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We all know that our part of West Sussex, south of the A27, is a beautiful spot and a special place to live. That's why, in the better months, it is a popular place for visitors.  Donna and I like strolling along the beach; and in fact went for a very nice walk in Selsey yesterday to see for ourselves if there was any validity to the complaints we are getting about poor parking and overflowing litter bins. The litter issue is widespread across our county's beaches as you can read here . Today we spent time in Sidlesham, which, being inland, escapes the particular parking and litter problems although horticulture, so prevalent in Sidlesham, has suffered a great deal because of COVID 19. CDC have told us they are aware of parking concerns and are increasing the number of enforcement patrols across the Peninsula, with a priority on tackling incidences of obstruction. We have noticed there are a lot more people out and about than just a couple of weeks ago and, yes, we believe ther...

Yesterday, Donna and I had our first virtual Full District Council Meeting. Our worries that the ruling Conservative group would use the fact that they won a by election to ensure the Committee appointments were what they proposed sadly proved to be correct. The two Committees which exercise a scrutiny function have been changed in their favour: - Corporate Governance & Audit, 8 Members, now has a Conservative Chair exercising the casting vote; Overview & Scrutiny, 11 Members, now has a sixth Conservative to give them a majority, but that left two seats between the three smallest parties. With three years of this Council left, I have stepped aside for a year first. Last year, all Parties were represented. You can read about it in more detail in the Chichester Observer here. As Council was beginning, we had an email about the Car Parks we had managed to keep closed for now - sadly they are being reopened tomorrow. We had suggested a meeting between ourselves, Selsey's other ...

Donna and I wish to thank all those of you who have been in touch about the Car Parks. If you read my last post, you will know that the District Councillors in the Witherings Ward raised no objection, so  their CDC Car Parks have been reopened. In the two wards serving Selsey, there is a difference of view between ourselves and the other two District Councillors which resulted in a stay until after the weekend. My own perspective is in part borne out of years of working in South London and Surrey, and knowing how many people like to come down here. We checked the area near to both Car Parks yesterday and Saturday, as well as nearby streets - I took some pictures to show you we found no capacity issue. Whilst updating you: - Tomorrow is District's Annual Meeting and we have just learnt you can watch it live from 2pm by clicking here . Alternatively, you can listen back to an audio recording after the meeting which will be available from the Council website. West ...

Today, Donna and I had the start of a new series of monthly Senior Officer Briefings for Opposition Group Leaders. A few days ago, I was asked for agenda items so I requested the inclusion of the Peninsula's car parks; this proved fortuitous because, this morning, every District Councillor on the Peninsula received an email asking their views but making it clear there was little choice after the Prime Minister's announcement. We were the only Peninsula Councillors to object so were sadly outnumbered. We have been assured that  Officers will be closely monitoring what happens and following our expressing our concerns, are considering the best way forward before opening Selsey's. There were updates on services, including business grants, emergency home moves to reduce numbers in temporary  accommodation, and using more digital methods to advertise planning matters. The Government wants Local Planning Authorities to progress their Local Plans and are looking at how virt...

Those of you who know Chris, will be aware that he likes to keep busy. During the current lockdown he has been volunteering his services to help out. We spotted a social media post, catching him delivering PPE visors and thought you might like to see it.  If you are helping in anyway, feel free to let others know about it by posting in our "Peninsula Pow-Wow forum. Stay safe Tim

Oh my God, I cannot believe a year has gone by since I was voted in as a Selsey Town Councillor, I remember the day so clearly as if it was yesterday. I was so proud that the people of Selsey had enough confidence to vote for me, I have to say it brought tears to my eyes when I was told how many votes I received. I have since been involved in the Planning and the Assets and Amenities Committees which have not only been interesting but also challenging at times. I have learnt a lot about local needs and requirements which before I was totally oblivious to, this was a big wake up call for me, one I am more than pleased to be part of. I have made so many new friends within the Council, people who have been helpful when I haven’t quite understood the ‘pros and cons’ of a subject or just needed advice on how to tackle a problem or request from the general public. I would like to thank all of you who have followed me on this journey and so look forward to another challenging year which I am ...

Today is one year since you put your trust in, and elected, us. As a thank you, we are hoping to replace this website with one that is more visual and simpler to navigate. If all goes to plan, this will be a crossover post because I am working on the new site in between virtually teaching and the range of different meetings I am taking part in. They have made me pretty experienced in all three main platforms because CDC uses Zoom, school uses Microsoft Teams and we use Google Meet because of its security and reliability. This week Donna and I had two (virtual) meetings, on Thursday we were guests of the Manhood Peninsula Action Group and were invited to ‘listen in’ on their meeting and on Friday we had a District Councillor Opposition Group meeting with our MP, Gillian Keegan. On Thursday, the Manhood Peninsula Action Group discussed possible improvements to the A27 and flood risk. We shared with them the latest flood risk map from the Environment Agency which allows you to zoom in to ...