Keep it Clean
“What this (Group) seem to have most in common, is that they get stuff done, they have experience and, well, they’re not politicians.”
This quote comes from a recent newspaper article in which a journalist asked a focus group to name their fantasy cabinet. However it could have been written about any of the other 300+ small, independent registered groups in the UK who, just like us, are not politicians but residents who want to make a positive difference to the area in which they live. If you are curious about who the focus group chose for PM (and what they wanted Joanna Lumley to do), the article is linked here.
Last week, it was Armed Forces Day. Quite often, with the daily ‘grind’ and preoccupations we can forget about veterans until Remembrance Day comes around in November. I was pleased, therefore, to be reminded of them when I learnt that Blind Veterans UK are moving from their plane-shaped home in Ovingdean nearer to us in Rustington, which amongst other things will afford the veterans easy access to the beach. Read more here.
An opinion piece from Professor Chris Whitty was published by the Government this week. As Chief Medical officer for England and the UK Government’s Chief Medical Advisor, he came to prominence during the pandemic. With Jonson Cox, the Chair of Ofwat, and Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, he warns about the growing health problem of sewage in water. In regards to health, we also wish to thank Aldi who are adding information about the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer to their own brand toilet rolls in the hope it helps prevent more deaths from one of the UK’s biggest killers.
WSCC have published information on what they are doing about potholes. This includes the deployment of two Velocity road patching machines to proactively seek and fill potholes before the regular inspections by their Highways teams; they use air to remove dust and debris and open-up cracks at the bottom of the pothole before bitumen is forced in. Appropriately enough, at the moment a worthy petition comes our way each week to share with you, and this week is a call to halve fuel duty.
West Sussex Trading Standards, in partnership with the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), is advising residents across the county to be careful when buying children’s toys online which contain button cell batteries; this is because at least two children a year die as a result of swallowing lithium coin cell batteries and surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital are seeing an average of one child a month with corrosive burns caused by them. Read more here.
Did you know that on Census Day, 21 March 2021 the size of the usual resident population in England and Wales was 59,597,300 (56,489,800 in England and 3,107,500 in Wales), the largest ever recorded? It grew by more than 3.5 million (6.3%) since the last census in 2011, when it was 56,075,912. Women made up 51.0% of the overall population, while there were more people than ever before in the older age groups; the proportion of the population who were aged 65 years and over was 18.6% compared to 16.4% in 2011.
Our District increased by 9.1%, from around 113,800 in 2011 to 124,100 in 2021. This is higher than the overall increase for England (6.6%) and the Southeast (7.5%); however, Horsham and Arun increased by around 11.8% and 10.2%, while others such as Waverly saw an increase of 5.5% and Havant 2.9%. Our District now ranks 190th for total population out of 309 local authority areas in England, moving up four places in a decade. There has been an increase of 20.8% in people aged 65 years and over; an increase of 5.7% in people aged 15 to 64 years and, an increase of 3.6% in children aged under 15 years.
The Novium Museum is 10 this July. On the 9th, historical characters will bring the museum to life throughout the day. Meanwhile on the 17th, CDC’s Summer Street Party is back, 10am to 4pm, showcasing city centre businesses as well as food and entertainment from across the District; it is being held in conjunction with the popular Cross Market & More. Don’t forget the Novium also has an exhibition celebrating our District’s cultural experiences, The Art of Chichester: 60 Years of Creativity
Finally: -
As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.
Tim
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