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Please note that Blackwell Hollow will be closed between 9.30am and 3.00pm on Monday 11th May to allow urgent treeworks to be carried out. Diversions will be put in place

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Category: News

Town Mayor Nick Hodges sends Christmas good wishes to everyone in East Grinstead

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

AS we reach the end of the year and are well into the festive season, I look back over the past seven months that I have had the honour and privilege of being Town Mayor and cannot believe where that time has gone.

I have been lucky to meet so many people and see the work of a great number of organisations in East Grinstead during my term of office.We have had some amazing events in town, including the unveiling of the statue of Sir Archibald McIndoe in June by HRH The Princess Royal: and we were one of the first towns in the country to have a VC commemorative paving stone when ours, dedicated to Sidney Godley VC, was unveiled in August with Eric Pickles MP in attendance.

The summer concerts at East Court were very well received and will be held again next year, and we were visited by the Mindelheim Stadtkapelle in July.

The East Grinstead Concert Band had the honour of playing at the Menin Gate in October and I was proud to represent our town there with them and to lay a wreath to honour those who gave their lives 100 years ago in World War 1. The 100 year anniversary of the declaration of war was also marked in town by a candle-lit service and a very moving Lights Out event at the War Memorial on 4 AugustIt has been a fantastic year with other personal highlights including being part of the delegation to the Town Twinning Youth In Europe event in the summer and meeting the mayors of our twin towns, watching the Adam Dabell memorial football match at East Court, jumping into the Flash Mob in the High Street and actually meeting Father Christmas and riding into town with him on the back of an open-top car.

I hope that 2015 is a happy and prosperous one for us all, and that East Grinstead can continue to be the great town that we know it is.

So from the Mayoress Lucy, the ‘Mayorette’ Olivia and myself, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.’

Please give generously to the Rotary Clubs’ street collection

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

THE town’s Rotary Clubs will be out on the streets every night until 20 December taking their tree-lit sleigh through the streets so that Father Christmas
can make house calls and collect for those of our neighbours who need a helping hand. Please give generously.

The timetable is below – so if he hasn’t called on you already, Father Christmas will be knocking on your door one evening soon.

Town Mayor at official launch of the Advent Art Exhibition at the Jubilee Centre

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

IN a busy schedule which sees him attending events every day between now and Christmas Eve, Town Mayor Nick Hodges dropped in at the
Advent Art exhibition being held at the Jubilee Centre until 4 January.

Organised by Sheri Gee – one of the artists behind this year’s Townscape art trail around East Grinstead – it is the third Adventure exhibition and features the
work of 13 local artists.

Photos: Town Mayor Nick Hodges and organiser Sheri Gee in front of four of her paintings of Guinea fowl © East Grinstead Online

Imberhorne School awarded grant towards youth football goalposts

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

IMBERHORNE school has been awarded funding towards 9v9 Junior goals, as part of The FA’s ongoing youth football initiative.

The grant means that children of Imberhorne Lower School and clubs in the local community, will now be able to play matches on pitches with goalposts that suit their size and age.

With a pair of goalposts costing on average £1,000, the Football Foundation has ring-fenced a funding pot of £750,000 to help pay for 50% of the cost of purchasing the youth goals.

This funding has been made available throughThe FA providing £650,000 and the English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) themselves providing a further £100,000. This investment will support schools and leagues adopting nine-a-side and smaller formats of the game – underlining a key part of The FA’s new approach to youth football.

Extensive research has shown that the game is more enjoyable for youngsters on size appropriate pitches with size appropriate equipment – as they receive more touches of the ball and the game is less likely to be dominated by larger, more physical players.

The ESFA 9v9 goalpost requirement was introduced as part of The FA’s Youth Football initiative to encourage schools and local communities to nurture young English footballers with high levels of technical skill.

This year, the smaller formats of the game – which make use of appropriate size pitches and goals – were made mandatory for all age groups Under-12 this season.

In 2012 the Foundation worked with the County FAs to direct £1.5m of FA investment towards the purchase of small-sided goalposts, with over 2,000 clubs and schools benefitting from Foundation grants across all regions of England.

Gareth Southgate, the England Under-21s Head Coach, welcomed the funding, saying: “Having helped to develop the small-sided game strategy at The FA before my current role with the Under-21s, I can only echo how crucial this is for young players.

“Youngsters will get so much more out of the game, with more touches on the ball and a far better quality of match being played. This format of the game will also have a significant impact in developing more technically-gifted home-grown players.

“I am delighted to see The FA, the ESFA and the Football Foundation working in partnership to make sure this investment helps schools such as Imberhorne make the transition to the small-sided game.”

Steve Hill, School Sports Co-ordinator for East Grinstead and Imberhorne, said: “The funding from the Football Foundation is a fantastic initiative as it not only benefits the current and future students of Imberhorne, but it also improves provision for our community football clubs as well.”

Developers must pay to protect the Ashdown Forest

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

MID Sussex District Council is introducing new planning measures which will provide Ashdown Forest with even greater protection from new housing development.

If new homes are built near Ashdown Forest, it places greater pressure on the forest from increased visitor numbers.

Therefore, from 1 January 2015, any developer seeking to build new homes within 7km of Ashdown Forest will be required to contribute towards a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG).

Research has found that increased recreational use at Ashdown Forest has the potential to disturb the protected birds, such as the Dartford warbler and European nightjar, which nest on the ground.

Natural England has advised Mid Sussex District Council that one of the best ways to protect Ashdown Forest from increasing visitor numbers is to provide alternative areas for people to visit.

Mid Sussex District Council has identified Ashplats Wood as an area of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace to the Ashdown Forest. Developers who would like to build new homes within 7km of Ashdown Forest will now be required to make a financial contribution towards improvement and management works at Ashplats Wood, or to provide alternative public open space themselves.

The requirement to fund a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace is in addition to the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) contributions that developers are already required to make if they wish to build within 7km of the forest.

The SAMM payments are for measures on Ashdown Forest that help to monitor the protected birds that nest in the forest during the breeding season and to manage visitor behaviour by funding education programmes.

“Ashdown Forest is a beautiful natural habitat that’s home to a vast array of wonderful wildlife,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Planning.

“We’re so lucky to have it right here on our doorstep and these measures will help to protect it for future generations.

“Natural England has advised us that a joint strategy of SANG and SAMM contributions is the most effective way to protect Ashdown Forest from recreational pressure, so it’s great news that we’ll have both in place from the start of 2015.”

Town police issue fraud alert

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

EAST Grinstead Police have issued a town-wide warning to be wary of anyone telephoning your home or workplace and claiming to be a police officer.

As a result of attempted telephone fraud by scammers – which can involve attempts to persuade victims to reveal personal bank details, or even to arrange to have their bank cards collected as part of a ‘fraud investigation’ – the police have issued the following reminders:

  • The Police will NEVER contact you by telephone and ask you to disclose any details of your bank account
  • The Police will NEVER ask you to send them your bank cards
  • The Police will NEVER ask you to key your PIN numbers into the telephone keypad
  • The Police will NEVER ask you to transfer your funds between your accounts
  • The Police will NEVER ask you to pay cash into an account ‘for safe keeping’ or in the interests of an investigation into fraudulent activity within a bank

If you have been asked to do any of the above, please inform your bank and East Grinstead police.

Do NOT continue with any transaction that you have been asked to complete until the police can confirm that the caller is genuine.

Temporary Road Closures – East Grinstead

Posted on by Andrew Taylor
Road name Parish Description Traffic Management Start Date End Date Contractor
Imberhorne Lane East Grinstead Replacement of existing gas mains pipe. Two-Way Signals.  18-Nov-2014  08-Jan-2015 Southern Gas Networks
Moat Road East Grinstead Repair leak on valve. Two-Way Signals.  30-Nov-2014  05-Dec-2014 South East Water
Turners Hill Road East Grinstead Access overhead BT structure to provide service. Two-Way Signals.  04-Dec-2014  04-Dec-2014 BT
West Hill East Grinstead Re-lay supply in carriageway. Two-Way Signals.  15-Dec-2014  17-Dec-2014 South East Water

Town Mayor hits the button to start Christmas in the High Street

Posted on by Andrew Taylor

Town Mayor Nick Hodges performed the official lighting up ceremony at the Rotary Clubs’ High Street Christmas tree at the weekend watched by a throng of onlookers who had turned on a cold but sunny afternoon to get into the mood for the upcoming festivities.

Before he hit the button, Nick – who grew up in East Grinstead – recalled how he had made decorations for the tree as a child attending St Mary’s.

The Rev Clive Everett-Allen pulled a topical Christmas cracker of a joke about a man from East Grinstead – the home of the carol Good King Wenceslas – who just wanted a pizza that was deep-pan, crisp and even – which earned him a well-deserved groan from the crowd, before he said a word or two about the real meaning of Christmas.

The town band played carols, the Sackville choir sang, and everyone had a good time chatting to their neighbours and exchanging wishes for a Happy Christmas – which is pretty much what it’s all about really…

Photographs © East Grinstead Online