Beatrix and Florence Crowther have won certificates as runners-up in a local history competition. Click the photo to read the full story at the West Sussex County Times.
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Christmas changes to bin collection dates
The festive bin collection changes are as follows:- Mid Sussex District Council is reminding residents that refuse, recycling and garden waste collection days will change over the Christmas and New Year period.
The refuse and recycling collection changes start from Monday 23 December and end on Saturday 4 January 2014. Bin hangers with details of collections over the festive period are being distributed in the run up to Christmas. Residents can also access personalised information about their collection day, and if they are due a blue lidded recycling collection or a grey lidded refuse collection, by entering their postcode at www.midsussex.gov.uk/mymidsussex.
| Due collection date | New collection date |
| Monday 23 Dec | Saturday 21 Dec |
| Tuesday 24 Dec | Monday 23 Dec |
| Wednesday 25 Dec | Tuesday 24 Dec |
| Thursday 26 Dec | Friday 27 Dec |
| Friday 27 Dec | Saturday 28 Dec |
| Monday 30 Dec | Monday 30 Dec |
| Tuesday 31 Dec | Tuesday 31 Dec 2014 |
| Wednesday 1 Jan 2014 | Thursday 2 Jan 2014 |
| Thursday 2 Jan 2014 | Friday 3 Jan 2014 |
| Friday 3 Jan 2014 | Saturday 4 Jan 2014 |
There will be no garden waste collections between Monday 23 December and Sunday 5 January 2014. Garden waste, refuse and recycling collections will all return to normal from Monday 6 January 2013.
Residents with a real Christmas tree can recycle it in their garden waste bin as long as the lid can be closed firmly. Alternatively, the Council provides lots of sites where residents can drop off a tree for recycling. To see the details of dates and locations, go to www.midsussex.gov.uk/recycling. Sites are open between Friday 3 January and Friday 17 January 2014.
For more information about Christmas refuse and recycling collections visit www.midsussex.gov.uk/recycling, email wastematters@midsussex.gov.uk or call 01444 477440.
For more information please contact Martin Faulconbridge on 01444 477478 or Martin.Faulconbridge@midsussex.gov.uk
Durand Academy update
Pyecombe spin
Learn to twitch
Sussex Wildlife Trust is offering a five month course at Woods Mill, from January to June 2014, taught by Mike Russell, and involving both indoor sessions and outside field trips that will visit many top bird sites in Sussex. The course covers identification techniques, habitats, bird conservation and populations, migration and birdsong. Suitable for beginners and those with a little knowledge.
11th December 1989
At the moment the shop smells delicious; there are six Christmas trees in there (waiting to go outside when I open) and mince pies and gingerbread plus the smell of oranges and apples and fresh bread. In the window is a rocking horse waiting to be collected. It was made by an old man who makes hand carved walking sticks which I sell here. Another man brought in some nesting boxes and a little wooden wheelbarrow for me to sell. The wheelbarrow is for planting flowers in but somebody bought it last week for a child. I told her I was a bit doubtful and sure enough it’s back here again.
Gill Milner, Old Post Office
The Birds of Sussex
A ‘Green’ icon
Wreath DIY at Saddlescombe
Create your own Christmas wreath with materials collected from the downs. Take a festive walk and collect your holly and ivy. Return to historic Saddlescombe farm to make your very own Christmas decorations in front of a roaring fire in the Tudor Scullery. Mulled apple juice, mince pies and roast chestnuts will be included.
Booking essential. Monday, 23rd December 2013, 10:00am — 1:00pm, adult £6, child £3. More info here.
A fictional plan
As many readers will know from our recent Mayfield posts, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government appointed an Inspector to decide whether MSDC had met ‘the Duty to Cooperate’ in preparing the District Plan. He decided that they had not and has asked them to withdraw the Plan. This means, in effect, that MSDC no longer has a District Plan and thus lacks any acceptable framework on which to base current planning decisions. Here are some excerpts from the conclusions to the Inspector’s report (PDF):
The evidence does not enable me to conclude that .. MSDC gave satisfactory consideration to meeting the unmet development needs (in particular in terms of housing) of nearby local planning authorities. The requirements of paragraphs 178 to 181 of the National Planning Policy Framework have not been met .. I must conclude that the Duty to Cooperate has not been met .. there is also the risk that the Plan could be found to be not sound.
There may be consequences in terms of the Council being unable to meet its 5 year housing land supply requirement. Nevertheless this cannot outweigh the need for effective joint working. I must advise the Council to withdraw the Plan .. This also means that the Mid Sussex Community Infrastructure Levy: Draft Charging Schedule will have to be withdrawn because there will be no up-to-date relevant Plan for the area.
The implications of the Inspector’s finding are in no way restricted to the area to the immediate north of Blackstone.