but we hope that the new arrangements will prove fruitful," he said.
FOOTLOOSE is one of these feel-good family musicals which arrive at their inevitably happy ending via a plot which combines foot-stomping dance routines with great songs, some of which have become much-loved stand-alone hits.
The eighties film version was instantly popular, and the subsequent stage adaptation earned four Tony Award nominations.
In choosing Footloose to showcase the considerable talents of its young performers, Act One Beginners did themselves – and their audiences – very proud indeed.
Tim Hewitt has a strong, warm voice and his essential decency as Ren McCormack, the troubled teen unjustly labelled a troublemaker in Dullsville Bomont, made him an immensely likeable lead.
Sophie Karaolis put in a sassy performance as the rebellious preacher’s daughter Ariel Moore, and her Holding Out for A Hero was one of the show’s many highlights.
The Hero in question’s six-pack was another, and Tom Rowlinson’s shirt-ripping reprise in the finale earned roars of appreciation for his finely-chiselled chest.
A great dancer, Sophie also brought a real sense of pathos to her role as a misunderstood daughter rebelling against a father too locked in his own misery to notice hers.
Ian McCheyne and Alexandra Constable both gave touchingly accomplished performances as her grieving parents, and the scene in which they realise how much they still love each other, was a real shiver-down-the-spine-moment. Sweet-faced Katherine Stevens was also well-cast as Ren’s mother, torn between defending her son and wanting to fit into her new life.
There were some lovely moments too from Ariel’s five-strong coterie of giggly girl chums, and Jose Napper as Rusty gave a scene-stealingly terrific rendition of Let’s Hear it for the Boy.
The boy in question was Matt Harris as Willard, always spoiling for a fight, but still too shy to ask a girl to dance, and his endearingly funny portrayal of teenage angst was a delight, as was his Mama Says.
The principals were wonderfully well-served by their ensemble, who were step-perfect in some very tricky dance routines, and some great lighting effects down by the rail road tracks.
And when the entire audience got to its feet for the rip-roaring finale, I think it is fair to say that everyone had had a very good time indeed.
