Category: News

Mid Sussex District Council is providing all-day town centre parking for £1 on the weekends leading up to Christmas.

The Council is supporting shoppers and traders with discounted parking on Saturdays in the towns of Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Haywards Heath. The £1 parking offer will only be available in long stay car parks owned by Mid Sussex District Council.

Parking in Mid Sussex is completely free on Sundays, so that’s a whole weekend of shopping for less than the price of a loaf of bread. The parking discounts will be available from Saturday 1 December at the following locations:

• Queens Crescent car park – Burgess Hill
• Station Road car park – Burgess Hill
• The Vicarage car park – East Grinstead
• Norton House car park – East Grinstead
• Franklynn Road car park – Haywards Heath
• Muster Green car park – Haywards Heath

The £1 all day parking charge will apply on 1 December 2018, 8 December 2018, 15 December 2018 and 22 December 2018.

“This is the most important time of the year for local retailers and we’re showing them our support by offering town centre parking all weekend for just £1 in the run up to Christmas,” said Councillor Gary Marsh, Cabinet Member for Service Delivery.

“You can join us and show your support for the local economy this Christmas by shopping in your local town. Popping into town is quick and convenient way to pick up gifts for friends or family and with the great range of shops we have in Mid Sussex, there’s no reason to go anywhere else.

“I hope our parking offer encourages even more people to shop locally and attracts shoppers from other areas to spend their money in Mid Sussex.

“Don’t forget, our parking is free after 6pm every night of the week so Mid Sussex is a great place to enjoy an evening meal or meet up with friends during the festive season.”

For more information about parking across in Mid Sussex visit www.midsussex.gov.uk/parking.

The East Grinstead Christmas Lights were switched on by the Town Mayor on Saturday night.

The new lights display (a five year contract) has three different zones of High St, London Road and Railway Approach.

The Council run scheme hit a snag 2 weeks prior to the switch on when SSE issued a statement that their policy had changed and cross street decorations could no longer be powered from the top of the lamp post columns. Council staff took to the streets to beg the help of retailers to resolve this.

Cllr Adam Peacock Chairman of the Amenities and Tourism Committee which approved the scheme and the contract of the lights said “Despite having completed our permissions from SSE back in the summer we found ourselves unable to power the crossovers. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Derek Field Accountants, Knights Jewellers, Martells and Poundland who stepped in and agreed to allow us to connect to their electrics for the cross over displays, and the Railway Tavern who have helped power tree lights. Their generosity of spirit reflects the spirit of Christmas. Likewise I want to acknowledge the Council staff who have worked tirelessly on this to make it happen.”

The lights were switched on as part of the Big Reveal for the first time, while the shops revealed their window displays which had been hidden behind brown paper for days. The High Street was closed to traffic for entertainment and late night shopping, shops along London Road and all the way through to the High St had decorated their windows for the event.

Our weekly Farmers’ Market is held every Thursday from 9.00am ‘til 2.00pm on the High Street’s Market Square.

We currently have four stallholders, comprising of the following:

Chris Veasey & Sons

Fresh fish from Sussex shores is a world away from shrink-wrapped seafood farmed in some far-off land. Veasey & Sons fishmongers stock their fish selections from their own catch, brought in by their crew and boat which fishes between Eastbourne Harbour and Poole Bay.

Further information can be found at: https://www.veaseyandsons.co.uk/

Lovetts Nurseries

Lovetts Nurseries is a friendly plants & flowers stall, run by Ian & Rosanna Lovett. Regulars at the Market for many years now, they sell a wide selection of quality plants & flowers, all at reasonable prices.

Further information can be obtained at their stall on Thursdays.

The Sussex Biltong Co.

The Sussex Biltong Co. is bringing fantastic biltong from the warm heart of Africa to the wonderful county of Sussex, and in particular our very own East Grinstead!

Further information can be found at: https://sussex-biltong.com/

Nature Squared

Turmeric (haldi) is perhaps better known for being a cooking ingredient, but has also been used for centuries in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for its healing properties. Today turmeric is increasingly being recognised for its potential health benefits and is widely used to complement modern medicine.

Further information can be found at: https://www.naturesquared.co.uk/

 

Please help our Farmers’ Market to continue to grow by supporting us each Thursday on the Market Square between 9.00am and 2.00pm.

East Grinstead Town Council is proud to be able to support the Royal British Legion by offering residents of the town a chance to own commemorative poppies. The wooden poppies were part of the High Street War Memorial planting scheme during the 2018 WW100 commemorations.

The poppies are available for a £5 donation, all of which will be donated to the RBL, from the Town Council offices at East Court and the Tourist Information desk in East Grinstead library and will come with a commemorative certificate.

[AFG_gallery id=’74’]

East Grinstead commemorated the 100 year anniversary of the end of the first world war with beacon lightings, poppies, parades, services and thousands turning out to be part of it.

The day started at East Court where the Town Mayor lit the beacon at 9.45 before the well-attended first short act of remembrance at the East Court war memorial.

Then at 10.40 the parade left King St and marched to the High Street to roads thronged by residents, young and old to pay their respects. The church choir joined them and along with the East Grinstead Concert Band music filled the streets. The two minute silence was relayed via the PA system from the Cenotaph in London and a big screen positioned outside of the Market Square showed a recording of the Town Mayor lighting the Beacon earlier. As the image of the beacon burning filled the screen, the names of the East Grinstead fallen (as etched on the war memorial) were scrolled through. A poignant reminder of the reason for the silence.

Hymns and prayers were joined in by the 1000 plus attendees, wreaths were laid and the public invited to do so also. Pictures of the towns commemorations over the past 4 years were shown on the screen, the National Anthem was sung and then the parade marched away from the High Street.

The Big Screen then showed some short documentaries about war as provided by Mike Rumsey.

The Town Mayor returned to East Court along with 150 others, including an honour guard provided by members of Sussex bonfire society at 7pm to light the beacon a second time. The last post sounded and exhortation given by John Grantham from the Royal British Legion, St Swithun’s Bells were rung and a reading as to the entombing of the unknown warrior.

[AFG_gallery id=’73’]