AI and you – De-mystifying artificial intelligence

East Grinstead Town Council is conducting a survey to see how well East Grinstead supports the veterans community (people who have served in the armed forces)

We want to know if our veterans (yesterday or yesteryear) think there are enough services and support for their community. Accessing services such as housing, healthcare or employment. Clubs and groups of like-minded people. If not what more is needed?

If you would like to get involved please complete the online questionnaire or download and complete a questionnaire. Following the questionnaires we will have some focus groups to explore what might be possible.

Questionnaires can be emailed or returned in hard copy to townclerk@eastgrinstead.gov.uk,  Town Clerk, East Grinstead Town Council,  East Court, College Lane, East Grinstead, RH19 3LT.

Please return by 20th September.

• Research Participant Information Sheet
• Research Participant Consent Form
• Questionnaire (printable)
• Questionnaire (online)

Love your local library with FREE ‘Discovery Day’ event

(Sent by Susie Chamberlin to EGTC Staff & Councillor) 

 

 

We are holding a free Discovery Day at East Grinstead Library.

It is on Saturday 1 July from 10am-3pm at East Grinstead Library in West Street and we would love you to attend!

The event aims to show everyone what libraries have to offer – From family-friendly toddler time to board games and author evenings, plus free ancestry history meetings and digital subscriptions, libraries have something for everyone.

New East Grinstead Circle – Menshare Listening Group 

(Sent by Menshare Listening Group to EGTC Staff & Councillor) 

 

We are very happy to announce that our second community circle will go live on the 20th June 2023 at the St. Swithun’s Church at 7-9pm, men to arrive no later than 6.50pm.

 

Our award winning work helps to support and change men’s lives. We wish to serve more men in other communities, this is a great step towards doing that, also we have another community to connect with and for both Crawley and East Grinstead to join together on our Nature Weekends.

 

Please send all referrals to mensharelisteninggroup@gmail.com.

Email: info@mensharelisteninggroup.co.uk

Website: www.mensharelisteninggroup.co.uk

Facebook: Menshare Listening Group (Crawley) | Facebook

Modality Mid Sussex – Plan for Patients

(Please see the update from modality, please note that this is not in the public domain until Monday)

 

Please see below the Modality Mid Sussex Plan for Patients which will be released on Monday, 19^th June 2023 via our website, social media, in practices (hard copies) and by text message.

We wanted to share this information with you ahead of public release, as we know that you will have had many interactions with your constituents regarding our GP services over the last six months and need to be kept informed of any progress or change in service.

You will see from the attached plan, that we will be holding a number of face to face and virtual patient engagement events during the last two weeks of July and we really hope you will be able to join us for one of those sessions.

 

A heartfelt thank you to all our brilliant volunteers

(Sent by Katy Bourne OBE to all major stakeholders)

 

 

This week was Volunteers’ Week, an opportunity to say an extremely well deserved thank you to our volunteers and to shine a light on the incredible efforts they make all year round. Across the Sussex Police organisation there are hundreds of volunteers who quietly dedicate their time to helping others. Whether its volunteers from: the Special Constabulary; Police Cadets; Community Speedwatch; Restorative Justice; Mediation Services; Independent Custody Visitors; Search and Rescue Teams or our local Neighbourhood Watch – the support they offer is invaluable and Sussex Police and my office simply wouldn’t be able to deliver the results we do without them. This week, we highlighted the great contribution from our Restorative Justice (RJ) volunteers, hearing from Amanda, an RJ facilitator, who told us the proudest moment in her role was the positive restorative justice she facilitated between an elderly lady who had been burgled and the offender. We also focused on our Mediation Service volunteers who provide specialist skills across Sussex, repairing and reducing harm caused by conflict. You can find out more about this role on my Twitter. We ended this year’s Volunteers’ Week by celebrating our Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs) who check on the welfare and wellbeing of those held in custody. As part of the morning, ICVs reflected on their roles, discussing what volunteering means to them. You can read more about the ICV event on my Twitter.

Launching Sussex’s Police Animal Welfare Scheme

Last week, I met with Superintendent Graham Barnett, the lead for the Specialist Operations Unit (which includes the Dog Unit) and Louise Crawford, Animal Welfare Co-ordinator for Dogs Trust, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for our new Animal Welfare Independent Visitor Scheme. The scheme is supported by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Association of Police & Crime Commissioners and Dogs Trust and follows a similar process to Independent Custody Volunteers who make unannounced visits to custody centres to check on the wellbeing of detainees. Volunteers will check on the welfare of police dogs within the Gatwick Explosives Dog Unit – inspecting conditions at Gatwick Police Station, including their kennels, vehicles and training grounds. Sussex Police’s Dog Training School (run jointly with Surrey Police) is internationally recognised and supplies specially trained dogs to countries all over the world so it’s important their welfare is held to the highest standard. You can read more about the scheme on my website. Katy Bourne OBE Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner

Planning Applications & Decisions

 

Highways, Transport and Planning Newsletter

(Sent by WSCC Highways Department to all major stakeholders)

 

 

A big thank you to our Public Rights of Way Volunteer Rangers Over the last year the Volunteer Rangers carried out sixty days of tasks, giving up 3546 hours of their time to help maintain and improve the Public Rights of Way network across West Sussex. This included: 8200m of vegetation clearance 28 tonnes of Type 1 used 6 new plank crossings, four repaired 10 bridge new 5m and over and 2 refurbished 51m of boardwalk installed 70 steps installed 36 fallen trees cleared 24 fingerposts installed or repaired A really big thank you to our volunteers, giving up your own time to help improve the Public Rights of Way is very much recognised and appreciated. You really do make a difference! Free life-saving workshops Currently, nearly a quarter of all people killed and seriously injured on the road are riding a motorcycle – a stark figure as motorcycles only account for around 5% of vehicles on the road.  Our West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has launched a series of free Biker Down workshops, designed to help make the county’s roads safer. If you were the first on the scene of an accident involving a biker, would you know what to do? If the answer is no, then our courses are for you. Click here for more information   Reporting a road or pavement problem On Friday 28 April 2023, Love West Sussex was decommissioned and we no longer accept reports via this route. We now have a new web online reporting tool/process. The new process uses an enhanced map and is mobile device friendly and work across multiple platforms so is easily accessed with different devices without needing to download anything. Using this new reporting tool, any road and pavement reports are then directly assigned to the correct team. Customers who provided an email address at the time of reporting the issue will automatically receive email status updates. After doing some market research, we found that a majority of local authorities are doing it this way rather than using apps. If you have previously bookmarked or saved the ‘Love West Sussex’ web URL or mobile app to your device, please replace it with this: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/make-an-enquiry-or-report-a-problem-with-a-road-or-pavement/ We are grateful for any feedback as we are improving it all the time. If you would like to send suggestions or feedback, email active.communities@westsussex.gov.uk   Click here to report a problem with a road or pavement School ‘Keep Clear’ Signs Trial The School Keep Clear markings (‘zig zags’) are positioned outside or near to the entrance of a school. The purpose of implementing zig zags is to provide a space, which is free from parked vehicles, for children and parents to cross the road safely and enable road users to see them clearly. Without zig zags, vehicles constantly stop to drop off and pick up their children outside of the school – not only causing congestion but also making it unsafe for pedestrians to cross the road. It is illegal for anyone, other than the Emergency Services, to park or even stop on these markings, even if it’s only for a matter of seconds (where signs are in place giving this warning). Unfortunately, some parents and carers still do this regardless of the law and potential fine that ensue if caught. The WSCC Road Safety Group developed a new intervention, which is aimed at preventing vehicles from stopping on the zig zags, by placing a number of signs which have a combination of an emotive design and a polite message ‘Please Don’t Stop Here’, directly onto the zig zags. We are currently carrying out trials using these signs at 6 schools in West Sussex. We started with Bersted Green Primary back in March, with Field Place Infant School and Orchards Primary School (both in Goring) participating with the trial in May. The remaining schools also due to take part before the end of the school year are Southwater Junior, Glebe Primary in Southwick and St Peter’s Primary in Henfield. This is not something that has been trialled before by the Road Safety Group in West Sussex and we anticipate this being a successful intervention.    New bus route coming to Barnham & Yapton – plus free travel for a week!     Click here to view the full timetable Just the ticket: £2 bus fare cap has been extended until 30 October 2023     Full list of participating bus companies   NB: there are no changes to the national bus pass scheme for older and disabled people. Free bus pass holders will continue to receive free travel under the terms of that scheme   Ash Dieback Update During the 2022-2023 felling season, the Ash Dieback project team made over 344 separate site/locations safe by taking out the trees effected by Ash Dieback. Growing season has started and surveys will be undertaken of the following sites: A24 Horsham Bypass A24 Ashington to Buckbarn A272 Cowfold to Haywards Heath B2146 Partial B2141 Partial A286 Midhurst A283 Washington to Petworth A264 M23 East Grinstead A22 Small Section These areas are also likely to be surveyed soon: A264 Five Oaks to Broadbridge Heath B2028 Lindfield to Turners Hill B2036 Balcombe (partially inspected) A281 Horsham to Upper Beeding B2139 Houghton to Storrington A29 Rudgwick to Houghton A273 Pyecombe to Burgess Hill

GATCOM News Bulletin

 

 

EGBA Events

 

To see the latest events from the EGBA please follow this link!

East Grinstead Town Council is going to the Polls on Thursday 4 May

The East Grinstead Parish is in the District of Mid Sussex, in the County of West Sussex.   This election there are Mid Sussex District Council and East Grinstead Town Council seats to be decided for the next four years.

There are some requirements to stand:  you must live or work in the parish (or within 3 miles),  you must be at least 18 years of age and must appear on the register of electors, you must be a British or Commonwealth Citizen and must not be disqualified (by way of criminal conviction or bankruptcy. more information on this can be provided)

Councillors can come from a political party or be totally independent (there is no need to be a member of a political party in order to stand).

All you need is to be interested in representing your neighbours in an area of East Grinstead, have some time to attend Council Meetings, working groups etc and respond to queries and concerns of your electors. We also have trustees nominated to the Chequer Mead Arts Centre,  the Henry Smith & Sidney Bletchley Trust and the Beef and Faggot Trust who all work locally. Being a Town Councillor probably takes up around 5-10 hours work each week.    For this work and to cover any expenses you can receive an allowance of £1190 per year.  (this is reviewed annually). Our Councillors sit on one or more of the four committees and all Councillors sit on Council which scrutinises the work of the committees and makes major decisions.

The Town Council is responsible for 2 public toilet blocks, 2 Cemeteries, 4 community buildings, 2 War memorials, the east court terraces, drive and playpark, a recreation ground,2 allotments (run by management companies), civic pride such as hanging baskets, public flowerbeds and Christmas lights, graffiti and fly post removal on council land, provide 68 grit bins (for WSCC salt), grit the town centre pavements in the event of snow and ice, replace street name plates, run the tourist information desk in the library, contribute to the visit East Grinstead Web Site and arrange community events such as East Court Live.   In addition we feed in views and  influence other organisations such as Mid Sussex District Council,  West Sussex County Council, Gatwick Airport, South East Water, train and bus companies.  We provide a grant scheme to support local sports, community groups and the Chequer Mead Arts Centre.

If you want to stand to become a Councillor you need to be nominated.

Mid Sussex District Council will publish the district, and town council Notices of Election on Monday 20 March 2023. Candidate Nominations will open on Tuesday 21 March with the absolute deadline for submitting nomination papers in-person at Mid Sussex District Council offices at 4pm on Tuesday 4 April 2023.  It is not advisable to do so on the last day because if there are errors there would little or no time to for candidates to rectify any issues.

A suite of Candidate Nomination Packs is available now and can be found here: https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/elections-voting/upcoming-elections/ .

Please note that from the; packs 1 and 2 are for district council elections. Packs 3 and 4 are for the town council elections. Please note: Packs 1 and 3 are for political parties, and packs 2 and 4 are for prospective Independent Candidates. Given that the set of forms required for each are different, please ensure that the correct pack(s) are used.

If there are more nominations than seats available in each ward there will be elections.  You will need to identify which ward that you wish to stand in as part of the nomination papers.   You can stand to be just a Town Councillor, Just a District Councillor or both!  If standing in both elections this can be for the same or different wards.

Parish Council:  East Grinstead Town Council wards and seats

• Ashplats North 3 seats
• Baldwins 2 seats
• Herontye and Ashplats South 3 seats
• Imberhorne 3 seats
• East Grinstead South 1 seat
• Town North 1 seat
• Town South 3 seats

District Council:  Mid Sussex District Council wards and seats

• Ashplats 2 seats
• Baldwins 1 seat
• Herontye 1 seat
• Imberhorne 2 seats
• Town 2 seats

Mid Sussex District Council Elections team encourage those wishing to submit nomination papers to make an appointment for any working day between 21st March – 4 April. We strongly recommend making an appointment for the earliest possible date in this period. Those submitting nominations should please contact Electoral Services (elections@midsussex.gov.uk) as soon as possible to secure the desired appointment date and time. The team’s direct telephone number is 01444 477222 (option 1).

The Count following the election to determine who has won the seats will take place at the Triangle leisure Centre in Burgess Hill on Friday 5 May, all those standing in the election are able to attend (more information will be sent from the District at that time).

Successful candidates then have to sign a declaration of office and will attend their first Town Council meeting on 15 May.

If anyone wishes to have a discussion, before nomination, as to the work of the Town Council please contact the Town Clerk Mrs Julie Holden  01342 323636

Good Luck!

Council support community with 1% council tax rise

The East Grinstead Town Council unanimously approved its budget and Council Tax precept for 2023/24 at the Council meeting on Monday 30 January.

Recommending the precept, the Vice Chairman of Finance and General purposes Cllr Helen Farren commented that the precept would continue to support community groups take forward our projects and celebrate the coronation while recognising the current cost of living challenges. The budget is prudent and mindful of the struggle that many are having.

The annual parish element of the Council Tax for 2023/24 will rise for a Band D property from £92.34 to £93.26. Which is a 1% rise on the 2022/23 rate. The overall rise being 92pence.

Additional information:

• The Town Council is responsible for 2 public toilet blocks, 2 Cemeteries, 4 community buildings, 2 War memorials, the east court terraces, drive and playpark, a recreation ground,2 allotments (run by management companies), civic pride such as hanging baskets, public flowerbeds and Christmas lights, street furniture, graffiti and fly post removal on council land, replacing street name plates, the tourist information desk in the library and arranging community events such as East Court Live.  In addition there is a grant scheme to support local sports, community groups and the Chequer Mead Arts Centre.
• The total parish precept for a Band D property equates to £1.78 per week.
• UK inflation was measured at 10.5% in December.
• Council Tax Bills for 2023/24 are made up of precepts from the County Council, District Council, Police and Crime Commissioner and Parish Council

The Line – Winter Edition 2022

 

The District Council is consulting on extending our existing PSPO to tackle the anti-social use of vehicle activity. Our current PSPO which covers the wards within Burgess Hill expires in April 2023 and we propose to extend this for a further 3 years. Since the order was put in place there has been a significant reduction in car cruising activity. The Council is also consulting on extending the PSPO area to include the A2300/Jobs Lane which falls just outside the Town and also the Birches Industrial Estate in East Grinstead as there has been car cruising activities in these areas over the past few months. 

The consultation will run from 17 November until 22 December and the results and appropriate recommendations will be reported to the Scrutiny Committee and Council in the New Year. It will be live on the MSDC website from 17 November – you can access the consultation, existing order and areas proposed via this link: Consultations – Mid Sussex District Council.

Mid Sussex District Council has recommended a revised draft of the District Plan for public consultation, to ensure the plan remains up to date, properly plans for infrastructure to be delivered alongside new homes, and protects the district from speculative, unplanned development.

Public consultation on the revised draft District Plan will run for a period of six-weeks from 7 November to 19 December 2022.

Housing targets are set for local authorities by the Government and District Plans must set out in broad terms what, where, when and how development should take place. Although Mid Sussex District Council has an adopted District Plan for Mid Sussex which runs from 2018-2031, the Government requires that the plan is updated every five years to ensure that housing need is met, and policies remain relevant and effective.

The Government’s Standard Method for calculating future housing need sets Mid Sussex a minimum requirement of delivering a further 8,169 new homes from 2021-2039.

The revised draft District Plan sets out a strategy for how to meet the housing requirement. The starting point is to protect all designated landscapes, such as the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), from all but limited development.

The Council is seeking to ensure that all opportunities to use brownfield sites are maximised and that any application for development makes the most effective use of land. This approach will help to reduce the number of greenfield sites required to meet the housing target. However, as a predominantly rural district (less than 12% is within a defined built-up area) opportunities for brownfield development are limited.

The revised draft District Plan is guided by the ’20-minute neighbourhoods’ principle, which ensures new developments are provided in areas where most people’s daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle ride. In line with this principle, sites within the district’s three towns and larger villages, which are sustainable locations that already provide a range of services and facilities nearby, have been proposed for development.

In areas with few or no local services or facilities, there is still opportunity for growth if developments are sufficiently large enough to provide new supporting infrastructure on site such as a new primary school, health facilities, neighbourhood centres, small scale retail, employment opportunities, open space, and sports provision. Providing such facilities will create more sustainable developments that benefit both new residents and the existing community.

The revised draft District Plan includes three new sustainable developments at Crabbet Park, Copthorne, Land to the West of Burgess Hill and Land to the South of Reeds Lane, Sayers Common, which will collectively provide 4,750 new homes. The remaining housing need will be met by 21 smaller housing development sites across Mid Sussex, and an allowance for housing built on brownfield sites and windfall.

Councillor Robert Salisbury, Mid Sussex District Council Cabinet Member for Planning said:

“As our population grows, so does the demand for new housing, and the Government has a set formula for calculating exactly how many new homes are required to meet that growing need.

“Without a District Plan to provide a clear vision for the future, control passes to private housing developers, potentially leading to speculative and unwanted development in unsuitable locations.

“By having an up-to-date District Plan, we can set out where those new homes should go and include Planning Policies that ensure developers create sustainable communities with access to essential services and facilities like new schools, healthcare provision, community halls and leisure facilities. It provides certainty for communities, stakeholders, and infrastructure providers.”

The revised draft District Plan is available to view online at www.midsussex.gov.uk/districtplan and paper copies are available at libraries, Help Points, the District Council offices, and Town and Parish Council offices.

Comments can be submitted online at www.midsussex.gov.uk/districtplan or can be sent to Planning Policy and Housing Enabling, Mid Sussex District Council at Oaklands, Oaklands Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH161SS.