Worth a million

 

Those of us worried about the scale of development on the greenbelt might welcome recent reports that a change to the Planning System may be on the way. It would make developers pay a levy for affordable housing to Councils rather than have to include a proportion in each new development. The hope is this will increase the number of affordable homes built but, of course, empowering Councils like CDC in this way might also lead to the redevelopment of more Brownfield sites (which tends to cost more than using undeveloped greenfield ones) depending on who your District Councillors are. 

In related news, you may have read that Cala Homes have bought a site near the A27 at Hambrook which already has permission for 118 homes. 

My daily commute reminds me that our District is one of the most beautiful places in the country. CDC spends over £1 million keeping it clean and tidy. Their street cleansing team can't be everywhere at once but do travel across it's 303 square miles each day, cleaning streets, emptying bins and litter picking.

A few years ago CDC introduced their Against Litter campaign. They also now want to celebrate the fantastic work of our community heroes who spend hours cleaning up after each other and are keen to hear about what you may be doing in your local area. You can sign up to their ‘Adopt an Area’ scheme, and adopt somewhere as small as the pavement outside your home, a favourite footpath, play area, village or shop frontage. 

If you have a dog, you could sign up to CDC’s Green Dog Walkers Scheme. 

CDC is also encouraging you to report fly tips and litter hotspots. Fly tipping is a serious crime that costs resident taxpayers around £350,000 a year in our area. One of the most important roles you can play is to make sure that anyone you employ or ask to remove and dispose of the excess waste from your property is licensed as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency.

WSCC are warning people to be aware of a new scam where criminals cold call asking for your bank details, falsely saying this is required in order for you to receive the Government’s £150 energy rebate. Councils will never ask you to give your bank details over the phone. If someone does ask you, hang up immediately.

As we have previously explained, if your account is paid by direct debit then CDC already has your bank details on record. Find out more about phone scams and how to get a Call Block here. 

On the subject of money, small enterprises across the District will be able to take their business further thanks to a new round of Enabling Grant funding, which will be launched by CDC on Monday 9 May 2022.

Businesses can either apply for a Growth Project Grants of up to £2,000 or a Start-up award of up to £500. Guidance is here, and needs to be fully read before submitting any application. 

This week's interesting reads include a couple of celebrity related stories; Donna likes David Walliams who is filming part of a new comedy series at the Weald & Downland Museum and are you aware of Harry Enfield's Sussex links? Police are investigating a series of thefts from vehicles in rural areas and there is going to be a 3-day music festival at Wiston. 

Next week Donna has CDC’s Planning Committee in what is looking to be a slightly quieter week. This has been a busy week, one of the highlights being Selsey's Annual Town Meeting. There were many local groups exhibiting, some gave presentations and others had received grants from Selsey Town Council's Community Grants programme. These included £3000 to Selsey's Jubilee celebrations which was presented on the night.  You may remember that this is one of the things our Team were keen to introduce, empowering the Community to take the lead rather than having fewer centrally organised events that decreasing numbers of people were attending.

It was heartening to speak to so many fellow residents who are hosting people escaping the conflict in the Ukraine; for instance one lady is shortly to welcome one set of grandparents and two 15 month old children. It is also good to see people honouring their commitments, or even going beyond them

 

It was also encouraging to hear that West Sussex, our lead locally, has been supportive and proactive in making sure things are done in a timely manner. Please remember there is a link to CDC’s comprehensive information about helping Ukraine near the bottom of our main website homepage, between tbe Facebook and Twitter feeds, above the CDC news feed. 

Finally: -

• Learn how to set up a 'nectar cafe.' 

• WSCC want your views on our County's bus services. 

• CDC’s guide on  the help they provide.

• CDC’s Meetings, and WSCC's. 

As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.

Tim