Author: Andrew Taylor

On 17 October East Grinstead station welcomed a volunteer team from the DfT who had come to help clear the station’s extensive flower beds.  The long, very hot summer had caused a lot of growth but had also damaged a many of the plants and our Station Partner Andrew Morris had been left with an enormous task to battle the beds back to their former prize winning glory.

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Help was desperately needed so the DfT’s Rail Digital Services team stepped in and spent a day chopping, weeding, clearing, sweeping and bagging up great piles of garden waste.   The station staff as usual, couldn’t have been more helpful and welcoming even when we trampled mud through their immaculate station and the station coffee shop joined in by offering a huge discount on elevenses.

Social media ‘liked’ the activity, passers-by stopped to chat and congratulate the team on their hard work with one lady even handing a tub of chocolates to the workers as a thank you.
A great day and hopefully not too many sore backs the morning after!

 

Travelodge also announces it is looking for eight more hotel sites across West Sussex. This level of expansion would represent an investment of £65 million for third party investors and create 160 new jobs.

On Wednesday 24^th October, the Mayor of East Grinstead, Councillor Rex Whittaker, joined Tony O’ Brien, Travelodge UK Development Director to officially open East Grinstead’s first Travelodge hotel.

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East Grinstead Travelodge a multi-million investment for the landlord and as created 17 new jobs. It is located on 2 Little King Street, East Grinstead, RH19 3DJ,and is the company’s 568 hotel and 11^th in West Sussex.

The hotel has been styled in Travelodge’s latest brand design and offers family, double and accessible rooms. Rooms feature the company’s signature luxurious king size Travelodge Dreamer bed which sits within a mood lighting surround and has bedside charging points. Family rooms also include two individual beds for children.

Travelodge rooms also feature LED ceiling lighting, providing a warmer ambience, a  ‘comfort cooling’ system, a 32 inch Freeview TV, WiFi and free in-room tea & coffee making facilities. Rooms are available from £29 and can be booked at www.travelodge.co.uk

At the official event opening of East Grinstead Travelodge, the company also announced that West Sussex is a key growth area and that they are actively looking for a further eight hotel sites across the county. Target locations include: Brighton, Bognor, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Hastings, Haywards Heath, Hove and Shoreham-by-the-Sea.

This level of expansion would represent an estimated investment of approximately £65 million for third party investors and create around 160 new jobs – it would also boost Travelodge’s portfolio to 19 hotels in West Sussex – cementing its position as the county’s largest budget hotelier.

Tony O’Brien, Travelodge UK Development Director said: “We are delighted to be celebrating our 30^th anniversary in West Sussex by opening our first hotel in East Grinstead. Over the last three decades, Travelodge has become famous across the county for offering unbeatable value and making travel affordable for everyone, which has helped attract more business and leisure travellers to the area.”

“As we look to the future, West Sussex is a target growth area for Travelodge. The local economy is growing at pace and with increasing visitor numbers to the area, there is still a shortage of good quality accommodation at a great value price. Therefore to meet this growing consumer demand we are actively looking for eight hotel sites in the following locations: Brighton, Bognor, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Hastings, Haywards Heath, Hove and Shoreham-by-the-Sea. Collectively this expansion programme would represent an estimated investment of approximately £65 million for third party investors and create around 160 new jobs.”

East Grinstead Travelodge is being managed by Ewa Stecko, who joined the company ten years ago as a Housekeeping team member. Ewa is one of thousands of Travelodge employees who have joined the company in  an entry level position and successfully climbed the career ladder into management – via the in-house management development programme.

 Ewa Stecko, East Grinstead Travelodge Hotel Manager said: “I am very proud to have built a fantastic team who are as passionate as me about delivering great customer service. Our hotel has got off to a flying start and customers are loving our rooms, especially the luxurious Travelodge Dreamer bed.”

“Looking ahead, business on the books is very encouraging and we are set for a very busy festive season. This is great news for the local economy too; as research shows our customers will spend £2 million annually with local businesses during their stay.”

The Mayor of East Grinstead, Councillor Rex Whittaker said: “I am delighted to welcome Travelodge to East Grinstead. This investment and job creation is a great addition to our business community. Having a branded budget hotel in the town centre will certainly help attract new business and leisure travellers to our historic town, which will give a great boost our local economy.”

East Grinstead is one of 20 hotels Travelodge expects to open this year.

About Travelodge

Founded in 1985, Travelodge is one of the UK’s leading hotel brands.  The hotel chain currently operates 568 Travelodge hotels in the UK, Spain and Ireland as of October 2018.  Travelodge welcomes approximately 19 million customers every year and over 12,000 colleagues work across the business.

West Sussex County Council Cybercrime/Online Safety Surveys are now LIVE!

The Community Safety & Wellbeing Team at West Sussex County Council has launched two surveys in order to gather feedback about people’s perceptions and experiences of cybercrime/online safety over the last 12 months. Responses to this survey will influence how we at the County Council shape our cybercrime/online safety support work for residents and local businesses in the future.

Personal Use Survey

We are looking for any West Sussex resident, aged 18 or above, to complete our Personal Use Cybercrime/Online Safety Survey https://haveyoursay.westsussex.gov.uk/communities-public-protection/cybercrime/

Business Survey

We are seeking views and information from business owners/managers to help support them https://haveyoursay.westsussex.gov.uk/communities-public-protection/cybercrimebusiness/

The surveys will be open for 5 weeks, and will close at midnight on Monday 19 November, 2018.

The Gigabit Voucher scheme is aimed at small to medium businesses with less than 250 employees and a turnover of 50 million euros or less and a balance sheet of 43 million euros or less to improve their broadband speeds in their main business premises.  The scheme is administered by the Department for Culture Media and Sports (DCMS) and provides funding towards the cost of connection of fibre broadband to the premises greatly enhancing broadband speeds up to 1 Gigabit.

How it Works

The business, if interested just needs to contact the registered suppliers of the scheme and get them to quote for connection to fibre broadband.  The supplier will then connect the business and apply for the voucher to offset the cost of the connection.  The supplier can claim up to £3000 per business for the connection costs and then provide up to gigabit speeds to the premises.  A group of businesses can also claim under the scheme making the connection costs free or vastly reduced in most circumstances.

Residential properties can also benefit from the voucher scheme but any bids from residential properties must be business led.  Suppliers can claim up to £3000 for the business and up to 6 residential properties each at £500 pounds.  I enclose some further information about the scheme as follows:

What does Gigabit mean

One gigabit is the same as 1,000 megabits – so it’s a big leap forward in connection speeds that could benefit you and your business into the future. Full fibre also supports symmetrical connections – meaning your upload and download speeds can be the same.

Details

Further details of the scheme can be found at the DCMS gigabit website https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/

And through our own business website http://www.businesswestsussex.co.uk/369-gigabit-broadband-for-businesses-scheme-.html

Contained within that website is a link to suppliers that have responded to a West Sussex County Council questionnaire and some have taken the time to speak to us so that we can understand what they can offer businesses in West Sussex.

http://www.businesswestsussex.co.uk/storage/downloads/resource_gigabitregisteredsuppliers_1539957311.pdf

They are all more than happy to speak to businesses, community leaders and individuals about whether the scheme would work for you.  All of them have given us their named contacts for the scheme and would happily advise you on what they can offer.

Further to our recent Bus Strategy Consultation, West Sussex County Council would like to know more about how passengers use our supported bus routes across the county.

Most routes in West Sussex are operated by bus companies on a commercial basis, and these are not part of this survey. However, some routes receive a subsidy from the county council to help them run.

Below is a list of bus services which are currently either wholly or partly subsidised by the county council and are included in the survey:

Arriva – 63

Brighton & Hove – 59A

Compass Travel – 8/8A, 16, 19, 30, 31, 33, 36A/36C, 39, 42, 52, 62, 64, 66A/66C, 67, 69, 71, 74/74A/74B, 85/85A, 89, 93, 96, 99, 100, 150

Metrobus – 61, 65, 84, 98, 200, 270, 272, 291, 606, 610, 692, 693

Stagecoach – 46, 47, 50, 54, 56, 70, 91/92/93

Shared Taxi Service – Billilinks (Villages Transport Link)

We are keen to gather feedback from passengers and others to help us understand the impact of any potential changes to the routes above.

Further information and the online questionnaire is available at www.westsussex.gov.uk/buses – or by calling 01243 642105 for a paper copy.

We would appreciate your help in promoting the consultation as appropriate. A promo poster is attached; please let me know if you require any hard copies.

Feedback on behalf of your organisation can be made by completing the consultation questionnaire or by email to: buses@westsussex.gov.uk

The closing date for responses is 18 November 2018.

The public toilets at East Court will be closed for 6 weeks from the 29th October for major refurbishment. We apologise for any inconvenience while we bring these conveniences up to scratch.

WWI touched the lives of millions across the globe 1914 – 1918 and to mark the centenary East Grinstead Town Council has commemorated the war with a series of events and tributes.

East Grinstead was especially touched by the events of World War 1, as can be witnessed from the inscriptions on the War Memorial located in the historic High Street.  During The Battle of Boar’s Head, Richebourg, France in 1916, commemorated as “The Day Sussex Died”, over 360 men died over a five-hour period.

This year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of war, a special service was held at East Grinstead’s War Memorial as well as a range of ‘living exhibitions’ were on display in the grounds of East Court Mansion, providing an insight into life at the time.

2014-2018 floral tributes High Street War Memorial flower beds

From recreating the ceremonial drums of the Royal Sussex Regiment, to displays of the poppy fields of Flanders, the Town Council has commemorated the anniversary of WWI with spectacular themed flower beds.

Roll of Honour

Each name from the East Grinstead war memorial has been remembered on the anniversary of their death with a post on the Council’s social media platform (@VisitEG) together with a mention on the Town Council web news under the headline “Lest We Forget”.

Edwardian Picnic; East Court Live!

3 August 2014: The town turned out to remember the last weekend of peace before war was declared on Tuesday, August 4 1914.

The East Grinstead Concert Band played popular tunes of the era and there were period games, Punch and Judy shows and have-a-go archery.  The ladies of the WI served up cream teas and many residents dressed in Edwardian costumes.

Lights Out

4 August 2014: East Grinstead Town Council and the East Grinstead branch of the Royal British Legion, held a candle-lit vigil 10pm – 11pm to mark the exact time Great Britain entered the ‘Great War’.

During the reading of war poems, members of the public were invited to place lighted candles around the War Memorial.

The inspiration for the event is the remark made by Sir Edward Grey, foreign secretary, on August 3 1914.

Knowing that war was imminent, he gazed out at gas lamps being lit in St James’s Park and said: “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

The Sidney Godley V.C. plaque unveiling

23 August 2014: East Grinstead was the first town in the UK to unveil one of the nationwide series of specially commissioned, centenary anniversary plaques. The plaques were produced as a Government initiative, to honour each holder of the Victoria Cross from WWI. Pte Sidney Godley V.C, born in East Grinstead, was the first private soldier to be awarded the medal for valour during the war.

Despite being twice wounded, Pte Godley held Nimy Bridge at Mons, allowing his comrades to escape. He was subsequently captured and told of his award whilst a prisoner of war eventually receiving his medal from King George V at Buckingham Palace in 1919. Among the attendees of the ceremony were Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Pte Godley’s great niece Mrs Susan Hill, and representatives of the Royal Fusiliers, the successors to Pte Godley’s regiment.  Also among the guests was Charlie MacKeith the designer of the Memorial plaque.

The Mayor of East Grinstead, Cllr. Nick Hodges, read the address.

The Day Sussex died: The Battle of Boar’s Head

30 June 2016: The Battle of Boar’s Head, Richebourg, France 30 June 1916 was a diversionary tactic prior to the Battle of the Somme which started on 1 July 1916. It was intended to persuade the German Command that it was this area, rather than the Somme, that was to be the centre of the major offensive. The Sussex Regiment broke through the German line and held their position for 30 minutes before being forced to retreat.

The Town Mayor lit a candle at the War Memorial at 3.05, the exact moment, 100 years earlier, the men of the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th Southdown’s Battalions went ‘over the top’.  In five hours 17 officers and 349 men were killed and over 1000 were wounded or taken prisoner.

The candle burned for the 5 hours of the battle.  A wreath laying ceremony with an honour guard took place at 7am and the candle was extinguished at 8.05am.

Armed Forces Day

30 June 2018:  A service of commemoration was held at the High Street War Memorial and was followed by a procession led by The East Grinstead concert band.

The band, dignitaries and members of the public processed to East Court where further activities, exhibitions and WWI & RAF100 displays took place.

Around the grounds of East Court Mansion were several displays of WW1, including a bi-plane, machine gun emplacement, recruitment tent and field blacksmith, as well as a large number of guns and artefacts from the period.

The whole event was lent an air of authenticity by the attendance of personnel in vintage military uniforms and on such a blisteringly hot day, gave a glimpse of what it must have been like, on a very personal level, to have lived during that time.

Remembrance Sunday and Beacon Lighting

11 November 2018: The roads in the centre of town will be closed for the Remembrance Day Service and Parade by the town branch of the Royal British Legion in East Grinstead High Street, following the traditional wreath-laying service at East Court.

Remembrance Sunday will be an opportunity for all the community to remember the Fallen, especially in the 100th anniversary year of the end of the Great War.

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