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 are making their final preparations to attend the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September.

A number of members from the Chanctonbury area will be heading for the conference which will be held from Saturday 13^th to Wednesday 17^th September.

Debates taking place will include pensions, crime, eco-towns, the housing and mortgage crisis, transport and health.

“We are looking forward to a good conference and some lively debates,” said Councillor Derek Deedman, Local Party Chairman.   “We are also looking forward to speeches from leading figures in the Liberal Democrats, particularly Nick Clegg’s Leader’s speech on the final day.

“People in this area are feeling the pinch with rising unemployment, rising prices for food and energy and a collapsing housing market. So there will be a great deal of interest in the debate about the housing and mortgage crisis and in the speech of Vince Cable MP, our Shadow Chancellor.

“I am also particularly interested in the debate on our visions and values paper, Making it Happen, and on two of our proposed policies - Building a Transport System for the 21^st Century and Shaping Our World Through a Strong Europe. On Making it Happen I especially support the priorities to deliver big tax cuts for those who are struggling and to end the unfair Council Tax, to invest in clean energy instead of nuclear, and getting people out of their cars and into quality public transport. I want to see how our Transport policy will lead to improved public transport for our area, and the way Lib Dem policies will lead to the UK playing a constructive part in Europe to protect and promote our national interests, protect our citizens and further our influence in the world.

“It should be a great few days in Bournemouth which will enable the Liberal Democrats to set out our vision for Britain.”

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.

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.

As the local County Councillor, I have agreed that the proposed Traffic Regulation Order containing additional yellow lines for White Horse Square, Charlton Street and at the junction of Sir Georges Place and the High Street, can be published for public consultation.

The parking of cars in the very narrow White Horse Square has been a contentious issue for many years. Damage has been caused to front walls by vehicles trying to pass the cars parked opposite the houses concerned. The small proposed extension of the yellow lines, although not welcomed by all local residents, is a compromise to protect property whilst not making a significant reduction in the limited number of parking spaces in the area.

The consultation period will be from May to July 2008.

The County Policy & Resources Select Committee on Wednesday (7th) at County Hall will be considering the methods used in preparing the draft Strategy, whether additional groups might be engaged in the preparation of the Strategy work and how to promote the consultation in local communities.

The Strategy will be for all the population, not just those who have been traditionally been supported because they have been seen to have the highest needs. It should: -

aim to build strong and cohesive communities where individuals feel included and recognise their responsibilities;

assist individuals and communities to access services and opportunities with minimal intervention; and

encourage service providers to work as partners in focusing needs and aspirations of people, ensuring that there are high quality affordable services, and improving information provision from a variety of sources including through the web, so people can identify, and take, opportunities and choices.

I will be suggesting that Parish Councils should be included in the consultation, and will be reporting on this the Upper Beeding and Bramber Parish Council meetings this week.

A summary of the Framework document is available from the County Council at:

www.westsussex.gov.uk/scs

Please read the Framework, consider the information it presents, and then respond to the questions at the end of the document.

Pat Stringer, who is just taking over as Commercial Manager of Brighton & Hove Buses, has agreed with Horsham District Council officers that there is an unfortunate gap in the afternoon 2A service to Steyning. He has apologised for the impact this had on bus users from Horsham District.

As the timetable has only just been changed, however, he says it would not be possible to change this again until later in the year. This was because bus operators must give the Transport Authority a lengthy notice of changes and, of course the timetables have been printed and are already in operation.

Pat has, however, agreed to look carefully to try to resolve this issue for the next possible timetable review in September. Although it must not be forgotten, that as a commercial service, the changes would have to be based on a business case. He concedes that the afternoon slot should be able to generate the required patronage.

So, unfortunately not good news for the short term, but Horsham DC officers feel confident that B&H have now clearly got the message and will try to resolve this in the autumn.

In the meantime Bramber, Steyning and Upper Beeding bus users should continue to contact Brighton & Hove Buses when this break in the hourly service causes them a problem.

Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed the extension from 1 April of free off-peak bus travel for over-60s and those with disabilities to anywhere in England using a single pass. And well done Horsham District Council in sending out the new passes to existing bus pass holders before 1 April. All those over 60 who do not yet have a pass should apply now to Horsham District Council.

But yet again the Government has introduced an excellent scheme without providing sufficient funds for councils to carry out the administration and for the bus companies to provide the services.

So a scheme which should encourage more people to get out and about, improving their lives and helping local economies, and using the buses rather than their cars, is being tarnished. Councils are having to consider cutting other council services to offset inadequate government grant, and bus companies might cut services because they are not receiving enough money from councils to cover the cost of the extra passengers!

Locally all existing bus services are continuing (including the 108 Wednesday shopping service to Horsham via Upper Beeding, Steyning and Ashurst), – but the 106 daily shopping service to Worthing still needs more passengers. And the summer timetable for the 2A still fails to link up with the 100 service times through Upper Beeding – so effectively no service for Small Dole residents wishing to go to/from Shoreham by bus.

Lib Dems on West Sussex County Council have yet again been dismayed by the ruling Tory administration’s refusal to allow proper scrutiny of decisions made by the Cabinet. 

Morwen Millson, Lib Dem group leader on WSCC, has criticised the Tory council for once again rejecting a request to scrutinise spending of £1 million of taxpayers’ money. 

“There do not seem to be any criteria that determine how one-off, windfall revenue is spent or what consultation should be undertaken. The total amount is just under £1 million, which is a large sum. The public have a right to expect the Opposition to analyse this sort of spending, but as usual the Tories don’t want to be held accountable to voters. Simply putting a decision paper on the county council’s web site is not good enough.” says Morwen. 

“We need to know what other items were considered to use this money and the business cases for these items, when there are families desperate for more help with their disabled children whose plight is ignored, public transport routes that are being axed due to the county’s failure to invest in modern technology to keep buses moving in our towns and buildings that are not fit for purpose in which our children are being taught.” 

This is the second time in less than a year that a request to call-in a decision has been turned down by the scrutiny chairman. Haywards Heath councillor Brian Hall says, “It is a grave departure from what is ethically and morally correct, to permit such a distortion of the scrutiny process. This is especially scandalous when the Tories have a built in majority on the committee in any case!”

Deputy Group leader Dr James Walsh from Littlehampton adds, “It is not as though we abuse the system at all. We are very selective and sparing in our call-in requests!”

Last week saw grants being agreed for three projects in Upper Beeding, the first two from the Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC) and the other from the Viridor Credits West Sussex Committee.

Bus Shelter

There has been a long campaign by local people for a bus shelter in the High Street at the Kings Head which has now been supported by a petition of 58 signatures. It has not however been easy to progress because the site is in a conservation area of the Village and any bus shelter would need to fit in with the surrounding buildings such as the Kings Head.

The Parish Council has now proposed a high quality hardwood shelter, which will enhance the built environment of the area and provide shelter from the rain and wind for people waiting for the bus. It will be especially valuable for non-car owners (old and young) and hopefully encourage others to get out of their cars to use public transport.

Such a bus shelter is much more expensive than a normal modern shelter and the CLC was pleased to be able to approve a community grant of £1,500 for the Parish Council towards the extra cost.

Replacement radiators for the Beeding & Bramber Village Hall

The boiler for the Hall was replaced last year, but had to be connected to a heating system of radiators and pipework which are 35 years old and which regularly break down.

The CLC recently gave a community grant to Ashington for a similar heating system, and so was pleased to be able to approve a grant of £2,000 to enable the Beeding & Bramber Village Hall Management Committee to upgraded their heating system.

Skate Park for Small Dole

Small Dole in the Parish of Upper Beeding is rurally isolated from facilities for young people, and it has been identified that there is a demand in the area for a proper skate park.

The Parish Council therefore bid for a community grant from Viridor Credits West Sussex to help fund this much needed recreational opportunity for young people in the area, which will also provide a usable, yet challenging facility for all ages and levels of experience.

The Viridor Credits West Sussex Committee, Small Dole, which meets at the Horton Landfill Site to allocate grants from landfill tax, was delighted to approve a £30,000 grant towards the cost of over £40,000 for the Skate Park to be sited at Mackey’s Field in Small Dole.

Derek Deedman said, “It is great that these two Committees on which I am a member have been able to part fund these improvements in Upper Beeding which will be of such help to all ages in the local community.”

The franchise to operate rail services in the South Central region (which includes West Sussex) is due for renewal in 2009.

The Department for Transport is carrying out a consultation exercise to help decide the  terms of the next franchise contract.

The Chanctonbury County Local Committee on 18 March at Pulborough Village Hall will be discussing the priorities for improvements that the County Council will put forward to the Department. If you have views on local rail services please attend the Committee meeting and/or send me your comments.

Some of the issues which may be of concern are: -

journey times, reliability, connections with bus services, overcrowding on trains,

problems on trains which may arise from large numbers of children travelling to school,

ticketing arrangements which could be improved, and

access to stations, parking problems etc.

One of the problems in the Steyning area is the lack of sufficient buses at times for connection to London trains at Shoreham Station in the morning and evening peaks. Perhaps the new rail operator should run ‘Rail Buses’ from Henfield and Steyning at those times to connect with the London trains?

The consultation exercise on whether a bus shelter should be provided outside the Methodist Church in Steyning High Street, conducted through the Winter Edition of the Bramber Castle Focus, has shown little interest.

Of the few responses received the majority were against the provision of a bus shelter. There will now therefore be no further action on this matter.

First the good news:-

Following requests from passengers, Brighton & Hove Buses are providing for an extra 2A bus from Steyning in the morning rush hour, as currently there is a gap from 7.28 to 8.38am, and, due to heavy traffic at that time of day, the 8.38 is often late.  This extra bus has been achieved by altering the 8.08 from Shoreham Beach (which is a starter from the depot) to start instead from Steyning at 7.52am.  This daily journey will start on 6 April 2008.

But the bad news is that Brighton & Hove Buses cannot see an immediate solution to the Small Dole-Shoreham connection problem at the Rising Sun in Upper Beeding, as both the 2A and Compass’ 100 are governed by needing to fix the hourly headway around school journeys.  The Company agree, however, that it would be good if it could be achieved in the future, and it remains on Brighton & Hove’s list.

Brighton & Hove Bus Services are having problems with this Service, in that it now carries many schoolchildren and also becomes delayed in the Shoreham area due to heavy traffic on certain days. This has led to its next journey at 8.38am from Steyning to Shoreham, Brighton and Rottingdean running late, sometimes by 15 minutes or more.  This return journey passes through Shoreham at 9.00am so is the first journey that Countycard holders can use to travel free, which because it is now late has led to a number of complaints and the bus becoming further delayed.

As an experiment at the beginning of January the route was altered to operate from Bramber via the Steyning by-pass, Horsham Road to drop off at Steyning Grammar School and then head straight back into Brighton.  This did improve timekeeping, but Brighton & Hove then received a complaint that people who work in Steyning were now reaching the High Street that much later, and were late for work. Brighton & Hove have therefore stopped the experiment and the bus now runs its normal route.

However, Brighton & Hove consider the result of the experimental route had shown that it did successfully improve reliability and was beneficial to a far greater number of people than were inconvenienced.  The Bus Company will therefore be officially altering the route of this journey from the next timetable change on 7 April.

Whilst this proposed change is understood surely the better answer is to run the Service earlier so that no one is inconvenienced? Apart from this change there is also the need to see that the return times of the 2A throughout the day are changed, to enable a connection with the 100 service in Upper Beeding for travellers from Henfield and Small Dole who wish to go to/from Shoreham and Worthing.

It has been suggested that a bus shelter be provided at the bus stop in the Lower High Street outside the Methodist Church.

However Steyning Parish Council has decided not to provide a bus shelter at this point, without consulting bus users as to whether there is any support for a shelter. This is surprising at a time when people should be encouraged to use public transport. Clearly sitting down in a bus shelter has considerable advantage over standing and waiting in the rain!

Since it appears impossible to provide a bus shelter for Shoreham bound passengers in the High Street, a short walk to a bus shelter in the Lower High Street would provide an attractive alternative, out of the rain, for those who have to wait a while.

Derek Deedman recently attended a joint meeting of the five South Horsham market towns community partnerships, to put the case to the County Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport for better public transport. The current problems Derek raised included: -

*the one and half hour gap in the 2A bus service from Shoreham to Steyning in the late afternoon,

*the requirement for Small Dole residents to wait nearly an hour in Upper Beeding for the connection between the 100 and 2A Services if they wished to go to/from Shoreham and Worthing,

*the lack of a direct bus to Worthing throughout the day, and

*the lack of limited stop peak time services to both Brighton and Worthing for people going to work or attending University or College.

Derek said, “Although the Cabinet Member agreed to look at the Upper Beeding connection between the 100 and 2A bus services he made no other commitments.

“It is very disappointing that at a time when we should be tackling climate change by encouraging more people to use the buses rather than their cars, that the Tory-run County Council is not investigating what extra bus services would encourage people out of their cars and is not providing sufficient additional funds to improve the existing provision of public transport.”

Members of Steyning Women’s Institute recently highlighted the one and half hour gap in the 2A bus service from Shoreham to Steyning in the late afternoon.

Derek Deedman has discussed this problem with Brighton & Hove Buses and the Public Transport Group at County Hall.

Sadly the Bus Company are not willing to restore the otherwise hourly service throughout the day. This is because, as a fully commercially operated service (with no subsidy from the County Council), they have to operate the extra 20 bus service at the evening peak time by using the earlier, late afternoon, bus which would otherwise run on to Steyning. An extra bus would be required to overcome the problem, for which they have no funds.

The County Council is unwilling to help fund this extra bus to Steyning as they have had to make reductions in funding for bus services this financial year to keep within the County budget. The Public Transport Planner appreciates that having a gap in the timetable of one and half hours in an otherwise hourly service is undesirable, particularly during the build up to the evening peak hours. He is, however, unable at present to find the extra funds necessary for the extra bus, although he has told Derek that it will be added to the ‘Wants List’ for new and additional services.

Derek said, “It is very disappointing that at a time when we should be tackling climate change by encouraging more people to use the buses rather than their cars, that the Tory-run County Council is not providing sufficient additional funds to improve the provision of public transport.”

At the Steyning Parish Council meeting last night a senior Horsham District Council officer outlined the current position on the car parks in the Town.

High Street

It has been agreed after months of negotiations that the fenced-off wall will be reconstructed by the District Council, with future maintenance of the wall being the responsibility of the neighbouring owners.

It is expected that the arrangements for carrying out the work will take a few months so that the reconstruction work will not be fully completed until mid-2008. In the circumstances the District Council will investigate painting temporary chevron white lines next to the fence to gain as many parking spaces as possible.

Fletchers Croft

The temporary spaces alongside the entrance road will be repaired by the District Council with the costs shared with the Primary Care Trust. The District Council may also consider making the spaces permanent after the temporary Health Centre has been closed to give more car parking spaces at the car park.

Newmans Gardens

With the new Health Centre under construction and the works related to the new Care Home about to start it is likely that there will be a period when use of the car park will be further disrupted in the early part of 2008.

Part of the car park (ten spaces) will be used for parking at the site offices for the Care Home contractors and more of the remaining 4 hour waiting spaces will be converted to 24 hour parking. This will provide more long-term parking spaces for both workers in the Town and the workers at the two construction sites whilst the Health Centre and Care Home are being built.

The District Council says it is committed to improving communications with local people on what is happening at the car park over the coming months.

The Parish Council has asked the District Council for greater enforcement, by the car parking wardens, of the yellow no parking lines in the High Street. This is to prevent even more cars displaced from the car parks clogging up the High Street.

Action is being taken to further increase the number of car parking spaces in Steyning with a new car park next to the Library for the School during school hours and the community the rest of the time. In addition the District Council is being pressed to reorganise the Newmans Gardens car park to provide more spaces once the construction works are completed. However, in the long term, we cannot expect to cope with ever increasing car traffic, and much more must be done to increase the number of cycleways/footpaths and public transport to encourage people out of their cars when travelling to Steyning.

The winter timetable starts on 9 December 2007 and, as you may be aware, it will include significant changes to West Coastway and Arun Valley services.

The key changes are:

• Faster trains from Chichester to London with most trains running non-stop between Barnham and Horsham.

• A new through service every hour between Brighton and Southampton.

• Faster trains between Brighton and Portsmouth.

• Bognor Regis and Littlehampton will both have two trains per hour to London for most of the day.

• New services from Littlehampton to Portsmouth.

Many rail users should benefit from the new services. It is also hoped that others who may not previously have used the railway will be encouraged to give trains a try. All passengers who use West Coastway and Arun Valley services are being advised to check the new timetable as their train times may well have changed.

These changes are brought about by the renewed South West Trains’ (SWT) franchise whose trains will no longer serve Brighton and West Coastway stations from this December. Through the changes, the same or a better quality of train service should be provided for the vast majority of current passengers – about 84 per cent. However, these changes unfortunately mean that for a minority of passengers’ journey times may increase (for example journeys from Arundel, Amberley, Pulborough, Billinghurst and Christ’s Hospital to London may take up to 8 minutes longer) or a change of train may be required where it is not currently necessary (for example Littlehampton to Brighton passengers will need to change at Hove though journey times will be faster).

To help communicate the changes to passengers information roadshows will be staged at larger stations along the route. It is hoped that this will ensure that passengers are aware of the potential change to their service and also of the new opportunities that there will be.

The nearest roadshow to Steyning will be at the following station:

If you would like to arrange a specific time on any of this day to speak to a manager about these changes, for example the west coast timetable expert, contact Yvonne yvonne.leslie@southernrailway.com to pre-arrange this.

Brighton Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy Timetable for Dec 2008 – Consultation

The proposals for the December 2008 timetable are now available for consultation. If you have not received the consultation document and would like to, please contact Yvonne yvonne.leslie@southernrailway.com

Derek Deedman said that he hoped the changes would make it easy to convince people to transfer from car travel to rail, but, as usual Steyning area people will not be able to see a road show on the changes at ‘our’ local station - Shoreham-By-Sea. but would have to go to Worthing instead.

Supported by the Focus Team for some time, and agreed in principle by the Parish Council to meet the demand from local residents, the project has been delayed due it being in a Conservation Area. A special design is required, for the shelter to blend in with the architecture in the High Street, and to meet planning conditions. Lib Dem Campaigner, Andrew Purches, will continue to press the Parish Council to overcome the problems involved

Following the report in the summer edition of the Bramber Castle Focus it has been confirmed that the Sunday 100 bus service from Pulborough to Burgess Hill through Steyning, Bramber, Upper Beeding and Small Dole was withdrawn from 7 October. This leaves Small Dole with no public transport services on Sundays.

And now the winter schedule for the 2A bus service to/from Shoreham to Steyning means that bus users from Small Dole would have to wait in Upper Beeding for nearly an hour both ways to make the trip to Shoreham/Worthing. Previously there was only a few minutes to wait between the 100 and 2A bus services at the Rising Sun in Upper Beeding to go to Shoreham with a bit longer coming back. The new times means that it is unlikely anyone will now use public transport to go to Shoreham/Worthing!

Derek Deedman has taken this up with both the County Council (which supports the 100) and Brighton & Hove Buses (which runs the 2A), but neither is prepared to change their respective timetables because of the need to tie in with 5/6 school times on the 100 route and the impact on times with other bus services in Brighton. Brighton & Hove have said they will keep the situation under review.

Thanks to Brighton & Hove Buses however, although the Council subsidy for the 2A Sunday service would have limited the operation of the service to between 10am and 5pm, the Bus Company has decided to continue to run the service to Steyning on Sunday evenings on a commercial basis.

The 106 bus service to Worthing has also been saved, thanks to Compass Travel deciding to operate it on a commercial basis. But this remains only a once per day morning shopping service, with the bus leaving the Steyning area just after 10am, and leaving Worthing at 1.35pm to return to Steyning. This does not help those wishing to go to/from Shoreham/ Worthing at other times of the day to work or use leisure and entertainment facilities. It will need more people to use this shopping service if it is to survive now the Tory run County Council has cut its subsidy.

But the Steyning area has lost out in the extension of the Brighton & Hove Buses successful 24 hour bus services. The N7 service will be extended every hour during the night from central Hove through Southwick to Shoreham. So, even though there are Brighton night workers who live in Bramber/Upper Beeding/Steyning and young people wishing to attend the late night facilities in Brighton, they will have to continue to use their cars.

Local Lib Dem Ros Deedman has written to the Bus Company complaining that, despite the need to encourage the use of public transport instead of the car in the fight against climate change, the Steyning area has been excluded from this improvement in bus services.