Category: News

AN exhibition marking 75 years of Art Deco in East Grinstead will be held at the town museum in Cantelupe Road from mid-June. Entry to the museum is free.

A TEAM of volunteers have started work to transform the area of rough land on the corner of the Lewes Road and Blackwell Hollow into a wild flower garden. Working around the bulbs which are a feature of the site during the Spring, the team was able to sow flowers which should bloom throughout the summer and well into autumn.

Town Council spokesman Keith Astley said: "This is a prominent area of land close to the town centre which should become a lovely feature throughout the summer months."

At Council on 4 April 2011 Members considered a final version of the Town Vision, prepared following consultation and engagement, including with residents and campaigning groups. The document can be viewed on the Notice Board. It was noted by Members that it would be up to the new Council administration, elected May 2011, to decide how and whether to take this forward, including in the context of a future neighbourhood plan following future guidance from the Department of Communities and Local Government arising out of the new Localism agenda, and Mid Sussex District Council, who are the local planning authority.

EAST Grinstead’s long history and architectural heritage are worthy of care by present and future generations, and so The East Grinstead Society was founded in 1968 as an independent unit to improve the town’s amenities and to protect its buildings and environs.

Members are mainly residents interested in the town’s quality of life and concerned for its future. The Society is a registered charity (No. 257870) and member of the Federation of Sussex Amenity Societies. It has a Constitution and is led by a committee elected annually by its members.

Meetings scheduled for the coming months are listed below and new members are always welcome. For more details about the Society see their website at http://www.eastgrinsteadsociety.org

6 April 6th: Spring Garden Tour, with tea at cost, led by the head gardener of Gravetye Manor
Maximum 16 places – reservations on 01342 321525.

15 April: Scattered squalor Downland homes
Unregulated housing along coastal South Downs between the wars by Geoffrey Mead

23 April: Town and country heritage – West Hoathly to East Grinstead
1pm Walk from St Margarets Parish Church, West Hoathly led by Christopher Wheatley.
For help with transport call 01342 321525.

1 May at 2.30pm: 19th & 20th century East Grinstead – Town Trail 2
A guided walk starting from the High Street War Memorial led by Angela Cole. For further information call 01342 321525.

2 May 10am: May Fair – Society stall in High Street
A chance to buy secondhand books, homemade jams, cakes and the Societys publications

20 May: The Balcombe Tunnel murder
by James Gardener.

28 May: Stained glass and convent architecture
At the Ashdown Park Hotel, Speldhurst and Tudeley, with pub lunch. Reservations/details on 01342 321525.

12 June: East Grinsteads Victorian heritage – Town Trail 3
At 2.30pm, a walk starting from Chequer Mead Arts Centre, led by Christopher Wheatley. For further information call 01342 321525.

17 June: The third Earl of Sheffield and his passion for cricket
by Brian Tester

THE Princess Royal visited the Meridian Hall in March to mark the 50th anniversary of the Blond McIndoe unit at the Queen Victoria hospital.

After landing on the East Court estate by helicopter Princess Anne was welcomed by a line-up which included Mayor Stephen Barnett.

Among the other guests at the reception were Dame Vera Lynn, hospital staff and six of the burned airmen who were among pioneering surgeon Archie McIndoes original guinea pigs.

The Princess saw a fly-past by a Spitfire, and unveiled a painting of a Spitfire by artist David Shephard which will hang in the Blond McIndoe unit.

Cllr Stephen Barnett, who chose the unit as one of the charities for his mayoral year, said the reception had been a wonderful way to mark the unit’s half a century, and the realisation of McIndoe’s dream for a research unit at the QVH.

THE High Street Traders ‘Spring Sunday’ will take place on 10 April.

The highly popular family day out has become an annual celebration of the town and its many attractions which this year will feature tasting sessions in two stores, competitions and one-day-only offers at many of the High Street shops.

The Bluebell Railway will be running viaduct trains to link with the vintage bus rides in the town and there will be stalls and other attractions to promote local organisation and London Road independent traders.

EAST Grinstead Town Council has published a comprehensive sports development plan for the town in conjunction with local sports clubs and secondary schools to focus attention on specific needs and attract external grant aid. 

The report found:

• A marginal deficiency of adult football pitches, even after schools sites were taken into account
• Unmet demand for junior football clubs and a shortfall of pitches
• Under-provision for cricket
• Good provision for rugby although additional need to cater for public demand
• Fewer bowling greens than required
• A broadly appropriate number of artificial pitches

A Leisure and Cultural Strategy for Mid Sussex until 2020 has also identified the need for a bigger swimming pool in the town.

As a result of the survey, the Town Council has now, with the cooperation of local sports groups, identified key areas which need to be addressed.

This include the provision of more grass pitches, significant improvements to the East Grinstead Town Football Club facilities at East Court, better facilities for water-based sport including a new 25 metre by eight lane pool, and further development of the East Grinstead Sports Club as a multi-sports hub.

The Council is to create an East Grinstead Sports Council which will meet twice yearly and act as the official forum in which issues relating to sport and leisure can be addressed.

* The full report into the provision for sport locally is available on this site under Strategic Documents.

THE Town Council has presented cheques to a number of local sports clubs including Chartham Park Golf Club; Felbridge Badminton Club, East Grinstead Cricket Club, East Grinstead Meads FC, the East Grinstead Hockey Club, East Grinstead Sports Club, East Grinstead Swimming Club and to TS Resolution NTC for youngsters training in sailing and canoeing.

Pictured are Rob Musk (right), Chairman of the Town Council’s Amenities and Tourism Committee with Jeff Morris (Sports Club), Geoff Border (Cricket Club) and Jane Ashdown (Hockey Club).

Sculpture Exhibition – until 6 April:

The Surrey Sculpture Society aims to promote sculpture, both amateur and professional, without selecting its members.
This exhibition will feature the work of 30 local artists working in varied styles, whose work is for sale unless otherwise indicated, at prices to suit all pockets.

COUNCILLORS have welcomed the sale of the town centre Caffyns site to Ability Contractors for a reported £1 million.

The building, dubbed the biggest eyesore in East Grinstead, has stood empty for four years after the original plans for its sale to Marks and Spencer fell victim to the recession.

News that it has finally changed hands, and work has already started on clearing the car park, has been welcomed by the Town Council – even though plans for its future redevelopment currently remain a mystery.

Its great news that there might be progress on getting a redevelopment for the site and we look forward to learning further details soon, said Council leader James Baldwin.

Cllr Bob Mainstone, who chairs the Councils Business Support Group, also welcomed the sale.

If the site is developed, and we get the new state-of-the-art toilet block opposite built by the end of the year, it will bring new life to the whole area, he said.