August 2, 2024

Welcome to this week's blog. As always, thank you for sparing the time to have a read. We hope you’ve been enjoying the hotter weather this week, and were careful if you did a “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” and went out in it. 

We still have four of the six weeks of Summer left so let’s hope the weather holds enough to allow for some special memories. Last weekend, Donna and I went somewhere I have driven by a couple of times when rerouted because of heavy traffic, Hampshire’s lavender farm near Selborne. Once right in the fields I remembered my selfie stick in the car and went back to capture the memory for us to look back on, and our children and grandchildren. We also recently visited my father’s grave, and intend to visit my mother’s at some point and my grandparents who are buried in Wiggionholt next to the RSPB Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve.

This week we have had several meetings, including on Monday CDC’s Budget Task & Finish Group for me, on Tuesday Donna meeting with a group of Sidlesham residents and on Thursday our both having a follow-up Strategic Progress Meeting with STC’s Senior Officers. I also had the first meeting of STC’s Warners Yard Task & Finish Group with Ali, Ian and Val, while Donna caught up on some urgent casework. We also continued our daily monitoring of the traveller incursion at East Beach in Selsey and continued to repeatedly press CDC, WSCC who act for CDC in these matters, and the Police for an eviction. On Wednesday morning we were informed by the Police that they would be issuing notice later that day, which they did late afternoon and the travellers left. 

Since then we have liaised with CDC about litter and security, feeding back what you have asked us to share and monitoring progress 

Watch CDC’s public meetings here, and Full WSCC here. 

East Beach in Selsey has also been in the news, because planning permission is being sought for the WSCC Connected Places pilot, which we wrote about two years ago. The grant was awarded from the Government’s Economic Recovery Fund in November 2021 which means it has not come out of Council Tax. Another project that might interest you is Greenprint which is exploring the potential for using grass cuttings from highway verges in the production of biofuels and road materials. 

This week’s interesting reads include how to get into and start your car when your key fob battery is dead, a different sort of scenic walk if you travel to Ardingly and one type of fibre may be particularly good for losing weight.

Until September 1 you can make a food bank donation when you shop online with Tesco

We reported last week that over £2.9 million has been awarded to CDC to develop options and outline designs for a sea defence scheme that would reduce the risk of coastal flooding and erosion along the 4km of Selsey seafront. The money has been awarded by the Environment Agency after CDC’s coastal engineering service, Coastal Partners, carried out early feasibility work, which highlighted that more than seven hundred properties could be at risk of coastal flooding if a 1 in a 200-year storm occurred. This number is predicted to increase over the next one hundred years, along with the number of properties at risk from erosion. The current defences are nearing the end of their life and although a lot of work has been carried out over the years to help prolong them, a long-term solution is now a priority.

The Government consultation on their proposed new Planning framework can be accessed here. However, before you delve into it, this take from the Financial Times is worth a read as is the Local Government Chronicle’s breakdown.

We were sad to learn that Drew Allardice, CDC’s Community Warden for Bracklesham and East Wittering, passed away this week following a short illness. Drew had worked for CDC since they set up the Community Warden scheme back in 2005 – and was based in Bracklesham and East Wittering for 15 years of that time. Like Selsey’s current warden, he was loved and respected within the area and so we send our condolences to his partner, family and friends.

Finally: - 

• Report potholes to WSCC

• Housing Health & Safety

• Warmer Homes UK

• Suicide in Sussex

• Domestic Abuse

• Supporting You

• WSCC Meetings

• CDC Meetings

As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.

Tim