Category: News

A local landlord has been prosecuted for failing to properly maintain and manage his property, which put the health and safety of his tenants at risk.

Mid Sussex District Council carried out an inspection of Grove House, Copthorne after receiving a number of complaints from tenants. The property, which is a House of Multiple Occupation, was found to be in an extremely poor state of repair.

The issues were so serious that the Council undertook immediate emergency repair works to ensure the safety of the tenants. The Council repaired unsafe electrics, removed combustible items from the stairwell, repaired a faulty fire alarm system and reinstated hot water and heating in the building.

Mid Sussex District Council issued the landlord, Mr Hamedur Choudhury, with an Improvement Notice that required him to rectify an extensive list of further defects and instructed him repay the cost of the emergency repair works. The property had serious problems with damp and mould growth, excess cold, pests and refuse, sanitation and drainage, electrical hazards and fire safety but Mr Choudhury failed to correct these issues.

On 25 April 2018, Mr Choudhury pleaded guilty at Crawley Magistrates Court to failing to comply with the terms of an Improvement Notice, as well as offences relating to the breach of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations and failing to licence a House of Multiple Occupation. The Magistrates’ Court fined Mr Choudhury a total of £17,012.89, including the Council’s costs.

Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Community. “The living conditions we discovered at this property were completely unacceptable. It was a real House of Horrors that put the health and safety of the occupants at serious risk.

“All rented accommodation must provide a safe and healthy environment for tenants and their visitors. If these standards are not being met our advice is always to inform the landlord first, to give them the opportunity to fix any problems. However, if a rogue landlord refuses to take their responsibilities seriously then we won’t hesitate to take action against them to ensure that they comply with the law.”

Mid Sussex District Council is offering local micro businesses grant funding of up to £2000 to help them grow and expand.

The grants are available to any Mid Sussex business that has less than 10 employees and an idea for a project that will help their business grow. Up to £1500 is also available to help micro businesses take on an apprentice.

This is the second year that Mid Sussex District Council has offered grant funding to help support the local economy and encourage sustainable business growth. One of the companies to benefit dramatically from a micro business grant last year was Haywards Heath based Aquapax.

Aquapax produce natural water with a near perfect pH balance, that is packaged in renewable and sustainably produced, paper cartons. They applied for a micro business grant in 2017 to raise the profile of their brand with a targeted digital marketing campaign and they shot to prominence with a series of high profile partnerships.

The campaign enabled Aquapax to secure formal supply agreements with The Kia Oval, home of Surrey County Cricket Club, and a contract to be the Official on course water for the Dunhill Masters International Golf Championship.

“Mid Sussex is one of the strongest local economies in the country but we’re keen to do more to support businesses and economic growth,” said Councillor Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Mid Sussex District Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Resources and Economic Growth.

“The planned growth of Mid Sussex over the coming years will create thousands of jobs, see new business parks being built and bring investment in infrastructure. We want local small businesses to be able to benefit from these opportunities, grow and thrive. Last year, our micro-business grants helped more than 40 local companies to expand and develop their business in Mid Sussex and we’re keen to have the same impact in 2018.

“Funding of up to £1500 is also available to take on an apprentice and I would urge local employers to consider creating apprenticeships, especially to give more young people the opportunity of starting their career while learning a skill”.

For more information or to apply online visit www.midsussex.gov.uk/businessgrants.

You Matter Nomination form

At the Annual Council Meeting on 14 May, Cllr Rex Whittaker was elected as the East Grinstead Town Mayor for 2018/19.

Having represented Imberhorne Ward for the Town Council since 2011, Rex has served various previous roles including Chair of the Planning and Finance & General Purposes Committee, Council Leader for three years, and he is currently Chair of Trustees for the Chequer Mead Community Arts Trust.

As well as Chairing the Council meetings ( the office of Chairman of the Council is the legal duty, but as a Town Council, we are entitled to call our Chairman ‘Town Mayor’), the Mayor will seek to raise funds for charities by hosting regular fundraisers. Rex’s chosen charities for the year and his reasons for choosing them are:

Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex

This life-saving charity operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from Redhill Aerodrome and Rochester Airport. Their crews are always ready to respond to people who need them. Sussex has beautiful countryside but can be very remote. Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex can give advanced care to people in our area, which is usually only available in hospital. This can make all the difference.

East Park Riding for the Disabled Association

For more than 40 years, this charity has been delivering opportunities for therapy, achievement and enjoyment to people with disabilities. RDA work across the spectrum of disabilities, age range, social status, and environments. Their work focuses to ensure that each individual has the chance to derive a direct therapeutic benefit and the opportunity to achieve their personal goal. Their motto ‘ it’s what you can do that counts’ is a lesson to us all.

CARE

This incredible small local outreach charity provides help and volunteer drivers 7 days a week to take and return vulnerable people to GP and hospital medical appointments. Celebrating their 30 th anniversary, the 80 dedicated volunteers help around 400 clients and complete nearly 1,000 transport jobs per year. Their small dedicated team provide an essential and confidential support service to our increasingly overstretched NHS Professionals.

The Deputy Town Mayor will be Cllr Danny Favor.

IN a regular feature on the Town Council website, we will be remembering, on the anniversary of their deaths, the East Grinstead soldiers who died during WWI,  and who are named on the High Street War Memorial.

This month we recall (as recorded on The Roll of Honour website):

Victor George BROOKER

Sapper. 177182 (WR/255213) Royal Engineers. (Railway Companies) 38th Miscellaneous Transport Company.

Died 15. 5.18. age 31. Son of George and Annie Brooker of East Grinstead.

Husband of Mrs. Bertha Brooker (remarried of Brighton)

Born in Ashford, Kent and enlisted in East Grinstead.

Buried Les Baraques Military Cemetery, Sangatte. F. 65

Charles DRAPER

Rifleman. A/205307 7th Battalion, The Kings Royal Rifle Corps. 14th Light Division.

Died of wounds 13. 5.18.age 19. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Draper of 48, Queens Road, East Grinstead.

Born in East Grinstead and enlisted in Chichester.

Buried Guise (LaDesolation) French National Cemetery, Flavigny-Le-Petit.

Mid Sussex District Council is asking the community to nominate young people who go the extra mile to help others, or who work to improve the local area, for a special award.

Many young people give up their time and effort to make Mid Sussex a better place and Mid Sussex District Council think it’s important to recognise these exceptional individuals.

Nominations are open now for the Mid Sussex District Council Young Volunteer of the Year Awards 2018 and the Council is asking local people to give outstanding young individuals their moment in the spotlight by nominating them.

The awards are open to anyone aged 14-21 who has completed a minimum of 10 hours volunteering. In previous years nominees have been involved with a range of projects including volunteering at a disabled riding school, working to raise awareness of domestic abuse and helping the Police to build relationships with the gypsy and traveller community.

There are three Young Volunteer of the Year Award categories:

• Young Community Volunteer

Recognising those young people who have made a difference in their local community

• Young Leader

Awarded to a young person who has demonstrated their leadership in a project or organisation

• Young Achiever

Against all the odds, someone who has overcome significant obstacles and made a positive difference to their own lives or to other young people through education, campaigning or helping another overcome a difficult situation or personal problem

“If you know a young person who volunteers in Mid Sussex and you would like them to receive recognition for all their hard work then please nominate them for a Young Volunteer of the Year Award,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Community.

“Young people make a huge contribution to the Mid Sussex community and these awards are our chance to thank them for everything they do. Don’t let the efforts of these exceptional young people go unnoticed.”

All shortlisted young people will be invited to a prestigious awards ceremony to receive their certificates from the Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council and celebrate their achievements.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is 16 May 2018. For more information about the Young Volunteer of the Year Awards visit www.midsussex.go.uk/youthawards or call 01444 477495.

Please help us spread the word to your local community groups.  The new approach to grant funding West Sussex Crowd is the new crowdfunding initiative which gives people the opportunity to run crowdfunding campaigns for local projects across West Sussex.  This is now live!

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has a £330,000 Community Initiative Fund (CIF) for projects running crowdfunding campaigns. This replaces the way that the County Council has allocated its grant funding in previous years. Spacehive is the crowdfunding platform which WSCC has chosen to partner with for this initiative.

We are running free events for groups with project ideas who would like to start crowdfunding will run in each District and Borough area during May. Click below for details of the events near you and to book your place:

• Mid Sussex Community Workshop, Monday 14th May, 10am – 12noon
• Horsham Community Workshop, Thursday 17th May, 10am – 12noon
• Crawley Community Workshop, Thursday 17th May, 2pm – 4pm
• Adur/Worthing Community Workshop, Friday 18th May, 2pm – 4pm

This is an exciting new development for the whole county. If you have further queries about getting started or would like to discuss your project ideas, please email communities@westsussex.gov.uk