Welcome to the Local Alliance Blog

  These are stormy times, in more than one sense of the word, as you will know if you keep an eye on the news. Meteorologically, weather conditions like those this past week (including the named storms) tend to make us want to stay indoors and hibernate.  However, in anticipation of when things improve, we thought you might be interested in: - Global Grasshopper’s 15 most beautiful places to visit in West Sussex ; Sussex World’s must see villages in West Sussex ; Visit England’s top things to do in West Sussex ; Haven’s things to do in Sussex . We told you last week about our first newsletter for a while   because of the pandemic. We have delayed our plans to deliver it because there are going to be a couple of by-elections on April 7th for Selsey Town Council.  Two of our members are leaving the Town Council, with one moving away and one retiring. We are hoping to announce our candidates next Friday. 8,020 trees have been distributed to residents, community groups,...

  An interesting article about the recent March for Manhood appeared in The Guardian this week - it reminded us of how much more widespread awareness of these concerns has become since our election in 2019. The final paragraph needs some clarification because Councils are given a housing target and to quote the Planning Advisory Service, 'must leave no stone unturned' in their quest to reach that target. The 'numbers' therefore, are driven by Government figures, not by CDC, so it helps to have Councillors who will argue the uniqueness of the situation our District faces in terms of land supply. We are pleased to let you know that our first newsletter for a while is with our printers - we felt it ill-advised to put literature through doors with the pandemic uncertainty, but are confident to do so with the better months ahead, and will see where things are in the Autumn.  This week’s links about local places and activities include two from Plum’s Guide: ideas for thi...

  We start this week with our thoughts and best wishes to the driver and passengers (their parents & families) of Monday's school bus accident . We hope none of them has any lasting trauma. The police are appealing for information so if you can help in however small a way, please do.  Whilst mentioning families, we are sadly saying goodbye to two of our founding members and Selsey Town Councillors: Peter Gibbs who is moving away and Chris Dean who is taking a well earned retirement. In happier news, Chichester Festival Theatre has announced a further week of performances of DOUBT: A Parable following the forced cancellation of what would have been its final five performances due to a case of Covid within the company; meanwhile a couple are planning to row the distance from Dover to Calais to raise money for charity . We regularly try to include things for fans of local history, so here are pictures of how the centre of Chichester has changed . We also sometimes incl...

This week we must begin with our thanks and best wishes to the Queen, because on February 6th she will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee , marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Where do you think is a good place to live if you want to raise a family? That is a question likely to prompt a range of views, but The Telegraph has done some research and unsurprisinglyconcluded that our area has a lot to offer, and in terms of places to grow up is right up there, particularly East and West Wittering . Meanwhile, The West Sussex Gazette suggested 20 beautiful villages to visit based on it's readers' suggestions. All of which goes some way to explaining why our District, along with six others in Sussex, is in the top 50 most expensive places to live outside of  London .  Wherever you choose to bring up a family, you won’t be able to escape the potential dangers of the internet. This week is Safer Inter...