Category: News

REVELLERS using East Court for parties, weddings and other functions will no longer have to stumble to their cars in the dark, thanks to the installation of a new photocell and time clock which will control the courtyard lighting at night.

THE volunteer group which maintains Ashplats Wood has a new website at: www.ashplats.org/Ashplats_Conservation_Group

The 61 acre wood, which is part of the East Court Estate, is designated as Ancient Woodland, and is a West Sussex Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI), sitting within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The conservation group hopes its new website will encourage more volunteers and bring the wood’s beauty to a wider audience.

The site features the area’s history and pictures to help identify the species of flora and fauna to be found there, as well as recipes, news and a month-by-month calendar of seasonal changes to be found on walks in the woods.

THE WEST Sussex Breast Screening Service unit is once again parked outside East Court to give women easy access for regular checks.

A WSBSS spokesman, who thanked the Council for giving its permission for the unit to stay at East Court until September, said the early detection of breast cancer is of “huge value” to women.

THE Council’s housekeeping team cleaned 115 square metres of graffiti and removed 27 items of fly-posting from around the town in January and February.

Spokesman Keith Astley said: “Graffiti tends to ‘breed’ if it is left, so we remove it as quickly as possible once it has been reported to maintain the town’s appearance and environment.”

TOOLS and Trades, an exhibition featuring implements once in common use, will be at the town museum in Cantelupe Road until 5 June.

Entry to the museum is free.

The museum, which has a small kitchen area, is also available for hire as a venue for private functions.

To find out more, contact the museum on 01342 302233 or email info@eastgrinsteadmuseum.org.uk

TOWN Council handyman Roger Gwatkin has restored and reinstalled the Vowels Lane finger post after receiving a request from local resident Mr Awty (pictured left).

EAST Grinstead Mayor Steve Barnett (below left) has launched the new edition of the Uckfield and East Grinstead rail line guide with a little help from Uckfield’s Mayor John Garvey.

The guide covers the area served by the two arms of the line and seeks to encourage increased use by residents and visitors of the local rail network. The guides are free and available in East Grinstead from the tourist information office at the West Street library.

THE ever-popular French traders will be back in town for the Mid Summer Market on Sunday 23 July.

The London Road will be closed to traffic between the High Street and King Street for the event which will also play host to a number of other stalls and fairground attractions, as will Queen’s Walk.

Enquiries from prospective stall holders are welcome, says town tourism officer Simon Kerr.

Non-charity stalls cost £40, charity stalls are £25. For more details contact Simon on 01342 410121 or email tourism@eastgrinstead.go.uk

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."