Earlier in the year I was told that a scheme for bollards or railings, to stop vehicles mounting the pavement to avoid waiting their turn to exit the schools, had been included in the 2008/09 minor scheme programme. I was assured that I would be contacted when the final designs for the scheme had been prepared.

The officers in charge of school travel plans have now said that whilst both the Grammar and Primary School Plans mention traffic congestion in the area, they do not mention any need for bollards or restrictions on the spur road.

I have now reminded the County Council about the promised provision of bollards or railings along the Shooting Field spur road to the school entrances

As will have been seen from the local press, major Maintenance Works to Bramber A283 Court Bridge are due to start next week and could last for some eleven weeks. Work will generally take place from 7am to 7pm, though there may be occasions when works finish earlier or begin later in the day, depending on the type of work carried out.

The work will take place on one lane at a time, with the north and south sides across the bridge being closed to traffic in turn to assist the flow of traffic during the course of the works, with 2 way traffic lights. These will remain in place until the works have been completed.

Permission has also been given to use part of High Trees Car Park at the Beeding roundabout situated opposite the bridge for storage of materials that are to be used for the works. Every effort will be given to keep disruption to car park users to a minimum. The van that parks in the car park will still be able to provide a service to walkers during this time.

Focus readers will recall that these works were expected to have been carried out during the summer months and that the stretch of road concerned, between the Beeding and Bramber Castle roundabouts, would be subject to a temporary 40 mph speed limit. There is no mention of such a speed limit in the latest publications about these works and I have asked whether this will not now take place.

It is also a great pity that these works have delayed, as previously they would have taken place with over the summer holidays. Now there will be much greater traffic problem at peak hours with all the school traffic on the roads.

I have been contacted about what action can be taken to reduce the danger to pedestrians using the narrow part of the Lane from it’s junction with Laines Road to the chalk pit.

Previously the Steyning Parish Council suggestion to provide a pavement was rejected by County Highways. This time it has been suggested that the above mentioned closure of the Lane would make the road much safer for pedestrians whilst not stopping the small amount of traffic going to/from the chalk pit. Through traffic going over the Downs would use the more suitable Bostal Road.

I have also been contacted by another local resident, who drives and walks this section of road regularly, who can see why the closure suggestion has been made, but believes that it is not a practical way forward. 

He believes the perceived safety of walkers would be the only benefit from the proposal.

He considers that with the route currently being used by many residents of Newham Lane, Laines Road, Hills Road and the surrounding estate when entering or leaving Steyning, forcing these vehicles to use the Bostal Road route would cause more problems. Additional traffic would go through the village centre and/or use Ingram Road as a ‘rat run’. In addition there would be extra traffic at the Bostal Road junction which is already probably the most hazardous location for traffic and pedestrians in the village. The proposal would also lead to longer journey times and increased fuel consumption for a significant number of Steyning residents and visitors.

He has never felt unsafe walking the section of Newham Lane in question, and considers the narrowness of the road works to the walker’s advantage by forcing traffic to slow significantly. If it is felt that steps need to be taken to make the Lane safer for walkers, he suggests warning signs, ‘Walkers in Road’ or similar, perhaps combined with extending the 30 mph limit up to the chalk pit.

I have asked the Parish Council for views on the possible closure of this Lane at the entrance to the chalk pit, taking into account these alternative views, and this will be considered at the Highways & Lighting Committee meeting on 30 September.

Following reports of illegal parking on yellow lines in Saltings Way and Pound Lane, Upper Beeding; Horsham Council officers (acting under delegated powers from the County Council) have told Derek Deedman that they will be giving greater attention in future to the illegal parking in those roads.

Residents are rightly concerned that much of this illegal parking is hazardous and could result in accidents if such parking is not prevented.

At long last the new Steyning Health Centre opens at 10am on Monday, 1 September. For more information go to the Health Centre website via the link on the left.

There are two meetings next week.

Upper Beeding Parish Council meets on Tuesday at 7.30pm at Small Dole Village Hall.

Ashurst Parish Council meets on Thursday at 8pm at the Village Hall.

Both meetings are open to the public with District and Parish Councillors present to answer questions. I will be on holiday.

In an article today in many national newspapers I understand that the Tories will be launching a drive to encourage healthier lifestyle and insisting that people claiming biological or environmental causes for their obesity are simply making excuses.

Well they obviously have no idea why most people get into this condition. Just one example from the whole variety of possible causes - for those on low incomes, is to compare the price of junk food/sweets etc with good nutritional meals/fruit etc – no prizes for guessing which is the cheapest. They are really launching a persecution of such people by encouraging bullying in the playground, at work and in the community. The outcome will certainly not reduce obesity but might increase the number of suicides.

Only a few Small Dole residents are interested in the possibility of such a bus service suggested by Compass Travel and advertised in the Summer edition of Focus. Just eight people said they would use this bus service. In view of the low number I am sad but not surprised that the Manager does not wish to pursue the matter at the present time.

I will include a report on this in the next edition of Focus and this may provoke further support for such a bus service. If so it might be possible to convince Compass to at least trial a service before Christmas.

LIBERAL Democrats in Arundel & South Downs have given their strong backing to ambitious calls by Nick Clegg MP for Britain to become self-sufficient in energy.

The Liberal Democrat Leader has called for a major programme to build up Britain’s own energy supplies through wind, tidal, wave and biomass technologies.

Mr Clegg said, “We have an enormous opportunity to create real energy independence for the UK, freeing ourselves from the shackles of foreign oil, coal and gas. This will require the kind of ambition and political will that succeeded in putting man on the moon.”

County Councillor Derek Deedman said, “I am delighted that Nick Clegg is calling for a green revolution in the way we produce power.

“The recent Russian invasion of Georgia and the ongoing troubles in Iraq and Iran show just how dangerously reliant Britain is on energy from unstable parts of the world.

“We have to build up our own energy supplies and as an island nation, we have an abundance of natural and clean energy sources that both Labour and Conservative governments have failed to develop.

“Whilst Labour and the Conservatives joined together earlier this year to agree Britain should have a new generation of nuclear power stations, Liberal Democrats believe this will leave a legacy of radioactive waste for future generations. It will also leave us dependent on foreign supplies of uranium.

“Liberal Democrats in Arundel & South Downs welcome Nick Clegg’s call for Britain to develop clean energy supplies and become self-sufficient in them by 2050. This is an industry in which we as a nation should aim to be world beaters“.

Despite the weather looking ominous yesterday it held out for the whole session (10-3pm) at the Memorial Field, and the event was yet another success for the Local Action Team.This follows on the success of the mobile skate park events in Upper Beeding last month. A big ‘thank you’ must go to the Neighbourhood Wardens and Horsham’s Mobile Skate Park supervisor for the organisation at the event.

The younger children came in the morning as planned and really enjoyed it and quite a few parents came to watch on and off as well.  Unfortunately there was an injury (broken arm!) but it comes with the territory and could have happened walking across the street.  Horsham’s Mobile Skate Park supervisor dealt with it perfectly and an ambulance was called.

The afternoon went well too with some of the older kids coming along.  Again the behavior was great, noise minimal and they helped pack up and clean up at the end.  A number of residents walked by and everyone was very supportive.

The Local Action Team will be reviewing the mobile skate park events which have taken place over the summer to see what can be done to build on their success.

This is the great news from Jennie Musgrove, the Project Coordinator for the new building which is due to be handed over by the contractor this Friday 22nd August - 2.30pm on time and within budget. Congratulations to Jennie and her team on this success!
Following the delivery of new furniture and fittings next week, the doctors, other health professionals and administrative staff will move in on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th August. The Upper Beeding Surgery will remain be open for emergencies during the move. The New Health Centre will then open to patients on Monday 1st September.

The existing temporary Health Centre buildings in Fletchers Croft are due to be removed on 2 and 3 September, so the Steyning Centre car park will be closed whilst the removal work is carried out. The work should be completed in time for the car park to re-open just ahead of the school term start on 4h September.

For more information about the New Health Centre click on the link on this website under Health services.

The official opening celebration date has yet to be confirmed but is still likely to take place in October.

The meeting of the Steyning, Bramber and Upper Beeding Local Action Team (LAT) today heard that the Steyning Zero Tolerance campaign is a success. The figures for anti-social activities are being collated, but the indications are that they show a welcome downturn on the figures for the same period last year. Good news for the launch of the campaign in Bramber and Upper Beeding next month.

However, aggressive behavior by individuals who have become intoxicated with alcohol continues to be a problem. In my view we must start to change the culture in this Country, that getting ‘merry’ or drunk is just a ‘laugh’ and is something to be expected, especially from young people. The media is to be blamed for promoting such a culture, particularly on television.

Not that the media is much better on the smoking front. How many TV programmes can you name where people are unnecessarily shown as smoking and/or drinking to excess? We cannot expect young people in particular not to smoke or to drink to excess when leading personalities are shown doing just that almost every night. It would surely not be difficult to eliminate such activities from television shows? The savings to the NHS from fewer smokers and heavy drinkers would be enormous, as would be the benefit to family life and community safety from a reduction in anti-social behavior from drunks on our streets or in their own homes.

The Police, Police Community Support Officers and our Neighbourhood Wardens can help tackle the drunks in our community, but the Government, media and people as a whole can do much more to show that drinking to excess is unacceptable in a civilized society. And let’s do much more to show that anyone with any sense or concern about their own, as well as other peoples, health should not be smoking at all, not just in those places banned by law.

I have been asked why the County Council no longer directs Horsham District Council household waste collection to go to Small Dole.

This is because when the landfill capacity in the County started to run out the County had to make interim arrangements for disposal of the waste prior to the new Materials Resource Management Contract (which will deal with all waste not re-used or recycled) coming into operation in 2009/10. Since at the time (last year) the Small Dole site was due to close in April 2008, and any extension was subject to planning approval, that site could not be considered and so an interim contract was agreed for all Horsham household waste to go to Warnham from this year.

This interim contract is now in operation. As all the recycling and waste minimisation targets have been achieved, along with a lower growth in waste than had been anticipated, the waste going to Warnham is only just meeting the minimum tonnage agreed in the contract.

Whether this lack of municipal waste going to the Small Dole site will have an impact on the current estimated life of the site will be raised at the next meeting of the Horton (Small Dole) Landfill Liaison Group.

The construction of the new Health Centre is expected to be completed later this month.

Provided all goes to plan it is likely that the move to the new building will take place at the end of August with the new Health Centre open for business from 1 September. The temporary Health Centre will close whilst the move takes place, but the Upper Beeding centre will reamin open for urgent appointments.

The temporary buildings at Fletchers Croft should be removed a few days after, but the Steyning Centre car park will have to close whilst this takes place. The new car park in Church Street (next to the Library) for the School (and community use after school hours and at weekends) should help relieve the parking situation at that time.

There will be more publicity about the move and confirmation of the dates at the Temporary Health Centre, in the local media, and hopefully the Parish Council’s ‘Steyning News’.

George Cockman, Steyning’s Independent District Councillor, has just passed me a complaint from a local resident in Newham Close who reports that she was unable to get her car out of the Close recently, because of parking on both sides of the road.She writes that this has been getting worse for some time with residents from other roads using the Close for parking; it would not be possible for emergency vehicles to access houses in the Close.

Since this is a County Council and Police matter, George has asked the Police to have a look at the situation, and I have asked the Local Traffic Engineer to investigate whether a Traffic Regulation Order, restricting parking in the area, should be considered.

Local Lib Dem Focus Team member, Andrew Purches, has informed me that Highways staff have been out in Upper Beeding today surveying what action can be taken to improve the traffic situation in these roads.

These surveys relate to the possible Traffic Regulation Orders for parking restrictions in these two roads, reported in the Summer edition of Focus as having been planned for 2009/11.

It is understood that Upper Beeding Parish Council asked for some action to overcome the problems for traffic caused by the parked cars on these narrow roads. It is not clear, however, what action was suggested by the Parish Council as the records currently cannot be found. Andrew, who is also an Upper Beeding Parish Councillor, will be pursuing the matter with the new Parish Clerk.

In the meantime, whatever scheme is eventually proposed by the County Council for each of these roads, there will be full consultation with the public on the details of any scheme before they are approved by the Chanctonbury County Committee for work to take place within the next two years.

Commenting on the news of Northern Rock losses of half a billion pounds since nationalisation, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable said:”These figures confirm the suspicion, held by many of us, that the Government and the regulators were badly deceived by Northern Rock’s former managers when they agreed to bail it out on the basis that it was a good bank with a good loan portfolio.

“Some of us suspected at the time, and it is now clear, that reckless lending by the managers, in some cases to well in excess of the value of the property, was going to lead to large numbers of borrowers being unable to sustain their mortgage payments in difficult times.

“I am encountering cases of people being repossessed as a result of deeply foolish loans and the bank and the taxpayer who now own Northern Rock are having to absorb the resulting losses. The one redeeming feature of the current situation is that when markets recover, the Government will be able to retrieve some value from the sale of the bank which would not have been the case had they underwritten the losses of a privately run bank, as was their original plan.”

Concerns have been expressed about the letter to all residents from the County Council regarding the future operation of the Horsham Mobile Waste Service in the Chanctonbury area.

I can confirm that the proposals listed in the letter for the period from July 08 to March 09 are taking place. This includes the provision of the appropriate containers in the car parks used for the Mobile Service such as Fletchers Croft, Steyning as stated in the letter.Where this has not yet happened WSCC and HDC are sorting this out and will be reminded about the matter if it does not happen!

The proposals from March 09 are still subject to discussion with the Parish Councils and further meetings of the Task Force are being provisionally arranged for October and December this year. I am sure concerns about the bulky non-hazardous waste collection after next March will be shared by others and debated at those meetings.

For those who feel that the changes do not reflect an improvement in services, the letter does not represent the final word on the situation. I have no doubt that all parish, district and county cllrs will still be working to get the best possible service for local people from March 09.

West Sussex Liberal Democrats have welcomed the announcement that the County Council is to consult residents on spending more money on footway maintenance.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Morwen Millson says, “The Liberal Democrats have consistently pressed the Conservative led council to spend more on pavements in order to improve residents’ safety.

“Last July we called on the County Council to improve access to services, in particular by provision of safe crossing points, well maintained footways and reliable transport to enable vulnerable people to access vital services safely and easily.* This proposal led directly to the formation of Footways Task Force (referred to in the Council Press Release), which is looking at the issues around pavement maintenance.

More recently, our budget amendment in February this year called on the Council to put an additional £400,000 into additional maintenance of roads and pavements. Although the Conservatives voted this down as unnecessary and unaffordable, they have since put an extra £300,000 into repairing pot holes and have now announced this consultation on footway maintenance to address a back log of nearly £20 million on faulty pavements. We are delighted that the Conservative Council is responding to the Liberal Democrat agenda of providing pavements the people of West Sussex want to walk on.”

The state of pavements and twittens in my area is on constant concern to many local people, especially the elderly,  and so an improved level of maintenance from this u-turn by the Tories can only be welcomed. 

During a debate at the County Council meeting on 25 July, Liberal Democrat Councillors condemned the Council’s performance on supporting the education of young people being looked after by the Council.

The Council’s Corporate Plan aimed to increase the percentage of West Sussex Looked After Children gaining at least one GCSE from 60% to 68%. The target was not reached.

Lib Dem group leader, Morwen Millson, said, “The Council has been concerned about the educational achievement of this group of children for almost eight years and yet has still not achieved just 68% of all Looked After Children attaining just one GCSE. As Corporate Parents we continue to fail our most vulnerable young people.

Deputy Leader Dr James Walsh said : ” The Council is failing disgracefully to support this most vulnerable group of children. Their life-chances are being taken away from them, as they will be virtually unemployable without even single a low-grade GCSE to show from their education. Many are truanting, and little action is taken. We must not let this go on, and urgent action is needed now”

I also spoke on this matter and said, “As a corporate parent visitor to one of the Council’s Children’s Homes, it is clear to me that there needs to be much greater co-ordination between those responsible for the care of each child and school staff if the educational achievement by our looked after children is to be improved.”

County officers have now analysed the speed monitoring results of traffic through the Street and confirmed that it does qualify for a 20mph speed limit.

The request for the introduction of a 20mph scheme has been assessed against the County Traffic Regulation criteria. The assessed score of 28 puts it 5th on the Chanctonbury County Local Committee priority list, and means that the request could be implemented in the next financial year. 2009 - 2010.

Congratulations must go the Bramber Parish Councillors who have worked hard to achieve this outcome, and I will be supporting an early introduction of the 20 MPH limit.

The County Road Safety Team have told me that this review will be carried out later this year to assess the impact of the speed management scheme introduced early last year on the A281 through Woodmancote.

It has been confirmed that once the review is carried out I will be given the details of the outcome.

I discovered recently that when the new national concessionary bus scheme was introduced from April this year, the concessionary bus pass for companions to help blind people use buses was made discretionary to district councils. And most councils in West Sussex have decided that with Government Grant insufficient to cover the cost of the concessionary bus scheme in their area they would stop providing the concessionary companion bus pass.

This is discrimination against blind people and indeed others with disabilities who need a companion to use the buses.

I have taken this up with Horsham District Council, and whilst they are willing to pay for a companion pass within the Horsham District they have been unable to persuade other West Sussex District Councils to do the same.

I therefore raised this matter at the West Sussex County Council meeting on Friday, 25 July, and suggested that the new Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning & Transport should fund the cost of providing such companion passes accross the County. (The take up of the 3-in-1 discount card has not been as much as expected so there should be a big saving on the budget of £2.9m for that scheme.)

I also suggested that part of the saving from the 3-in-1 discount card scheme should be used to fund an extension of the concessionary disbilities bus pass scheme so that it operates earlier than 9 am. This would encourage people with disabilites into work as they would then be able to start work before 9am as required by most employers.

Parking along this section of the Lane causes access problems for larger vehicles such as refuse lorries or emergency vehicles. I have requested on behalf of local residents that parking is removed from this area to allow larger vehicles unimpeded access and to remove congestion caused by parked vehicles.

The County Council proposal, which is designed to facilitate the passage on the road or any other road of any class of traffic (including pedestrians), is:-

*To extend the double yellow lines on the North East side of Castle Lane from the end of the existing double yellow lines to the driveway access of Edgehill, and

*To extend the double yellow lines on the South West side of Castle Lane from the end of the existing double yellow lines to rear access of Hillside Terrace.

Hopefully this will be approved by the Chanctonbury County Local Committee and the works carried out later this year.

To all visitors to my website.

Due to the failure of the computer support arrangements for all Liberal Democrat Councillors websites for a few days recently this site was not available.

Hopefully this has now been resolved and business will be as usual in future!

Information Shops are a partnership between West Sussex County Council Youth Service and local District Councils. They provide young people in West Sussex, aged 13-25, with information, advice and support on: -

• Counselling
• Help to write a CV
• Pregnancy Testing
• Help to fill out forms
• Access to a wide range of information
• Condoms
• Leaflets
• Housing Referral
• Sexual Health
• Advocacy i.e. speak on the young person’s behalf
• Drugs and Alcohol intervention
• Liaison with other helping organisations
• Internet use
• And…much much more. Information Shops aim to: -

• Offer young people social education - in other words, help them make informed decisions about all areas of life e.g. work, relationships, health, finances.
• Respect young people and their point of view.
• Treat all enquiries as confidential.
• Be on the young person’s side. They do not talk parents, teachers or anybody else in authority without their agreement to do so except in very special circumstances, which would be discussed with the young person.

The Staff

• Are friendly and welcoming & easy to talk to.
• Do not judge in any way or make people feel embarrassed when dealing with personal issues.
• Help young people make positive choices without telling them what to do.
• Are trained to a high standard
• Will try and find someone who can help if they are unable to or specialist help is needed.

The Adur Information shop is based in Shoreham for young people in the Adur District area. It also, however, able to help young people from the Bramber Castle area of Ashurst, Bramber, Small Dole, Steyning, Upper Beeding and Woodmancote. The Shop is advertised at Steyning Grammar School.

Information Shops are currently under threat as previously reported on this website, but the Adur Information Shop clearly fulfill a major role in helping young people from the Bramber Castle area and I will what I can to ensure it is maintained.

For more information go to the Adur Information Shop website link shown under the Young People category on this website.

Once again this County Council meeting is likely to be webcast.

To see your County Councillors in action take the link via the West Sussex County Council website. The meeting starts at 10.30am.

One of the major items to be discussed is the County Council response to the Boundary Committee for England proposals for the new electoral divisions from 2009. Of particular contention are the proposals for the County Councillor for Billingshurst to also cover  Ashington, and significant division changes in Crawley. No changes are proposed for Bramber Castle.

Sussex Police is very keen to promote the use of the Neighbourhood Policing Website and increase the readership of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) individual blogs. Did you know that there is a facility for individuals to ’sign up’ to automatically receive blogs when they are published?

This is done by visiting the Sussex Police Website at www.sussex.police.uk selecting the individual PCSO for Steyning (Andy Reed) or Bramber/Upper Beeding/Small Dole (Carol Boniface), and click on the box ‘Get your Updates by Email’. You then simply complete your email details in order to receive regular blogs. This facility can be stopped at any time. (There is a link to the Sussex Police website from this website under ‘Neighbourhood Policing’)

This seems a great way of increasing PCSO contact with local people and I hope many people will take up the offer.

Liberal Democrats in Arundel & South Downs have welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Britain by Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Called ‘Make it Happen’, the paper will be debated at the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September.

In ‘Make it Happen’ the Liberal Democrats say:

·         They will cut taxes for ordinary families

• If your local hospital can’t see you on time, they will pay for treatment elsewhere
• They will switch taxes from people to pollution - so it pays to go green
• To improve standards in education, they will fund extra help for those who need it most
• They will put Britain at the heart of Europe to make us a force for good in the world
• They will stop ID cards so we can keep control of our privacy
• They will change the voting system so everyone’s voice counts
• They will bring communities together with local people in charge

·         They will give communities a say in how offenders pay for their crimes

Derek Deedman, Chairman of Arundel & South Downs Liberal Democrats said, “I am delighted to be able to back ‘Make it Happen’. It sets out how the Liberal Democrats will run Britain.

“No resident of Arundel & South Downs has escaped the rising cost of food and fuel. The credit crunch is biting hard and local people are feeling the pinch.

“Nick Clegg has set out how we can help ordinary people through cutting taxes on those on low and middle incomes. Thousands of people in my area will benefit from this.

“In September, members from the Arundel & South Downs Executive Committee will be heading to the Liberal Democrats’ conference where we are looking forward to taking part in the debate on ‘Make it Happen’.”

I have recently been approached about the possible closure of the Shoreham based Adur Information Shop.

I have asked how many young people from Ashurst, Bramber, Small Dole, Steyning, Upper Beeding & Woodmancote use the services available at the Shoreham based shop. Apart from the Worthing Information Shop it is clearly the most accessible from a public transport point-of-view, and far closer than the one in Horsham. Hopefully statistics of such use are available.

I do not recall seeing any publicity in the Chanctonbury area about the Adur Information Shop, and yet the services available could be a useful facility in helping the Bramber, Beeding & Steyning Local Action Team interact with young people in the area.

Comments about the use of the Adur Information Shop by young people from this area would be very useful.  

The Liberal Democrats have today outlined radical plans to tackle youth crime.

The dual approach aims to stop young people committing crimes in the first place by enabling them to play a full role in society through increased training and volunteering, as well as stopping criminal behaviour early by making young offenders face up to their crimes.

The main proposals contained in the paper A Life Away From Crime (copy from me via my email address) include:

· The creation of a Youth Volunteer Force, to engage with young people, involve them in community projects and give them skills to benefit them in later life
· Establish Community Justice Panels across the country, where offenders admit their guilt to the community and agree on a Positive Behaviour Order as a course of action
· Create a dedicated PCSO youth officer within every Safer Neighbourhood Team to identify and work with teenagers most at risk of offending
· 10,000 more police on the streets by scrapping the ID cards scheme
· Intelligence-led stop and search and ‘hot spot policing’ targeted at gun and knife crime
· Restorative justice programs to be run in every community, specifically targeted at early intervention with widespread use in schools and care homes

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Affairs Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

“This Government has spent 10 years trying to sound tough while failing to cut youth crime.

“In fact, ministers have embarked on the mass criminalisation of a generation of young people. By dragging more and more young people through the criminal justice system, they have reduced the fear of a criminal record and contributed to the problem.

“Instead of shock tactics to grab headlines, we need practical measures that are proven to work.

“Only the Liberal Democrats propose a dual approach to stop kids from getting involved in crime in the first place, and measures to make them face up to the consequences of their actions if they do.”

The next meeting of the Parish Council takes place this evening at the Steyning Centre, Fletchers Croft, Steyning.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm. The Neighbourhood Wardens will be reporting on recent activities, and District and County Councillors will also be present to report and answer questions from Parish Councillors and public.

Many congratulations to the Neighbourhood Wardens for the success of the Mobile Skate Park held at Upper Beeding Primary School on 10 July.

Clearly the kids had a great time and also enjoyed seeing some demonstrations from Peter Short (who runs the Mobile Site and has roller-skated for England).

Hopefully the Mobile Skate Park events next month in Steyning will be as successful.

Click on to the Neighbourhood Wardens website (on useful links) for more information about last week’s event.

The weed growth in this footpath has now been treated and the evidence of this should shortly become visible. The Local Highway Manager has assured me that Highways staff will keep an eye on it in future and if it needs more than one spray a year it will be organised.

Concern has also been expressed about the overhang growth problems, but these are totally the responsibility of the landowners. Woodmancote Parish Council will be writing to all the relevant landowners asking them to deal with the problem, as such personal letters have been shown to be far more effective ( 95% success rate ) than the County Council sending impersonal letters which tend to be ignored. If no action results from the Parish Council letters within a reasonable timescale, then the County Council will be willing to follow-up more formally in due course.

I have asked the Parish Council to obtain more statistics of use of the footpath so that a case may be made to complete the final part into Henfield. Clearly such a scheme will have a higher priority in the Highway Works Programme if an increasing number of people are using the footpath.

At the special meeting held yesterday morning at my suggestion, with Parish and District Councillors, the local Highway Manager revealed the results of the traffic survey carried out north and south of Blackstone during a week last month.

It was found that at the checkpoint south of the Village that 266 vehicles per day passed at an average of 33/34 mph, with between 86 and 91% travelling at less than 41 mph. At the northern checkpoint, near Rose Cottage, the daily figure was 247 vehicles at an average speed of 39mph with some 66% travelling at less than 41 mph.

In view of the low traffic speeds, the meeting agreed that the introduction of a 40 mph limit, although justified by the existing speeds, would probably, based on experience elsewhere, lead to an increase in average speed up to near the 40 mph. In addition it was noted that the daily traffic numbers were much lower than on other ‘c’ classed roads.

The provision of road humps was suggested to reduce current speeds, but since this would require street lights and road markings and signs this was ruled out on environmental grounds.

Concern was expressed that the County Council was not doing enough to implement the County Highway Plan with regard to reducing lorry traffic along Blackstone Lane, and the Local Highway Manager agreed to discuss this with the officers at County Hall responsible for the implementation of the Plan.

It was suggested that individual action to report speeding lorries to their owners or to the Police via the Operation Crackdown number/website (see the link on this website) would help tackle the problem of lorry and speeding traffic.

Overall the meeting had to agree that in view of the low number of vehicles using the Lane and the low speed of that traffic, there was little that could be done to address local concerns about the use of the road. Woodmancote Parish Council will be reporting back to local residents in more detail about the meeting.

I have agreed to investigate further the possibility of advisory traffic signs re-directing lorry traffic from Blackstone Lane to other routes. In addition, at my request, the District Councillor present at the meeting agreed to investigate whether Horsham District Council could implement improvements to the centre of Blackstone since it is an official Conservation Area. Such works would enhance the local environment and might also deter through traffic using the Lane.

The next Parish Council meeting takes place tomorrow evening at the Parish Hall, Brighton Road, Woodmancote.

The meeting starts at 8pm, and County & District Councillors will be present to report on current activities as they concern the Parish and to answer questions from parish councillors and the public.

The Forum (CAFWS) aims to improve countryside access for all across the county. It is an independent, advisory body operating on a statutory basis.CAFWS was established in 2003 as required by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW Act), which placed a duty on each County Council, Unitary Authority and National Park to set up a Local Access Forum (in West Sussex this is CAFWS).

There was an excellent Forum Workshop at Haywards Heath on 2 July about the West Sussex Rights of Way Improvement Plan. The Plan was prepared last year but, although required by Government, no extra government funding has been provided to enable the Plan to be implemented.

The Workshop discussed ways in which CAFWS members could influence various bodies such as County, District and Parish Councils to assist in implementing the priority parts of the Plan. I made a strong plea to give the improvement of the Downs Link a priority, with more links to local communities such as Small Dole for cyclists. Ways to achieve this were discussed, including greater involvement of Parish Councils along the Downs Link route.

I have added a website link to the CAFWS website for people to keep up to date with it’s activities and progress on the Rights of Way Improvement Plan.

This footpath is currently being temporarily closed for emergency electrical work.

It has been agreed, however, that once the work is finished, the contractors will re-instate the path to the full width available. This would make it possible to consider making the route from Breach Close to the Grammar and Primary Schools entrance usable for cycling as well as the very many pedestrians who use it every day.

I will ask for this to be taken into account in the the school travel plans currently being revised.

A small number of residents have expressed support for a route alongside the Henfield Road, suggested in the Spring edition of the Bramber Castle Focus. This would enable people to walk/cycle between the villages in safety. Some said that it would also encourage them to cycle rather than use their cars.

One respondent suggested that rather than build such a new roadside footpath/cycleway, a cheaper solution would be to use the existing Right of Way (FP 2775) along New Hall Lane, and then go west to connect to the Downs Link. This would then provide a direct access from Small Dole by foot and bike safely to Henfield and Steyning in a much nicer environment.

Does this latest idea have local support? Please let me know.

Following the outcry against the proposed closure of this Service and the consequent setting up of a joint County, District & Parish Councillors Task Force to review the proposal, it has been agreed to continue the Service, with some minor changes, until March 2009.

The main changes are: - all metal items will now go into the caged unit for recycling, and hazardous waste such as TVs and computers will no longer be accepted.

From April 2009, a revised fortnightly mobile service will  concentrate on green waste for recycling,  co-ordinated with the roll out of the District Council’s new improved kerb-side collection  arrangements.  The mobile service for non-recyclable waste will also continue, but on a less frequent basis – possibly monthly.

This joint working by the local community  has achieved success, and the County Council has pledged to keep us  informed on the service in future.

Tuesday, 1 July

Upper Beeding Parish Council meets at 7.30 pm at the Beeding & Bramber Village Hall, High Street, Upper Beeding.

Wednesday, 2 July

Bramber Parish Council meets at 7.30 pm at the Beeding & Bramber Village Hall, High Street, Upper Beeding.

Thursday, 3 July

Ashurst Parish Council meets at 8 pm at the Village Hall, Ashurst.

County and District Councillors will be present to answer questions from the public.

Upper Beeding Primary School, Upper Beeding Baptist Church and Beeding & Bramber Village Hall have joined forces for today’s Village Fete. The profits  from this event will be divided equally between all three charities.

Mrs Connell, Teachers, Teaching Assistants, parents, friends and School Governors (including me!) are giving up some or all of this Saturday to help make the Fete a success and are manning some of the stalls.

The Fete starts at 10am and finishes at 5pm.  The weather is supposed to be good, so come along to join in the fun.  See you there!

In the by-election in Henley yesterday the Liberal Democrats increased their share of the vote and held their own against the Conservatives, in spite of the Tories current very high opinion poll ratings.

Labour suffered the most humiliating result losing their deposit and coming fifth.

The result was: -

Tory 19796 56.7% (+3.2%)

Lib Dem 9680 27.7 % (+1.7%)

Green 1321

BNP 1243

Labour 1066

Ukip 843

Others 966

Turnout 34915

The key message for the next General Election from yesterdays result is that in contests with the Tories, the Lib Dems should hold their current seats, whilst in contests with Labour, the Lib Dems are likely to make gains.

Compass Travel have a bus available for an additional shopping service on a Wednesday, and I have been contacted about the need for such a service from Small Dole to Brighton.

Clearly such a service would not provide the daily regular hourly service to Shoreham and Worthing lost when the 2A service timetable was changed, removing the connection with the 100 service, but if the shopping service was to Worthing –would it meet a need? The service could include Edberton, Fulking and Poynings.

Compass Travel say they would need to carry at least 15-20 people each week to justify it without a subsidy. And with fuel prices soaring it is unlikely  such a subsidy would be available from the County Council, which will be under pressure to increase the subsidy for existing routes.

So, is there a demand for an additional shopping bus service to Worthing or Brighton? Please let me know.

Operation Crackdown, which has been a great success in removing abandoned vehicles from local neighbourhood, has been extended to try to tackle anti-social drivers.

A representative of Operation Crackdown was at the Chanctonbury County Local Committee on Tuesday to explain the new campaign which has been in operation for a few months.

You can tell Operation Crackdown about anti-social driving y