Recycling Centres – new longer opening hours

Getting ready for a spring clean and declutter?

From Saturday 1 April, all our West Sussex Recycling Centres will switch to extended summer hours.

Remember you will need to book a slot to attend sites at Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham-by-Sea and Worthing.

Local scheme aims to cut carbon emissions and save on bills

A group-buying scheme, which aims to make renewable energy more affordable, is open for new customer registrations in West Sussex.

The Solar Together initiative puts high-quality solar panels, battery storage and Electric Vehicle charge points within the reach of more residents.

This year, community groups and small business are also able to join the scheme.

The initiative uses pre-approved installers, helping people feel more confident about their renewable energy investments.

Job opportunities and roadshows

Children’s Residential Service

We’re looking for people to join our friendly, supportive team, working with children who have a range of social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

The teams work to create a homely, nurturing environment for children and young people in our residential care homes.

Benefits include up to £1,500 bonus in your first 18 months via our Recruitment and Retention Payment Scheme, excellent training and development opportunities and discounts on retailers countrywide. Find out more.

Digital jobs in West Sussex

A new programme called ‘Digital Futures’ has launched to connect local businesses with talented jobseekers. It is a running a series of free interactive roadshows this year. Find out more.

COVID-19 vaccination spring booster

COVID-19 is more serious in older people and those with certain underlying health conditions.

For these reasons, people aged 75 years and over, those who live in care homes, and are aged five years and over with a weakened immune system, will be offered a spring booster of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

If you are eligible you should be offered an appointment between April and June, with those at highest risk being called in first. You will be invited to have your booster around six months from your last dose but you can have it from three months.

Putting batteries in the bin? You could be in for a shock!

Our West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service and West Sussex Recycles are warning residents of the dangers of putting batteries and electrical items, such as hairdryers, vapes, and mobile phones, in your household waste and recycling bins.

Batteries and electricals often contain hazardous materials, which can start a fire when the items are crushed during the collection and sorting process.

To recycle your old batteries and electricals safely and prevent fires, you can:

• Take them to your local recycling centre.
• Use the designated battery recycling collection points in some shops and supermarkets.
• Take large lithium-ion batteries, such as those from e-scooters, to your local recycling centre and follow the advice from staff on site.
• See if your local district or borough council offers a kerbside recycling collection service for batteries and small electricals.

A day to remember your loved ones

Today (Thursday 23 March) is the UK National Day Of Reflection where we remember loved ones who have died, support people who are grieving and connect with each other.

Last year we participated in the ‘Reflections Project’ where forget-me-not art installations were sited around the county in memory of loved ones who died during the pandemic, including Chichester County Hall.

We’ve produced a short, animated video about bereavement and loss which may be helpful to anyone who is struggling or is supporting someone who has been bereaved.

Have your say

Share your opinions and views on the following roads projects and schemes:

• Enforcing moving traffic offences in West Sussex. Closing date: 29 March.
• B2259 Felpham Way to Wroxham Way, Felpham, proposed cycling and walking improvements. Closing date: 10 April.
• Post-16 Transport Policy Statement 2023. Closing date: 16 April.
• A259 Bognor Regis to Littlehampton improvements. Closing date: 23 April.
• Worthing Sustainable Transport Corridors, proposed walking and cycling improvements. Closing date: 30 April.
• Chichester Sustainable Transport Corridors, proposed walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure. Closing date: 30 April.

More news

Head to our Newsroom to find all the latest news. Below are some highlights:

• A new school for children with special educational needs and disabilities will be built in West Sussex following a successful bid by the county council.
• West Sussex businesses currently suffering from the slowest broadband speeds are being supported to get online with an alternative 4G mobile broadband solution.

Chief executive’s bulletin

17 March 2023

Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

I am immensely grateful to NALC’s president, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, and vice president, Lord Lytton, for championing local (parish and town) councils so powerfully and articulately in the House of Lords this week. Two sessions of the Committee Stage of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill were held on 13 March and 15 March, featuring several amendments tabled by Baroness Scott. The committee stage involves detailed line by line examination of the separate parts (clauses and schedules) of a bill, and the House of Lords convention is that votes do not usually take place, and amendments are debated before being withdrawn. Monday’s session included Baroness Scott’s amendment to involve local councils in the overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities and received cross-party support. In response, the government minister Earl Howe stated that while this could be appropriate, it should be determined locally and not made mandatory. Wednesday’s session featured seven amendments covering the suspension of councillors, carer’s dependents allowance, review of neighbourhood governance, power to pay grants to local councils, financial assistance to places of worship and the general power of competence. Again, these proposals received significant support from across the House. I was pleased to see the minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook, confirm the review of neighbourhood governance would take place in the coming financial year and note the intention of clarifying powers of local councils to fund church buildings. However, I was bitterly disappointed the government did not agree with the other proposals, citing the additional cost regarding the carer’s allowance and remote meetings that the government would be publishing its response to the call for evidence in due course, which would set out its intentions. We are liaising with Baroness Scott and other Peers about pressing some of these issues further at the Report stage of the Bill. The 13 March session is available to watch or read on Hansard, likewise the 15 March recording and transcript of sessions one and two.

NALC achieves Cyber Essentials certification

I’m proud to announce that ⁠NALC has recently achieved Cyber Essentials certification, demonstrating our commitment to protecting members’ data and business operations against cyber threats. Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification scheme designed to help organisations of all sizes and sectors protect themselves against cyber-attacks. I strongly encourage all local councils to take cybersecurity seriously and consider obtaining Cyber Essentials certification.

BBC announces license waiver for Coronation events

The BBC has informed NALC that it will allow public events to show the King’s Coronation without needing a TV license. The special dispensation will apply for the weekend of 6-7 May 2023, covering the Coronation Concert and the Coronation itself. Find out more about the TV licensing dispensation. We’ve also added this update to our dedicated Coronation webpage.

NALC featured in the Local Government Lawyer

This week, the Local Government Lawyer (LGL) published a story on the government’s consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. Many organisations across the local government, planning, and house-building sectors published their responses, including NALC. NALC strongly opposed the government’s suggested National Development Management Policy which could trump any local or neighbourhood plan.

On the blog: Elect Her

Ahead of the forthcoming local elections in May, this week’s blog is from Elect Her, a non-partisan organisation working to motivate, support and equip women in all their diversity to stand for elected office. They provide a range of support to give women the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need. In the piece, Amy Knox from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK shares some reflections and what she learnt from a “truly electric, informative and inspiring” workshop about getting involved in local councils and why women should “put on our big girl pants” and throw themselves into it. Do check it out!

Digital democracy meeting

Justin Griggs, NALC’s head of policy and communications, and Jane Moore, senior solicitor and legal services manager, attended a meeting of the Digital Democracy and Council Meeting Partnership on 14 March. The group considers the future of remote meetings, and NALC attends along with representatives from various local government bodies such as the Local Government Association, Lawyers in Local Government, Association of Democratic Services Officers, and the Society of Local Council Clerks. NALC updated the group on our president’s amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, including giving all councils the power to hold remote meetings. Other sector representatives also spoke about work they were doing to support the remote meetings campaign, including a Freedom of Information request by LLG for the government to publish information regarding the call for evidence, which the government has denied.

NALC online event on custom and self-build homes

Our latest online event took place this week, and we were pleased to be joined by Jeremy Christophers from the Right to Build Task Force and Hugo Davies from the Broadhempston Community Land Trust Affordable Self-Build Housing Project. Both spoke about the benefits to local communities of the delivery of homes through custom and self-build, including boosting local economies, improved sustainability, reduced churn, and fewer objections to the development. You can also read more about custom and self-build on the NALC blog here.

Improvement and Development Board 

The Improvement and Development Board (IDB) met on 18 March and discussed mandatory training for councillors and the future of the Civility and Respect Project, and received updates on the Local Council Award Scheme, Certificate in Local Council Administration, and a range of other improvement initiatives. One of the projects the IDB oversees is our peer challenge programme for larger local councils, which we run in partnership with the Local Government Association. Morecambe Town Council will be the fourth local council to participate and will host a panel of peers for two days next week. Cirencester Town Council was the last local council to host a peer challenge in November last year, and their report has been published.

And finally…

The NALC National Network: Coastal communities are meeting next week on 20 March. The agenda includes mandatory training and an open forum for sharing information and good practice. If you haven’t joined the network yet and would like to attend next week, you can sign up here.