Category Archives: Henfield

SDNPA Travel Grant Scheme

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BN postcode area map

Not a single school in BN5, BN6, BN44, or BN45 is included in the scheme.

“Feedback from our recent schools survey identified that one of the key barriers to schools accessing outdoor learning opportunities within the National Park is the cost of travel to sites. To address this issue we are delighted to announce the launch of a new Travel Grant Scheme aimed at schools within our more deprived communities in and around the National Park. This scheme aims to reduce this barrier and encourage more young people to have access to the fantastic opportunities for outdoor learning provide within the South Downs National Park, and to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the developing South Downs Curriculum.” [SDNPA]

SDNPA Travel Grant Scheme
Pupils at Albourne Primary, Ashurst Primary, the Good Start, Lancing College, St. Peter’s Henfield, Shoreham College, Steyning Grammar, the Towers, Upper Beeding Primary, and others are not eligible for this scheme. Pupils at Balfour, Blatchington Mill, Dorothy Stringer, St. Luke’s, Varndean, and Westdene Primary do qualify, however.

The full list of ‘deprived communities’ and their schools, indexed by postcode, can be found here.

GJMG

Southern Water’s metering programme

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Southern-Water-logo
An open letter from Darren Bentham, Director, Universal Metering Programme

I am writing to update you on Southern Water’s five-year programme to install half a million water meters in households across our region by 2015. This will help secure water resources for the future.

The scheme is progressing well with more than 250,000 new meters installed to date, across Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

Our meter installation teams will shortly be returning to your area, to complete installations which were not possible to carry out in the main phase of our work programme.

These installations did not go ahead as planned for a variety of reasons. For example:

  • Most meters are installed in pavements but some must be installed in customers’ homes, which means we have to make appointments with customers and this was not possible during our first visit
  • Another utility service may have been working in the area during the main phase of our work, preventing us from completing meter installations as originally planned
  • Other unforeseen circumstances which disrupted the programme at the time of installation

We are re-contacting customers who have not had their meter installed to inform them about the situation and assure them that their meter will be installed as soon as possible.

Installation is free and customers will be provided with lots of written information about their meter and metered bill, as well as easy ways in which they can save water, energy and money.

Installation programme

We will be installing meters in the following postcode areas during November and December 2013:

• BN3 4 (Hove West)
• BN3 5 (Hove West)
• BN3 7 (West Blatchington)
• BN45 7 (Poynings)
• BN3 8 (Hangleton)
• BN3 6 (Hove Park)
• BN1 8 (Patcham)
• BN1 6 (Withdean/Preston Park)
• BN44 3 (Steyning)
• BN5 9 (Henfield)
• BN43 5 (Shoreham)
• BN43 6 (Kingston Shaw)
• BN42 4 (Southwick)
• BN41 2 (Portslade)
• BN41 1 (Portslade)

How customers can find out more

Customers will receive an information pack, both before their meter is installed AND on the day of installation. They can also call our Metering Customer Contact Centre on 0333 2003 013 to find out more.

Detailed information about our metering programme is available on our dedicated website at: www.southernwater.co.uk/metering.

First metered bills

In February 2012, we began issuing the first six-month bills to customers who have had meters installed under the programme.

Customers are switched from rateable value charges to metered charges around three months after a meter is installed for their property.

Three months later, six months after installation, they are sent a letter advising them how much water they have used since they were switched and, based on that water use, how much their bills could be.

They will then receive their first metered bill nine months after their meter was fitted.

Support for customers

As households move to metered charges, about half will see their bills go down and half will see an increase. This is because at the moment, water bills are based on the rateable value of the house, whereas on a meter they are based on the amount of water people use.

Working closely with our customers and stakeholders, we have developed a range of tariffs to give people time to adapt to metered charges and make sure that water bills remain affordable for everyone.

We have identified around 108,000 customers across our service area to whom we are offering additional assistance with their water meter and bills, including the offer of free water and energy use checks (Home Saver Checks) and more information on the tariffs and support available. We look to contact these customers directly when installing their water meters.

Please see the attached Q&A document which sets out further key information about our metering programme.

We would be happy to provide any other information you may require. Please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Jones on 01732 375409 or by emailing southernwater@springboard-marketing.co.uk.

Yours sincerely

Darren Bentham
Director, Universal Metering Programme
Southern Water

Southern Water – Q&As – downloadable PDF

The Mayfield Horror

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The Mayfield Horror starring Matthew Taylor
The first public screening on Tuesday proved to be a sell-out: “so many turned up at Oaklands, Haywards Heath, .. that some had to be seated in an overspill room .. and listen on a sound link” (Mid Sussex Times). BBC Radio Sussex coverage of the screening can be found here (top story — interviews with several of the stars) and here. Fans will have to wait a couple of weeks to find out whether this slasher — arguably the best since Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre — is to be allowed out on general release.
GJMG

Update 16th November: The Mid Sussex Leader has published a review (PDF).

Mayfield versus MSDC

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MSDC District Plan -- Examination in Public

LAMBS urges as many locals as can to attend the hearing.

If you access the PDF of the Mayfield Towns submission and open the ‘document properties’ box in Adobe Reader, you will see that the original file title of the submission is Examination of the Shepway Core Strategy. Shepway is on the Kent coast, not in Mid Sussex. Presumably, for the lawyers and consultants that feed at the bottom of this particular trough, the prose remains the same. It is just the place names that need to be changed. [One of the two entities claiming credit for preparing the document is called ‘Shared Intelligence’. But ‘Copy & Paste’ or ‘Find & Replace’ might have been more appropriate corporate monikers.]
GJMG

Lots of LAMBS

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Adastra Hall meeting to protest Mayfield Market Town
The meeting last week was very well attended. The West Sussex County Times reports:

More than 400 people packed out a public meeting to protest against plans for a 10,000 home new market town in West Sussex. On Friday night (October 18) many had to be turned away from Hassocks’ Adastra Hall, with long queues of traffic attempting to enter the village. .. So many villagers turned up for the meeting that there were queues outside, and some people had to go home.

And, from the report in yesterday’s paper edition of the WSCT:

Nick Herbert [said] “This is a serious threat. Mayfield is behaving appallingly in trying to undermine Mid Sussex’s District Plan, which they effectively hope to get over-turned. They’re not getting their way through the democratic process, so they’re trying to subvert it. I think that is absolutely contemptible.” [page 4]

A magnet for rubbish

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Small Dole is a magnet for rubbish
The West Sussex County Times reports:

Sweeptech [have applied] to change the use of a site from a storage and distribution centre to a waste recycling facility off Shoreham Road, just south of Henfield and north of Small Dole, [it] will recycle 75,000 tonnes of waste per year collected from road sweeping and gully clearing. ..

Henfield resident Adrian Jessup lives just 100 yards from the proposed 22 acre site, also known as the Old Brickworks. “Sweeptech have said there will be 35 movements a day from the site onto Shoreham Road (A2037), which is situated on a bend that has no overtaking on it, and if they can’t go through Henfield or Small Dole they’ll have to take Horn Lane, a small treacherous road.” ..

Small Dole residents have battled waste facilities in the past, including Horton Landfill Site, which opened in 1991 and closed in 2011. Small Dole Action Committee member Chris Warren said residents are still ‘suffering the consequences of pollution’. “Small Dole seems to be a magnet for waste processing. It’s more than we need,” said Mr Warren. “We have had waste lorries for donkey’s years and there’s been damage done to the roads as a result. There will be a dozen residents directly affected by this.” Mr Warren said he is also concerned about the waste vehicles’ route, and claimed it could potentially affect Henfield, Woodmancote, Small Dole and Upper Beeding.

HART on Horton

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HART on Horton Golf Club
Every car needs a defibrillator:

Club member Malcolm Town collapsed while playing golf a year ago and was saved by his playing partner, HART responder Martin Tooth. Martin, who is club captain, happened to have his defibrillator in the car and was able to reach it in time to administer lifesaving treatment. HART are shortly to equip adjoining Henfield Business Park with a public access defibrillator.

More here.