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.

SID helping to educate drivers

East Grinstead Town Council has bought a Speed Indicator Device (SID) of its own to help remind motorists to slow down while driving in the town.

East Grinstead Town Centre has a speed limit of 20 MPH but the rest of the built-up area is 30. There have been a number of complaints over the years as to the speed that some drivers reach in the residential areas and the Council has shared in a SID with the other northern parishes for a few years, targeting some of the speed hotspots, usually having a SID for around 20 weeks a year with it moving around different streets for a few weeks at a time.

The West Sussex SID has come to the end of its days and the County Council are not to replace it. The Town Council had decided to buy their own device so that it was always in the town. It can be moved to other locations but at the moment It is in Dunnings Road.

The device does not have ANPR and therefore cannot identify a car, but it does record the speeds that drivers go through the area. The data will be looked at to determine whether further more permanent speed monitoring or traffic calming is needed.

Cllr Jason Woodgate, Chairman of the Public Services Committee said “ this device is to help remind drivers that they have entered the town, it is near a school and this is a busy road. We hope the SID will help to keep the road safe for all users”.

Town Mayor Plants Queens Green Canopy Trees

Four new trees have been planted on the East Court Estate as part of the Queens Green Canopy to mark the historic platinum Jubilee.    The canopy project was extended by King Charles following the passing of his Mother Queen Elizabeth ll.  Three of the trees are English indigenous and the fourth is a Ginkgo, which once was seen all over the world but during Jurassic times it became restricted to Japan.   Since the 17^th century it has however been spreading back around the world.  The Gingko suits our climate and produces the most beautiful leaves and plant shape.

The Ginkgo was planted on behalf of East Grinstead Town Council

The Pear was donated by East Grinstead in Bloom

One of the Whitebeams was donated by the family of Robert Blowe and the other Whitebeam was donated by the East Grinstead Natural History Society on their 90^th Anniversary

The Trees were planted by the Town Mayor Cllr Adam Peacock, family members of Mr Blowe and representatives of the EG Natural History Society, replacing trees which have been recently lost to disease on the estate.    

 

Service Sheet for Remembrance Sunday 13th 2022

 

For any organisation that is taking part in the parade you will need to get to King Street by 10:15 and make your self known to the Parade Marshall.  If you can please bring service sheets for your group.

 

Mayoral Reception to Recognise Community Champions

 

Town Mayor Cllr Adam Peacock held a reception on 18^th October at East Court Mansion.  The guests comprised some of the unsung heroes of the community, people who have not been acknowledged but work hard to improve our community and the lives of others.

This was an inaugural reception and the Town Mayor said “It is a lovely way to say thank you and to make sure that people who do work hard are recognized.   There are many schemes for acknowledging people’s contribution, yet still many are left out.  I wanted to hold a reception for a few of these people to let them know that they are appreciated”.  The names came up as those who do not appear to have been nominated for other accolades despite playing significant roles in the Town.

Mingling with the Councillors at the event were:

Rev Andrew Hawken – St Swithuns church

Lisa Mcnamra – The Old Dunnings Pub

Lee Walker – Imberhorne School Head Teacher

Jo Meloni – Sackville School Head Teacher

Eva Sonneveld – East Grinstead Mums

James Lawson – What’s happening in East Grinstead

Steve Hill – Head of year 7 – Imberhorne School

Paul Johnson – Chair of Disability Access

Bob Shelley – Chair East Grinstead Sports Council

Phil Andrews – former head of Art Sackville School

Mel Wightman & Jogeline Ramos – Charters Court

Annie Burisky & Louisa White – Brendoncare

Sharon Fox & Michelle Knox – Littlefair Care Home

It is hoped that the reception will continue each year, celebrating different areas of the town’s unsung heroes.  Nominations for invitation to a future reception can be made via email to MayorsSecretary@eastgrinstead.gov.uk

Sidney Betchley, Henry Smith Charity and John Smith’s Trust application form

East Grinstead Town Council are proud to announce the Sidney Betchley, Henry Smith Charity and John Smith’s Trust application form for 2022 is now live. The charity is a small trust that provides monetary support towards the cost of Christmas for those over 65. All applications are means tested by a trustee committee.

If you know someone who would benefit from this provision, please do share the application form.

Printed copies (in either A4 or A3) can be found at East Grinstead Town Council.

The form should be correctly filled in and returned to the Deputy Town Clerk, East Grinstead Town Council, East Court Mansion, College Lane, East Grinstead RH19 3LT as soon as possible but no later than 9th November 2022. Please mark it as confidential.