Roy Plomley presents Horsham District Discs

Henfield Steyning car parking
Horsham District is about to introduce car parking charges. We live in Mid-Sussex District so, obviously, we will be exempt from these charges. Er, no, apparently not. And both Henfield and Steyning are in Horsham District. You probably park briefly in one or the other on several occasions a week. Much the cheapest way to use these car parks on a regular basis will be by purchase of a disc*. Luckily, Horsham District is allowing Mid-Sussex residents to buy their discs so you will not need to bribe an acquaintance in Steyning to secure one for you. During March and April only, you can get two for £12. But the scheme goes live on Monday 3rd April so you will need to order your discs this month. Click the image above to reach the relevant website.


*The alternative is to buy a pay-and-display ticket each time you visit one of the car parks. This will cost you £39 a year assuming that you park just once a week.

Sussex Countryside Awards 2017

Sussex Countryside Awards

Our near neighbours Sussex Prairies (Henfield) and the Sussex Produce Company (Steyning) have both won these awards in the recent past.

The Countryside Awards are open to any project or enterprise, large or small, completed between December 2010 and January 2017. The closing date for entries is 31st March 2017. Categories include Rural Enterprise, Environmental Education, New Sussex Landscapes, and The Making Places Design Award. Further information here.

Clappers Lane drainage? The demolition of Hillside? The permanent diversion of Public Path 4F? Coppicing at Pondtail Wood? New Timbers? The restoration of Lady Brook Fort?

Readers are encouraged to come up with (even) better local candidates for awards.

And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear

Duke of Burgundy on Cowslip
The Duke of Burgundy butterfly is one of the most rapidly declining and threatened species of butterfly in the UK. Numbers have crashed by over 50 per cent since the 1970s and only about 100 colonies remain. In 2003, just eight Duke of Burgundy butterflies were recorded in the whole of Sussex. Over the next two years, Neil Hulme and Steyning Downland Scheme volunteers will be planting cowslip to encourage the Duke of Burgundy back to the chalk grasslands of the Steyning Downland. Neil has already been successful in seeing the Duke of Burgundy return to Chantry Hill, about nine miles west of the Steyning Downland. There will be opportunities for local people to work with Wakehurst Place/Kew; to collect cowslip seed and grow cowslip plants; to learn how to identify and monitor the butterflies; and to conserve their habitat. Anyone who is interested should go to the free launch event at the Steyning Centre at 7:00pm on Monday 8th December to find out more. More here.