Archive for category: News

At the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council held 24^th May, two of our guest speakers were Janet Stead, Development Coordinator, and Mark Collins, Fleet Manager from Community Transport Services. They gave a very interesting talk on the community transport service that they provide – this is their story:

 

Community Transport Sussex was formed on 1^st of October 2016, when Crawley Community Transport, Bluebird Community Partnership and Horsham District Community Transport all merged.

 

As a charity we cover Horsham, Crawley, Mid Sussex, including Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, East Grinstead, and the surrounding areas. Also, in the last few years we recently welcomed the Dial-a-Ride Southern Services as a new member, which includes the districts of Adur and Worthing and in Jan 2023 we opened a depot in the Bognor Regis area.This means we are covering most of the county of West Sussex, and our Head Office is based in North Chailey.

 

We also work closely with our friends in other local community transport providers and are happy to help them because there is always a need.

 

As you can imagine It hasn’t been an easy journey and like many transport providers, we had to navigate COVID which saw many unable to function and stop operating all together. We were one of the lucky ones as we picked up school contracts taking SEND ( Special educational needs) children to and from school which helped all our depots and this continues.

 

Our aim has always been to combat loneliness and isolation by helping local people who struggle to access public transport due to age, disability, or lack of safe or adequate public services in their area.

 

CT Sussex carries out more than 10,000 passenger journeys a month. Registration with us is free and allows you to use the service as needed, depending on driver and vehicle availability, the more notice you give us the better we can plan ahead.

 

We cover things like medical appointments, Covid vaccines (for NHS East and West Sussex), trips to day care centres/ garden centres even the local pub.

We also plan and organise our own excursions, which can be via funding availability or grants. And are happy to facilitate group excursions. Our average return fare is approximately £9 depending on distance.

 

CT Sussex has recently helped in the formation of Arun Community Transport, which rose from the ashes after the old Arun group folded in August 2018. Arun CT have become associate members of CT Sussex, maintaining their independence but being able to come to CT Sussex for occasional support and help with compliance and training. The Amberley and Slinfold Community Bus has also joined as an associate member in June 2019.

 

CT Sussex is also facilitating new CT networks in the districts of Horsham and Adur/Worthing and has been asked to do the same in the Chichester area.

 

We are working with West Sussex County Council and local primary care networks including social prescribers, developing a project across Health and social care to help as many residents as possible to be able to access vital medical appointments, social care deliveries and facilitate any other journey which contributes to the improved health and wellbeing of those individuals. To give an example, during COVID and beyond we worked in partnership with the NHS to transport passengers for their covid vaccines and were asked to run a call centre for the whole of East & West Sussex

 

Having grown from 1 small Dial-a-Ride charity with 2 minibuses, CT Sussex now runs 50 plus vehicles from our 7 depots for itself and other community groups, making a substantial, positive impact to the lives of thousands.

 

One of our latest projects is the Henfield Electric Community Car Club which allows villagers to hire a car they can either drive themselves or volunteer their time to drive non-driving members. This is a community-led project which we support and is a great opportunity for families who can’t afford a second vehicle. We also have a wheelchair accessible vehicle, bringing the whole community together.

 

One lovely story over the Christmas period was that a family hired a car to visit other family members in Oxford who they hadn’t seen for a number of years.

 

Membership is required for this project and volunteer drivers undergo a short training session to familiarise themselves with an electric vehicle. The cost of the hire is £5 per hour.

 

The project started in September 23 and currently has 55 members and 11 volunteer drivers, due to its success, we would like to mirror this in other areas.

 

In 2024, UK car owners are spending over £3,800 annually to run their cars each year. Owning an electric car in the UK costs approximately £50,873 which includes a diverse range of models from affordable options to top- tier luxury vehicles, but it’s a cost many households can’t afford.

 

Chailey Parish Council have kindly put a transport survey on their website, which helps us demonstrate evidence of need and we would love the opportunity of working with the Council in the future, so please do fill in by going to the Chailey Parish Council website, and clicking on the link

https://chaileyparishcouncil.gov.uk/news/community-transport-survey

 

 

 

Newick Lawn Tennis Club will be holding a free taster day on Sunday 19th May, from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. For more details please go to their website at http://www.newickltc.org

 

One of the main aims of our Neighbourhood Plan is to help and encourage the preservation of the beauty of our village.  Indeed, the “Vision for Chailey” reads as follows:

“Chailey will continue to be a thriving community which protects and retains its quiet, rural character and enhances its built and natural heritage.   Sustainable development that respects its countryside setting will be supported and infrastructure improvements will be encouraged.  The most highly valued countryside areas in the Parish will be recognized and conserved. Job opportunities within the village will be actively encouraged to provide improved prospects for local people. The sense of community spirit and cohesion will be fostered and increased.”

Note particularly the reference to:

1. Protecting and enhancing Chailey’s built and natural heritage;
2. Recognising and conserving the most highly valued countryside areas;
3. Fostering and increasing the sense of community spirit and cohesion.

The heart of our village is Chailey Green and the area surrounding the Church.  In recognition of the importance of preserving this, the Green has been a designated Conservation Area since 1976.  In the Conservation Area Appraisal prepared by Lewes District Council, much is made of the attractive historic buildings surrounding the Green and also of the various views into and out of the Green.  Quoting from the Appraisal:

“The conservation area has a pervading sense of enclosure, almost separateness, provided by the concentration of buildings that surround the Green.  Nevertheless, the rural setting is an integral part of the character of the conservation area, with views across open fields possible in several locations.  Views of the wider countryside are possible along the northern part of Lewes Road between the Reading Room and Chailey Primary School……There is an attractive vista into the conservation area from the south where Lewes Road is tree-lined with some views of the open countryside and where Place Cottage and Beards terminate the vista.  An attractive vista is found up and down the tree-lined lane that leads to Chailey Moat, also either side of the lane there are fields which can be seen through a continual line of trees.  Some pleasing views and vistas are also available from a point standing on the Green and looking towards the surrounding properties.”

Bearing this in mind, your Parish Council is concerned by the increasing use of the lay-by along the centre of the Green as a more or less permanent parking area.  We feel that the presence of vehicles parked in the heart of the Conservation Area is detrimental to the built and natural heritage of the Green and fails to recognise and conserve one of the most highly valued countryside areas of Chailey.  It tends to destroy the beauty of the various views and vistas which are so well described and documented in the Character Appraisal.  However, any action to restrict or even ban such parking can only be undertaken with the support and agreement of Chailey’s residents.  Otherwise, Chailey’s sense of community spirit and cohesion may be damaged.

Therefore, your Parish Council asks you to consider the following questions:

1. Do you agree that the presence of a line of parked vehicles along the centre of the Green detracts from the special identity and status of the Conservation Area?
2. Should such parking be accepted by the community?
3. If such parking is acceptable at all, should its duration and scope be limited?
4. Would parking for the limited purpose of visiting the Reading Room be more acceptable?
5. Should residents of the properties around the Green be given special permission for overnight parking on the Green?

Please respond, by the end of June 2024, to the Parish Clerk at the Reading Room, so that your views may be taken into account in the formation of any parking policy we may try to develop.

Chailey Parish Council, The Reading Room,Chailey Green,East Sussex, BN8 4DA

Tel: 01825 722388

Email:  Clerk@chaileyparishcouncil.gov.uk

 

 

 

The UK’s telephone network is changing. Between now and 2025 most telephone providers will be moving their customers from old analogue landlines over to new upgraded landline services using digital technology. This means services that rely on the old landline system such as home phones and healthcare devices will be switched over. The upgrade will be delivered by the telecoms industry in a phased approach. 

 

What are the implications?

The landline switchover has implications for adult social care due to the connectivity of telecare devices such as fall monitors to the new line. Also, for vulnerable residents who may not have an internet connection or mobile phone, digital landlines cannot carry a power connection so in the event of a power cut they will not work.  Residents who have older mobile phones will not be able to connect to the new network so will need to update their phone. 

 

Please see attached a factsheet containing information and guidance to help residents navigate the upcoming changes.

 

Community Transport Sussex is working in partnership with Parish/Town Councils and other community transport operators by carrying out a short survey to help understand the need in local areas and inform Planning of local transport provision across Sussex. Would you be able to help the Community Transport team by completing the survey attached here https://forms.office.com/e/Yn4tcWd1GF 

If you have any trouble accessing this form, then please do not hesitate to contact the Clerk at Chailey Parish Council.

Clerk@chaileyparishcouncil.gov.uk

Tel: 01825 722388