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With the focus on Covid-19, it might have slipped your mind that about now is the time we are normally warned to be careful with our water consumption. Therefore, we thought we would pass on some information from Southern Water, including  an infographic aimed at the area North of Chichester you, nonetheless, may find interesting . Due to the combined impacts of recent hot weather and increased household consumption following lockdown restrictions, across our region, consumption is 13% higher than usual.  Southern Water are asking for our support to save water. T hey are working hard to maintain water pressure and keep customers in supply. Since April, they have found and fixed almost 4,500 leaks  -  potentially saving 46.5 million litres per day - including more than 260 leaks in customers' own pipework. There is still widespread concern about parking - in fact my present caseload includes one such incident. We were therefore pleased to learn yesterday that Wes...

How have you managed in the recent heat? The last few days have been particularly  hot,  so much so that at least one road in West Sussex has apparently started to 'melt . ' We would suggest going for a walk on the beach in the hope of a bit of a breeze, but as you will have noticed in the news, the beaches on the South Coast have been 'rammed.'  Do you ever hear a Spitfire flying overhead? I notice because their engine makes a distinctive noise and, although not too uncommon, it does not happen all the time. In the 1940s plenty of Spitfires flew over each day because five of the fourteen RAF airfields in Sussex were located here. This article will tell you more about them  including the Advanced Landing Grounds built at Appledram and Selsey.  I mention this because Saturday is Armed Forces Day 2020 , so this is a good time for us to remember the contribution our area made all those years ago. As the war progressed, Sussex increasingly became sealed off from the...

If you are reading this blog, congratulations on finding  the "Latest" page on our website which we hope will keep you up to speed on specific matters local. As well as our twice weekly blog posts, the web forum below the blog has useful contact info and, of course, there are the news feeds at the top of the page. If there is anything else you would like to know please get in touch .  Donna and I have 6 calendars to juggle between us, and each week my school is increasing its mixture of keyworker provision, live lessons, remote learning and home-school communication, e.g. this week I am having to repeat my weekly teaching team meeting because there is no single day & time everyone can manage. Next week there are two  CDC Committee meetings you are welcome to watch, streamed live. On Tuesday 30 June at 9.30am it's Overview and Scrutiny, whilst on Thursday 2 July, also at 9.30am, it's the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee: - Click here to find agendas, deta...

Our District has three beaches: they are all on the Peninsula and have all been judged to have some of the best bathing waters in England. Recent results show they meet the EU Bathing Water Directive's strict water quality standards based on bacteria levels: Bracklesham Bay has done so since 1995, West Wittering since 1998 and Selsey since 2018. If you drive to one, rather than walk, cycle or get a bus, don't forget until September 8 CDC have a parking offer for uses of MiPermit which gives you a third hour of parking free if you pay for two hours: - Visit the MiPermit site Download MiPermit (Android) Download MiPermit (Apple) Visitors bring a welcome boost to our local economy but concerns have been expressed about our different communities' ability to cope in light of the pandemic. The Rural Services Network have just published this guide for rural communities about becoming more resilient . In order to help our cafes, restaurants, and pubs to re-open with the necessary s...

There is quite a lot going on at the moment so, whilst that continues, we hope to update you on Mondays or Tuesdays as well as Fridays. Over the weekend, amongst other things, we filmed a contribution Donna was asked to make to a forthcoming promotional video  to help encourage us all to #keepitlocal . Yesterday, as it was a term time Monday, I had my regular meeting with my teaching team; Donna, meanwhile, was part of a Selsey Town Council delegation that met the new management of Bunn Leisure. We both  also had an update about progress with some ongoing work crystallising specific policy aspects in the next Local Plan. Three links you may find useful are: - Cabinet Office advice on what you can and can't do now ; The latest CDC Service status ; The WSCC Covid-19 page . Yesterday was World Elder Abuse Day. This can take many forms and is not always intentional; if you are concerned about an older person you can contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub on 01243 642121 . ...

Do you like sunny days? If like me you do, what do you do about work in this more home-based situation when the sun is out and we live so near to the beach? I have been using the less clement days this week to try and get a little ahead so I can enjoy more sun hours (at weekends and in the evening) when they come back. I suspect some of you reading this, may well be doing the same. There have been no CDC meetings this week, and Donna has had no parish ones either, which has been helpful because I have had several extra school-related ones and the regular school and council workload cannot be ignored.  There are some things CDC have passed on that might interest you. I told you about the Support Local initiative and the detailed government guidance to help businesses prepare to reopen last week, and previously shared the signage CDC have made available to assist. You can look back to learn more or click here for  CDC's business support and advice page . The Chichester Farm...

Summer seems to have disappeared for now, so I expect, like me, you are cheering yourself with fond memories of last year until the weather improves. Donna and I love the Isle of Wight so we took severa trips from Southampton to Cowes and strolled up to Osborne House for lunch. We also had a short break before I went back to school, taking the car, and before sailing back looked from the Bembridge Lifeboat Station to see how much of the Peninsula and Chichester Harbour we could see. Away from fond memories, it's been another busy week; with Half Term over, I am back to virtual teaching, phoning parents and scrupulously checking submitted grades as deadlines are imminent.  Selsey Town Council tested Zoom, for a small meeting on Wednesday evening and, during the day, Donna had CDC's Planning Committee. I spoke in support of an application for a local business and we were pleased that it was deferred to allow more time to work with Officers on landscaping proposals so hopefully ...