Author: Andrew Taylor

Mid Sussex District Council is running a six week public consultation from Monday 3 July 2017 to find out what local people think about dog control measures in Mid Sussex.

Mid Sussex has a number of Dog Control Orders in place to protect the local environment and deter irresponsible dog ownership. However, the current Orders expire later this year and Mid Sussex District Council will be replacing them with Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in October.

The Council is proposing a simple transfer of all existing powers under the Dog Control Orders over to the new PSPOs. The only proposed change is to extend the Maximum Number of Dogs (6) Order to all Council owned nature reserves, adjoining land and some of the larger recreation grounds.

“With the legal transfer of Dog Control Orders taking place in October, this is the perfect time to talk to us about dog control,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Health and Community. “We’re keen to hear from everyone, so please use this consultation as an opportunity to let us know if you like the current arrangements or if there’s anything you would like to change.”majority of dog owners in Mid Sussex are responsible, pick up their dogs’ mess and keep them under proper control. However, there is a small minority who don’t and this can create problems. The Public Space Protection Orders enable fixed penalty notices to be issued by an authorised officer when they see an offence occur. These are set at £75 or £50 if paid within 10 days.

The proposed Public Space Protection Orders will cover:

Fouling of Land by Dogs

In order to reduce the amount of dog fouling in Mid Sussex, owners are required to clean up their dogs’ mess. This order is applied to any land which is open to the air and to which the public have access.

Dog Exclusion

To prevent people or the dogs themselves being injured as a result of sharing activity space, dogs should be excluded from all fenced children’s play areas and fenced recreational areas such as tennis courts, bowling greens and multi activity areas owned by Mid Sussex District Council.

Dogs on Lead by Direction

In order to stop a loose dog disrupting sporting or community events or disturbing local wildlife, dogs must be placed on a lead if requested to do so by an authorised officer. This order applies to Mid Sussex District Council owned land on which formal sports and community events regularly take place, and all designated nature reserves.

Dogs Specified Maximum Amount (6)

The number of dogs one person can take onto Council nature reserves or selected large parks should be restricted to six.

The consultation will be available to view at the Mid Sussex District Council Reception or on the Council’s website www.midsussex.gov.uk/dogcontrolconsultation for six weeks starting on Monday 3 July 2017.

The Town Council have discovered a vandalised tree in their grounds which will require felling due to the extent of the damage.

The tree was discovered on 15th June and the damage would have occurred at some point during the previous day or so. The tree which is decades old has been stripped of bark along one side and a log was used to batter the exposed tree. The extent of the damage suggests this was a deliberate, methodical and sustained piece of criminal damage committed by one or more than one person.

The tree alongside the East Court War memorial but on the grounds owned by the Town Council has been inspected by a tree surgeon who has stated that the extent of the damage is irreparable and the tree will have to be felled.

Cllr Adam Peacock, Chairman of the Amenities and Tourism Committee said “This is very sad, but also infuriating that person or persons felt they had the right to vandalise the tree in this manner. The tree is owned by the Town Council who will now have to pay for the removal and replanting of a new tree at the tax payers expense. The cost to the environment is so much more. We are angry that someone would destroy a tree in this way. We have had some incidents of criminal damage on the estate, of which this is the worst, in the past few weeks. It is not free land and everyone else will have to pay to replace and repair damage done”

The Council has reported the matter to the police as criminal damage and ask if anyone has knowledge as to who was responsible to share this with the Police or the Council who will consider pressing charges unless recompense can be made.

The AGM is taking place on Monday 31 July from 6.30-8.30pm, at Meridian Hall, East Court, East Grinstead.

In addition to hearing from Brian Bisase and Mark Cutler about rebuilding lives affected by Head and Neck Cancer, you will have the opportunity to find out more about our achievements over the last year and plans for year ahead.

Please book your place online at https://qvhrebuildinglives2017.eventbrite.co.uk or by calling Hilary Saunders on 01342 414200 before Thursday 27 July.

Information is on QVH’s website http://www.qvh.nhs.uk/2017/06/youre-invited-to-our-annual-general-meeting/ and we’re asking everyone to sign up via Eventbrite just so we have an idea of numbers.

Mid Sussex District Council is encouraging residents to nominate community heroes, who give up their time to make Mid Sussex a better place, for a prestigious Community Service Award.

Each year the Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council hosts the Community Service Awards to recognise people in Mid Sussex who give their time unselfishly for the benefit of others. The 2017 Awards and Afternoon Cream Tea will take place at the South of England Showground, Ardingly on Sunday 17 September.

Nominations for the Community Service Awards are submitted by Town and Parish Councils, recognising residents who dedicate their time, skills and energy to enhance the quality of community life. The Council is publicising the event in advance to encourage people to contact their local Councillor if they know of people who gives up their time unselfishly for the benefit of others.

“If you know of someone whose dedication to the local community deserves recognition then please come forward and nominate them for one of our Community Service Awards by contacting your local Councillor,” said Councillor Bruce Forbes, Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council.

“We have so many unsung heroes in Mid Sussex who enrich our lives by reaching out to their neighbours, raising money for good causes and giving up their time to help others. This is our opportunity to show them just how much we appreciate everything they do for our community and give them the recognition they so richly deserve.”

Councillors should submit nominations to Mid Sussex District Council by Friday 30 June 2017, so it is important for people to contact their local Councillor before that date.

For more information contact Lucinda Joyce, Mid Sussex District Council Democratic Services Administration Officer on 01444 477225 or email Lucinda.Joyce@midsussex.gov.uk.

Are you supporting a relative or friend?

Come along to Glen Vue for tea, cake and chat on Thursday 22nd June 2017, 2pm to 4pm

Just drop in for a friendly informal chat with the team. Information on support, equipment and groups going on around East Grinstead for you, or for those you support and care for, will be available.

Glen Vue Centre,
Railway Approach
East Grinstead
RH19 1BS

Should anyone suffer a cardiac arrest while visiting the East Court Estate in East Grinstead their chances of survival are now greatly increased. A new defibrillator has been installed outside the public toilet block. The life -saving device can be accessed by code after a call to the emergency services should the operator deem it an appropriate course of action.

There has been a campaign since 2015, spearheaded by East Grinstead’s Steve Morris, to increase awareness of CPR and Defibrillators. He has dedicated many hours to see 24/7 defibrillators installed in and around the town for community use. The bright yellow boxes can now be seen in various locations including the High Street, Queen’s Walk, the library and Estcots Primary School.

Steve’s own life was saved by one operated by quick thinking staff at the Kings leisure centre. Please support the campaign in any way you can and those wanting to be trained in the use of the defib. You can find information on Facebook ‘Survival Can be Shocking’.

The device at East Court was jointly funded by East Grinstead Town Council and Mid Sussex District Council and was officially unveiled on Friday by East Grinstead Town Mayor, Cllr Mrs Julie Mockford and Chairman of MSDC Cllr Bruce Forbes.

Sir Nicholas Soames retains his seat as the elected Parliamentary Member for the Mid Sussex Constituency following the result of the General Election on 8^th June.

The General Election results for the Mid Sussex Constituency are as follows:

• Sir Nicholas Soames (Conservative Party) 35082 votes – Elected
• Greg Mountain (Labour Party) 15409 votes
• Sarah Jane Osborne (Liberal Democrat Party) 7855 votes
• Chris Jeremy (Green Party) 1571 votes
• Toby Brothers (UK Independence Party) 1251 votes
• Baron Von Thunderclap (Official Monster Raving Loony Party) 464 votes

On Election Day (8 June 2017), there were 69 polling stations in the Mid Sussex District, which were open all day from 7am -10pm. The total number of people eligible to vote in the Mid Sussex Constituency was 84,685 and the turnout was 73.3%.

Two Mid Sussex District Council by-elections for the Hassocks Ward also took place on the same day. The results of these were as follows:

• Michelle Binks (Conservative Party) 2023 votes – Elected
• Susan Margaret Hatton (Liberal Democrat Party) 1931 votes – Elected
• Gemma Jane Stockford (Liberal Democrat Party) 1536 votes
• William Matthews (Labour Party) 1042 votes
• Harry William Mitchell Young (Labour Party) 812 votes
• Vivienne Alloy (Green Party) 512 votes

Full election result details are also available on the Mid Sussex District Council website at www.midsussex.gov.uk.

Following complaints to the Town Council regarding people cycling on the pavements, East Grinstead Town Council will be placing the following signs around the town. Please be considerate to others, and do not cycle on the pavements.

Please don’t cycle on the pavement!

Rule 64 of the Highway Code: You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

The local Dementia Action Alliance will be attending an open day at the Care UK home at Millview on Friday 16 June allowing businesses to find out how they can make their businesses more dementia friendly to their customers and staff who may be diagnosed. They can also support East Grinstead to become more Dementia Friendly by joining the alliance.  It costs nothing but does need a commitment to an action plan.

Members of the Alliance will be at the Centre on Friday from 11-3 to help sign up. They will also be able to discuss the role of the Alliance and arrange free dementia awareness sessions for businesses or members of the public.

Care UK have organised the day and there will be other stalls with information about services available in and around East Grinstead.

At 3 pm there will be a screening of the Alive Inside film to highlight living with dementia. It is a powerful and emotional film often moving the watcher to tears; it won the 2014 Sundance Festival Audience Award and is well worth watching.

There is no charge to attend the day organised by Care UK and all are invited to pop in and see the stands and chat about dementia.

For more information about the East Grinstead Dementia Action Alliance contact:  Julie Holden (East Grinstead Town Council) j.holden@eastgrinstead.gov.uk or Kate Bennett (Visit East Grinstead) kate@visiteastgrinstead.co.uk.

For more information on the Dementia Day at Millview contact Amy Pepperrell amy.pepperrell@careuk.com

The first of the town Council run East Court Live! Picnic concerts, took place on the terraces at East Court on Sunday 4 June. The weather was fantastic and people of all ages spread themselves around the grounds to settle back to listen an  afternoon of music with an Americana theme. Over a four hour period 1pm to 5pm the audience was entertained by four performances.

First up was the East Grinstead Ukulele band with 26 members. They were joined by one very recognisable lady, Margaret (known for bringing her flags to every town event) draped in the American flag she sat to the side of the stage and strummed along.

Following them came Underhill Rose a three piece all female group from North Carolina. All three were accomplished musicians, guitar, double base and fiddle and sang a mixture of their own compositions and a few covers.

Next came The Allen Family Band who specialised in ‘Bluegrass’ very American in sound, but in fact are from Kent and last up, Lauren Housley. A very accomplished performer from Manchester she completed the Americana theme, again a mixture of her own songs and covers.

‘It is fantastic to see so many family groups coming together and enjoying themselves in the grounds at East Court. Every year we are amazed at the lavish picnics that people bring along and as we are working it always makes us feel very hungry’ said Town Promotions Manager Dawn Spalding referring to the group of Council staff that put the day together. ‘A highlight for me is seeing Margaret Cook strumming away with the Ukulele band. Last year she got up on the stage to play her ‘air guitar’ so this year we were pleased to see her sitting down!’

The East Court Live! team were helped to source the performers by 2205 Promotions who host Americana music nights on a regular basis at the Dorset Arms.

The next East Court live will be held at East Court on Sunday 2 July and information can be found by calling Tourist Information on 01342 410121 or email tourism@eastgrinstead.gov.uk. You can also visit the website www.eastcourtlive.co.uk, Twitter @eastcourtlive and Facebook eastcourtlive