At tonight’s District Council’s Scrutiny Meeting I highlighted the doubling of the number of people in Mid Sussex on the waiting list for social housing since 2018, and proposed the Council include the statistic in its regular review of performance indicators. Earlier this year I had highlighted this information was not even included in the annual Housing Services Delivery Plan, and I am pleased the Council agreed to rectify this.

Buying their first house is a struggle for most people, and for an increasing number it is just not feasible, and with an expensive private rented sector, the demand for social housing can only increase. Whilst too many of the new housing being built locally is beyond the reach of local house buyers, the new Abbeville Park development at Fairbridge Way is a welcome change, being built by Placesforpeople it will provide 100% affordable housing.

The District Council rightly focuses on the homeless, and reducing the increasing numbers in temporary accommodation, but we also need the wider context of housing need to remind us that for new housing to benefit local people more affordable homes need to be built. The District Council’s Housing Team provides support for the homeless or those in housing need.

Good to see Cllr Peter Chapman elected as the new Mayor of Burgess Hill at tonight’s Town Council meeting, with Cllr Janice Henwood joined by Cllr Tofojjul Hussain as joint Deputy Mayors with unanimous support from all political parties. The Liberal Democrat controlled council tonight gave its support to providing funding for Sussex Clubs for Young People and the Escape Youth Club, who in conjunction with the Town Council have submitted proposals to West Sussex County Council to manage the Park Centre. This would safeguard and enhance youth and community facilities for the town – although still waiting for a formal decision from the County Council on the proposal. The outcome of a tender to demolish the British Legion building was also agreed, which is the first stage of the Town Council’s proposals for the Beehive, which aims to provide a new performing arts centre for the town.

Thanks to Dan for helping me cut this hedge which was blocking the pavement on Mill Road near Firtoft Close, this was following a resident raising the issue at this mornings Councillors Surgery at the Town Council Helppoint (10-12 every second and fourth Saturday of the month). I also took the opportunity of his help to remove the dead branches partially obstructing the pedestrian bridge at Fairbridge Way!

We know that the disposable plastic we use on a daily basis is harmful to the planet and to ourselves, micro-plastic is found in our bodies, in our water and in our food, yet we are painfully slow in providing alternatives to single use plastic. 

This year, the government is starting to decide on legal targets for reducing plastic waste and it’s important to provide a baseline for current usage which is why as a member of Greenpeace I am supporting their campaign to measure the amount of plastic packaging we use.

The aim of the campaign is to reduce single-use plastic by 50% by 2025 by transitioning to reusable packaging and supporting non-plastic alternatives such as our own Scrapless, the plastic free store.  Join the Big Plastic Count for 16^th-25^th May and measure your plastic use in the next week to provide the baseline for the campaign.  It’s also good to contact retailers or manufacturers who provide unnecessary plastic packaging to highlight your concern.

Thanks to a massive response from local residents, the petition to call for a Community Governance Review was signed by 3,000 residents and the next stage commenced with Mid Sussex District Council forced to conduct a formal six week consultation with the residents of Burgess Hill and Ansty which ends on 3^rd June. When this exercise is completed draft recommendations will be made & there will be further consultation on these in the summer. The final recommendations go to full MSDC Council in September this year.  However the logic is clear that the Burgess Hill Northern Arc belongs in Burgess Hill and the original officer recommendation for boundary changes is upheld.  This exercise has cost tens of thousands of pounds of tax payers money in the notifications sent to residents and officer time, all because Conservative Council continue to take exception to Burgess Hill – do respond to the consultation – see the Town Council’s response here, and the Mid Sussex consultation page here.

Not content with demolishing the Martlets Hall without a replacement, turning down proposals last year to improve the “slab” where the demolition site is, and failing to exercise any control as the freeholder of the lease held by New River Retail to enforce its responsibilities to keep its properties under proper repair, the latest insult to Burgess Hill by Mid Sussex Conservatives is to grab the rates income otherwise due to the Town Council.

Burgess Hill has taken thousands of new houses, not least from the Northern Arc, which although it is outside the current boundary of Burgess Hill, has always been intended to be integral to the town. The District Council’s officers had already proposed this would take place with a boundary review to bring the Northern Arc into the boundary of Burgess Hill from 2023. However, it seems Mid Sussex Conservatives want to prevent this, and voted at a meeting last week to keep the existing boundary whilst still expecting Burgess Hill to put up with all the problems from new housing and its effect on local services such as the increasing congestion of our roads.

Tonight all political parties on the Town Council have come together to condemn this move and a petition has been launched which if 2,000 signatures are obtained will force the District Council to reverse this decision. This will allow the Town Council to fund local town wide services for the new housing. As a Conservative member of the Town Council stated of the District Council’s attitude as “local politics in the worse possible way.“ I urge you to sign the petition which will shortly be available on the Town Council’s website to overturn this perverse decision.

Whilst welcoming the chance to get a significant investment in new pitches I was disappointed, the District Council seems to have rowed back on the more ambitious proposals previously put forward – the new Centre for Community Sport, which will be located opposite the Triangle Leisure Centre risks becoming solely football, rugby and hockey pitches, with an “optional” cricket pitch. This is despite being granted 9 hectares of land by Homes England and being funded by s106 developer contributions from new housing in the Burgess Hill area – Mid Sussex District Council itself is contributing very little to the scheme.

It seems rather than meet identified local needs as promised on the Homes England website, the initial consultants report makes no mention of athletics and other local sports, and when I asked the Deputy Leader at tonight’s full Council meeting, he was not able to positively confirm that full consultation would take place to include provision for athletics and the wider range of sports originally proposed. We have been promised “extensive public engagement” over the next twelve months to shape and refine the proposals” and I look to a meaningful debate on what is really needed rather than what the Council is telling us is required.

The consultants “recommended layout” comprises the following:

Football:1 x 3G Football Turf Pitch and Ground to FA Step 5 Floodlighting and viewing stand. 2 x football changing rooms in a pavilion shared with rugby. 4 x grass youth football pitches.

Rugby: Regulation 22 World Rugby compliant artificial turf pitch. 2 x rugby changing rooms in a pavilion shared with football. Floodlighting and viewing stand

Hockey: Full sized floodlit hockey pitch (Gen 2 multi-sport surface) to beprovided at the Triangle Centre site. Parking for 120 vehicles with drop off, coach parking

Optional Facilities: Artificial wicket and cricket pitch, to the natural turf pitch area to the south of the site. Small cricket pavilion and parking.

This Saturday 12 March, Burgess Hill Town Centre sees the normal monthly market, as well as Spring into March special events with a drop in children’s crafts at 83 Church Walk from 10am – 2pm. There will also be a free Climbing Wall, Strike a Light reaction game, and street entertainers from 10am – 2pm. No need to book for any of these activities, just turn up and enjoy. And perhaps not quite as entertaining there is even the regular twice monthly Councillors Surgery 10-12 at the Town Council Helppoint!

Have raised the issue of these shoddy groundworks left on Maple Drive from installing this grid, this is a clear trip hazard, particularly when it is so close to the entrance of the Hawthorns Play Area. Following my complaint, the County Council’s Inspector “has raised several defects against the licence issued for these works and this site will remain on our Streetworks Inspection cycle until full remedials are carried out to the required standards”. Information on current street works can be found here.