News and events

Please see communication from SGN regarding upcoming gas pipe replacement works in Cuckfield:

We’re writing to make you aware we’re about our project to upgrade the gas network in the Cuckfield area. The project involves the essential replacement of old metal gas mains with new plastic pipe to ensure we continue to provide a safe and reliable gas supply to the local area. Our contractor Medway Utilities will undertake this work on our behalf.

So that we can minimise disruption, we have carefully consulted and planned our works in partnership with West Sussex County Council. Our work will start on Monday 23 July 2018 and lasting for approximately six weeks.

To ensure everyone’s safety from Monday 23 July, we need to temporarily close Broad Street/B2184 to eastbound traffic, between its junctions with High Street/B2036 and A272 Roundabout, for approximately six weeks. Signed diversions will be in place via B2036 and A272. Broad Street/B2184 will remain open for westbound traffic.

We will also need to temporarily close London Lane from its junction with Broad Street/B2184 to adjacent Broad Street House, from Monday 23 July for approximately four weeks. Signed diversions will be in place via via B2036 and A272 for the duration of our project for motorists.

We will then continue northwards on London Lane to its junction High Street/B2036 until the end of August. To ensure everyone’s safety, we will need to install temporary traffic lights around our work area.

We've planned to carry out the road closures during the school summer holidays to reduce inconvenience to the local community. We will be doing everything we can to minimise disruption during our essential work including two teams working simultaneously.

We understand that people can get frustrated by roadworks. However, the new plastic pipe has a minimum lifespan of 80 years. This means that when the work is complete, Cuckfield residents will continue to enjoy the benefits of a safe and reliable gas supply for years to come.

WEST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE

London Lane, Cuckfield 

NOTICE is hereby given that in pursuance of the provisions of Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1984, as amended, the use of London Lane, Cuckfield from junction with Broad Street to High Street is temporarily prohibited from 23/07/2018 at 08:00 to 03/09/2018 at 18:00

This closure is necessary to allow Southern Gas Networks to replace gas mains

Emergency vehicle, Residential and Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times

The alternative route for traffic will be signed via Broad Street, Cuckfield Bypass, South Street, High Street and vice versa

This notice will be effective for a maximum of 21 days from the date given above

Any queries about the effect of the closure on traffic using the highway please contact the West Sussex Contact Centre on 01243 642105

Any queries about the nature of works please contact Medway Civils and Utilities on behalf of SGN on 07713567019

Dated 13/07/2018

Matt Davey

Head of Highways and Transport

Please note that from Monday 23 July, due to the temporary closure of Broad Street/B2184 to eastbound traffic between its junctions with High Street/B2036 and A272 Roundabout for approximately six weeks, both Compass and Metrobus will be unable to run their bus service along this road.

The nearest bus stop in use will be the one on the High Street, just up the road from the Corner Café.  The bus will then divert along the Cuckfield Bypass to travel into Haywards Heath.

Broad Street/B2184 will remain open for westbound traffic, and the bus services will continue to run along this route as normal.

Notices are being displayed at the effected bus stops and on the buses.  Both bus companies apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, due to events beyond their control.

Local children and their families are invited to come along and enjoy a free afternoon of fun and activities in Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Hurstpierpoint at the start of August.

Mid Sussex District Council has organised a variety of rides, games and creative activities for local families to enjoy on 1, 2, 7 and 8 August to celebrate national Play Day 2018. The theme this year is ‘beside the seaside’ and all the activities are inspired by the traditional British beach holiday. There will be donkey rides, Punch and Judy shows, a bouncy castle and a helter skelter. Children will be able to get their faces painted and race their friends using solar powered boats. An arts tent will enable children to be creative and trained Circus performers will be on hand to show them how to juggle, hula-hoop, tightrope walk, and balance on stilts. One of the biggest issues facing our coastline and the ocean right now is plastic pollution spoiling our beaches, polluting our drinking water and killing wildlife. We’ll have a Plastic Beach game for children to play to help them learn more about how we can reduce plastic on our beaches.

Councillor Gary Marsh, Cabinet Member for Service Delivery said:

“Our Play Days are always tremendous fun for all the family and we have another great line-up of activities this year.

“Parents know that it’s not easy to keep the little ones entertained during the school holidays so it’s great that we are able provide free family activities at convenient locations across the District.” Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Community added:

“Our Play Days provide a wonderful opportunity for the local community to get together and enjoy a fun afternoon with friends, family and neighbours. All the activities are free so please come along on the day and join in the fun.”

The free Play Day events will be held at:

·       Victoria Park in Haywards Heath from 11am until 3pm on Weds 1 August

·       St John’s Park in Burgess Hill from 11am until 3pm on Thurs 2 August

·       King George’s Field in East Grinstead from 11am until 3pm on Tues 7 August

·       Court Bushes Recreation Ground in Hurstpierpoint from 11am until 3pm Weds 8 August

Funding has been provided by the Clarion Housing Group to enable us to host a Play Day event in Hurstpierpoint for the very first time. The money is part of the Clarion Futures project, an initiative that aims to make estates and neighbourhoods more attractive and vibrant places to live. The financial support provided by Clarion means the Play Day at Court Bushes Recreation Ground will feature free miniature train rides for children to enjoy, in addition to all the seaside themed events. Play Day is a celebration of children’s right to play and a campaign to highlight the importance of play in children’s lives. The 2018 events have been organised by Mid Sussex District Council with support from Clarion Futures, Places For People Leisure, Burgess Hill Town Council, East Grinstead Town Council and Haywards Heath Town Council.

For more information contact Regina Choudhury, Mid Sussex District Community Development Officer on 01444 477495 or email [email protected] 

If you are thinking of becoming a local Councillor and would like to find out more, please see the links below to provide you with further information:

West Sussex County Council has produced information about being a County Councillor. You can view it here: https://beacouncillor.co.uk/we...

 Ahead of the 2019 elections MSDC has also produced updated information about being a District Councillor. You can view it here: https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/m...

Thank you for being water savvy in the sunshine!

We'd like to thank all our customers for using water wisely during the recent heatwave. This ongoing heatwave has seen demand for water increase by more than 30%, due to people watering gardens, washing cars and filling paddling pools.  On a normal day, this outdoor water use makes up six per cent of all water use, but on hot days this can soar to 70%, mainly due to garden sprinklers which use up to 1,000 litres of water per hour - more than a family of six uses in a day! To meet demand, we've been pumping more than 100 million extra litres of water a day - the equivalent of 1.25 million flushes of the toilet! However, as the graph below shows, over the last few days, water demand has dropped as people use our water saving tips and reduce their non-essential use, so we'd like to say a big thank you to all our customers for their support. In areas where water use remains high, customers may have low pressure during periods of high demand such as breakfast and dinner time. Just like a motorway that becomes congested in rush hour, our water simply cannot travel around our network of 9,000 miles of pipes quickly enough if everyone turns on the tap at the same time. Despite the recent dry spell, our reservoirs and ground water sources are at the levels we’d expect them to be but with the hot spell here to stay, we're still asking people to reduce their water use now so we can hopefully avoid restrictions this summer. Saving water means saving money too and customers can find top tips and free water saving devices on our website.

Click here for free water saving devices

Multi-million pound investment to provide homes, infrastructure and employment in Burgess Hill

Homes England is to build up to 3500 homes, a new link road, three schools and employment space at the Northern Arc in Burgess Hill. The multi-million pound project is the largest investment Homes England has ever made.  Delivering large housing developments can be very challenging, especially making sure priority is given to delivering community infrastructure. The involvement of Homes England with Burgess Hill’s Northern Arc site will bring certainty for local residents that the roads and schools that are needed will be built alongside the housing.

Council Leader Garry Wall said: “We welcome this significant investment by Homes England in the Northern Arc of Burgess Hill. “Mid Sussex District Council is positive about the need to provide new homes and employment facilities. We are delighted with the Government support we have received to date and this important investment from Homes England is another huge step forward for the future of Burgess Hill. It is an endorsement of this Council’s advocacy of sensible, sustainable growth, which provides homes for future generations, supports our growing businesses recognises the needs of local people and protects our wonderful landscape.”

Burgess Hill will see significant development and investment over the next 15 years including 5,000 new homes, new schools, two new business parks, the town centre regeneration, investment in sustainable transport infrastructure and potentially the region’s first Science and Technology Park. Homes England will bring pace and certainty to this regionally significant development. The Council’s coordinated approach to the growth of Burgess Hill has already attracted significant infrastructure investment with £32 million secured for the dualling of the A2300 and other transport improvements, £6.5 million to improve waste water treatment works at Goddard’s Green and £2.2 million towards Gigabit broadband infrastructure.

The involvement of Homes England will further strengthen this position and provide further security for future infrastructure delivery. The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex, added: “Along with Mid Sussex District Council I have long championed the Government’s involvement in Burgess Hill. I now welcome Homes England’s intervention in the Northern Arc which will increase the scale and speed of the homes and infrastructure built.” Councillor Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Deputy Leader said: “We have a clear plan for the future of Burgess Hill and this is a really exciting time for residents and businesses. With new homes, schools, business parks, the town centre regeneration, sustainable transport investment, gigabit broadband and potentially the region’s first science and technology park all in the pipeline; Burgess Hill is set to become a thriving place to live, work and enjoy.”

The Mid Sussex District Council Design Awards celebrate good design in many forms. For the first time the public are being invited to vote for the scheme which is their favourite, in the People’s Choice Award.

The Mid Sussex Design Awards take place every three years to recognise the importance of high quality design in enhancing the district.

For the first time the Awards will include a ‘People’s Choice’ vote, open until the 15 August. Each of the shortlisted projects are on display in the MSDC reception area and details of the projects are online at www.midsussex.gov.uk/designawa.... Residents are invited to browse, find out more, and submit their top three favourites.

Votes will be tallied and the winner will be announced as a key part of the award ceremony taking place in October. Winners will be presented with their awards by the Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames MP at an event in Meridian Hall, East Grinstead. All winners receive a commemorative plaque which may be fixed to the awarded building.

 “There have been some fantastic submissions and I would urge residents to get involved and make their own choice of winner through this first ever People’s Choice Award,” said Councillor MacNaughton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning.  “We are keen to share more details about the shortlisted projects and it will be interesting to see if local people share our excitement.”

Schemes have been shortlisted in the following categories and residents are invited to vote for any of the projects:

-        Residential Extensions and Small Works

-        Small Residential Schemes (less than 10 dwellings including single houses)

-        Large Residential Schemes (10+ dwellings, including care/retirement homes) on sites which are previously undeveloped

-        Large Residential Schemes (10+ dwellings, including care/retirement homes) on brownfield sites which have been previously developed

-        Non-residential schemes (including hotels)

-        Conservation and Heritage schemes

-        Sustainability.

The Awards have been supported by Cordek Limited, a West Sussex company specialising in technical solutions for a range of construction requirements.

Full details of the categories and how to submit your vote are online at www.midsussex.gov.uk/designawards.