Southern Transit, a company based at the Upper Beeding butterfly sanctuary, is introducing a new bus service between Shoreham and Horsham that will run every weekend over the period 26th July to 7th September this year. There’s a stop in Small Dole, buses run every couple of hours, and the usual fare concessions apply. Click the map above to download a timetable [PDF].
Update: The Argus reports here.
West Sussex County Council runs a dating website, love.westsussex.gov.uk which enables members of the public to meet, and perhaps even marry, council employees. Council employees have secure employment, reasonable salaries, comfortable pensions and better than average looks which makes them a sensible choice in the mating market.
Er, no, not exactly. At least one of those claims is as misleading as the name of the website. The purpose of the latter is altogether more prosaic. But useful, nonetheless. Check our new reference page, ‘Potholes, etc.‘, under the ‘The Environment’ menu near the bottom of the left sidebar.
The dates for starting work on Lady Brook Spring have now been set as 2nd, 3rd, 4th and the 16th & 17th August .
Contact:
Andrea Dickson/Clerk to Fulking Parish Council
01444 451060/andreadicksonfpc@gmail.com
The South Downs National Park Authority has another relevant press release on this topic:
UK Power Networks, which delivers electricity supplies in the South East, has just completed a project to remove 1.4 miles of power lines, poles and equipment at the Rathfinny Wine Estate. .. The £426,513 improvements were funded by the electricity distributor’s £6.6 million initiative to enhance nationally-protected landscapes. New underground cables have been laid to replace the power lines on the wine estate and National Trust’s Frog Firle Estate.
Pete Currell, from the South Downs National Park Authority, said: “This underground cabling is just one of three schemes happening in the National Park over the next two years and we hope that we’ll be able to announce two more in the very near future.”
The projects are chosen by a regional steering group of environment experts, including the South Downs National Park, and chaired by Natural England. UK Power Networks provides technical support and guidance and carries out the projects. Between 2010 and 2015 UK Power Networks has £6.6million to invest in projects to replace overhead lines with underground cables in AONBs and National Parks in the South East. Since 2005 the company has removed 86km of power lines to enhance some of Britain’s most important landscapes.
Earlier post here.
Lying to the West side of Small Dole village with access leading off the Henfield Road/A2037, a block of mainly level pasture land & including two bay timber & tin pole barn. Mains water. Extending overall to approximately 18.25 acres.
Saddlescombe Road and Devils Dyke Road will be closed between 12.30am and 9.00am on Sunday 13th July thanks to the 2014 Night Time London to Brighton Bike Ride. Access to adjacent properties will be maintained and alternative routes for other traffic will be signed on site.
The Hampshire Chronicle reports:
For the first time, the national park authority has removed planning rights for a field at Bere Farm, Soberton, following concerns that the owner was preparing to subdivide it with fences. .. The 20-hectare field has been recognised for its contribution to local views by the Soberton and Newtown Village Design Statement. The article 4 direction removes ‘permitted development’ rights for fences and gates to help protect the panorama. It does not prohibit their erection but means that planning permission is needed beforehand.
The full report is here and the SDNPA press release is here.
An afternoon walk on 16th July to celebrate National Countryside Week at Woods Mill Nature Reserve. See the newly restored pond, woodland and meadows. The walk will be led by Steve Tillman, Reserves Manager and Rachel Knott, Volunteer Assistant Reserves Officer, whose training is funded by The Prince’s Countryside Fund. The walk is free but booking is essential (places are limited). Call Georgie on 01273 497507 to book and to discover the start time, assembly point, etc.
The West Sussex County Times has been hearing the views of Hargreaves Group, the owner of the mooted iron butterfly sanctuary:
Some references in the media weren’t entirely true. We can’t agree with the SDNPA about what the proposed development will be. They want nice green fields and we don’t want a development unless it’s commercially feasible for us and that there’s some housing developments. The site currently has a B2 General Industrial use, which allows businesses to use the site within designated hours. We have tenants on the West of the site and we get a good return. We could sit on it for the next 20 years and not develop, but we want to work with the parish council and everyone to develop a worthwhile site. It’s a bit of a blight on the landscape and we want to develop it but we are looking at tens of millions of pounds. We’re willing to put in nice walkways and grass land, but we don’t want a butterfly sanctuary.
Read the rest of the report here. Our earlier post is here.
Update 23rd July: Hargreaves have more to say here.
The Midhurst and Petworth Observer reports:
In a report to an [SDNP] authority meeting, chief executive Trevor Beattie told members three cases of ash dieback (Chalara Fraxinea) had been confirmed inside the park. In addition, four cases had been reported just outside the boundaries near Chichester, Horsham and Eastbourne which, he said, risked spreading the disease into the national park. ..
Mr Beattie said: “There is no cure for ash dieback, the disease is here to stay and is expected to spread through the ash population from east to west .. evidence from the past two seasons suggests the spread is slower than expected and spores are moving at a rate of about 10km a year.”
Read the full story here.