Category: News

The 2021 Census is due, with a national publicity beginning very soon. Households will be receiving their Census packs at the beginning of March. Census Day is itself 21st March, and people will have up to the beginning of May to complete.

Although it wasn’t certain whether or not the Census would actually take place (due to COVID-19), key planning by the Office for National Statistics has prevented it from being delayed. There has been very detailed planning to develop and to protect the safety of all those involved – whether Census staff or members of the public.

The main reason why there is the confidence that the Census can be successfully carried out is that it is Digital-first and the majority of respondents are expected to complete it in this way.

Please see the below attachment:

 

Mid Sussex District Council is offering free town centre parking after 3pm on Saturdays in the lead up to Christmas.

National lockdown measures will be lifted on Wednesday 2 December and local shops will be allowed to reopen. Mid Sussex District Council is encouraging people to support local shops and is incentivising the use of car parks during quiet periods.

Councillor Stephen Hillier, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth said:

“We always support our local shoppers and traders with discounted parking charges in the run up to Christmas, but the coronavirus pandemic means we’ll be doing things a little differently this year.

“As our local shops have been closed throughout November, the December trading period could be a busy one. We want to encourage shoppers to spread their visits out as much as possible, so we can maintain a Covid-19 secure shopping environment in our town centres.

“The use of our car parks drops dramatically after 3pm in the winter because it starts to get dark and temperatures plummet. So, we’re encouraging more people to shop during this time by offering free parking after 3pm.

“By shopping at a quieter time, not only will you save money, you’ll be helping to spread town centre visits out throughout the day, making it safer for everyone.”

The free parking offer will apply on Saturday 5 December, 12 December and 19 December 2020 in all Mid Sussex car parks. Parking in Mid Sussex is also completely free on Sundays.

Residents who are self-isolating can also support local traders via the Council’s Bringing Christmas home campaign. Unique and amazing Mid Sussex companies have listed their details online at www.midsussex.gov.uk/bringingchristmashome and shoppers can search for special local goodies which are available for home delivery.

For more information about parking across in Mid Sussex visit www.midsussex.gov.uk/parking

The NHS in Sussex would like to know about your experiences of health and care during the COVID-19 pandemic so it can shape and inform the way services are provided in the future.

Have you been affected by delays to your care, either because your appointment or treatment was delayed or postponed or because you decided to wait until the pandemic had eased before having your treatment or appointment?  Click here to tell us about your experiences and any decisions or changes you have made as a result.

Since the lockdown period due to Covid-19 began, people have made many changes to their lives and what they saw as “normal”. We would like to know more about the changes you made due to Covid-19, whether you think they are good for your wellbeing, or not.

• What have you STOPPED doing since the start of lockdown? (for example, you might have stopped travelling to work, smoking, or stopped eating healthily due to changing your routine)
• What have you STARTED doing since the start of lockdown? (For example, you might have started taking daily exercise, reading more, or eating more chocolate!)

What do you feel about these changes?  Will there be things you will carry on?  How has the easing of lockdown rules affected you?

Click to take share your experiences.

Mid Sussex District Council has been awarded £549,818 by the Government to help rough sleepers leave the streets and to not return to rough sleeping.

During the first lockdown on the Government’s direction, Mid Sussex District Council arranged emergency accommodation for 11 people who were sleeping rough. The £549,818 secured from the Government’s Next Steps Accommodation Programme, will support projects to help homeless people avoid returning to sleeping rough by finding them suitable long-term homes.

Mid Sussex District Council, Worthing Homes and homelessness charity Turning Tides will use the majority of the funding to to set up a new supported housing project for rough sleepers in the district. The project is expected to open in the new year.

The remaining £38,170 will be used to provide a winter support fund for rough sleepers, helping to meet the costs of emergency accommodation and providing rough sleepers with
the funds they need to get started in their new homes.

Councillor Andrew MacNaughton, MSDC Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning said:

“Homelessness and in particular sleeping rough has a hugely detrimental impact on people and their families, so it’s important that we do everything we can to help get peopleoff the streets.

“This funding will enable us to create suitable long-term accommodation for six people who otherwise would be living in temporary accommodation or lost to the streets. Huge credit must go to Worthing Homes, Turning Tides and Mid Sussex District Council, who have all worked together to secure this grant and make a real difference for our community.”

John Holmstrom, Chief Executive of Turning Tides said:

“We are truly grateful for the support from Worthing Homes, Mid Sussex District Council and MHCLG to make this new service possible. As a charity we are determined to reduce rough sleeping levels within the Mid Sussex district and this new service will support us in doing so.

“In Mid Sussex, there is a small but significant number of rough sleepers, many of whom have enduring and complex needs which require specialist support to thrive within their local community. This service will allow us to provide individually tailored support to those most in need, to develop Pathways out of homelessness and into secure accommodation.

“We are looking forward to opening this service and continuing to support our local community within Mid Sussex.”

Jackie Bligh, Chief Executive from Worthing Homes said:

“We are delighted to be able to help Turning Tides with this much needed project. Homelessness can happen to anyone for any number of reasons and it is humbling to see the life changes that happen once a person has been supported through the transition from sleeping rough to having a place to call home.”

For more information contact the Mid Sussex Housing Needs team on 01444 477574 or email housingadvice@midsussex.gov.uk

Christmas will be very different this year and Mid Sussex District Council’s ‘Bringing Christmas Home’ campaign aims to support local traders and has a strong community focus.

The new ‘Bringing Christmas Home’ campaign celebrates our communities and our local businesses, with a clear message that it can still be a magical experience. Despite the changes we hope it will bring a renewed focus on our communities, home-based Christmas traditions, simple pleasures, a slower pace and time well spent.

The first strand of the campaign will support our local traders. Until the shops re-open we want to help residents find inspiration among the unique and amazing companies we have here on our own doorstep by promoting the online, ‘click and collect’ and home delivery options of our local businesses. Businesses can add their details to our brand new www.midsussex.gov.uk/bringingchristmashome webpage and then shoppers can search for special local goodies and support traders and their staff by buying local.

“With the recent news of further lockdown it is an understandably worrying time for residents and local businesses,” said Councillor Stephen Hillier, Mid Sussex District Council Cabinet Member for Economic Growth. “We ​have been doing all we ​reasonably can to ​support our local economy and details of grants and funding are on our website.”

“To further support local traders we are pulling together online information highlighting the fantastic range of products and services available on our doorstep in Mid Sussex. I’d urge traders to add their details and shoppers to visit the site to help support our local shops and their workers.”

The second strand of the campaign emphasises the ‘home’ element. Lockdown has also seen many of us baking, crafting and generally “making”. The campaign is encouraging residents to share stories and Christmas traditions, whether that’s trimming the tree, cooking, baking, making decorations or frosty walks in the countryside; how will you be ‘Bringing Christmas Home’? You can share your stories on Twitter at #bringingchristmashome

Mid Sussex District Council has adopted a Design Guide to ensure future developments are sustainable, inclusive and enhance the unique character of the District

Mid Sussex is characterised by its historic settlements and beautiful countryside, much of which is protected for their special qualities. A fundamental objective of the Design Guide is to ensure that new developments are respectful of this context, are designed to a high standard, and have a positive influence on the way people experience the villages, towns and homes that they live, work and socialise in.

The new Mid Sussex Design Guide was formally adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document by Mid Sussex District Council on 4 November and is available to view on the Council’s website. The guide will assist landowners, developers, applicants and planners in assessing the design quality of schemes. It will also help to support decision making by the Council’s Planning Committees.

The Design Guide has been prepared in line with Government policy, which places increasing emphasis on design. It provides design principles for a variety of developments, from large scale housing schemes, employment and commercial to small projects like single houses, household extensions and building conversions.

Councillor Andrew MacNaughton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning said:

“Mid Sussex District Council has always believed in the importance of good design. When appropriate, we ensure schemes are assessed by a Design Review Panel and we run a regular Design Awards scheme to celebrate and showcase the best designed buildings in the District.

“Our new Design Guide puts forward principles and standards aimed at creating safe and attractive places that are sensitive to the special character of our area, but also allows for creative and innovative design solutions.

“High quality design is essential to deliver the kind of places that will provide economic and environmental wellbeing and quality of life for our residents both now, and in the future.

“This Design Guide provides clarity to those involved in development about what is expected in our area, ensuring that there will be many more buildings which we can celebrate in years to come”.