January 19, 2024

 

Welcome to our third blog of 2024, and thank you for taking the time to have a read. Unfortunately, Monday was Blue Monday, the day each year when historically absence from work is at its highest. It is thought this is because the third Monday in January is some way before many people get paid again, after an early December payday which gets gobbled up by the Festive period. Of course, the days remain short with less clement weather.

The Selsey sea defences recommendation, to apply for a grant to undertake an extensive study into future proofing solutions that might better safeguard 1300 homes here,  is being considered at Full CDC on Tuesday. Increasing parking charges, something Steve as a local trader is quite concerned about, is also being considered - you can watch CDC’s public meetings live here.

Last Tuesday Donna was back in the Chair for CDC’s pivotal Overview & Scrutiny Committee at which our Police Commissioner finally answered questions - Ms Bourne cancelled when I sat on O&S in our last term, and also again did so once for Donna. After the meeting, Donna posted: - 

“Today was Overview and Scrutiny Committee at CDC and Sussex's PCC, Katy Bourne, attended with the Chief Inspector for Chichester and Arun. A lot of questions were asked, and rural policing/response time were significant themes. I will post some numbers and statistics, but suffice to say that while recruitment of PCSOs has proven difficult, there are now recruits in training which should help with an overall presence. Also, recruitment of Officers is now good. Obviously it will take a while for this to feed through, and we will be monitoring to see how this translates 'on the ground'. To be fair, Ms Bourne didn't try to avoid the difficult questions, had done a lot of background work, and has agreed to answer further questions in writing. I was impressed with our new Chief Inspector, who is quite new to the job here, but already understands about rural policing here on the Peninsula. The All Parishes meeting takes place in February and representatives of our town and parish councils are attending - the police will be at this meeting, which will give another opportunity to raise issues.

As an aside, I will never take for granted that I Chair this committee, traditionally given to the Official Opposition, we have come a long way, since 2019, and it's an enormous privilege to be 'in the Chair'.“

The agenda for the next meeting of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel to be held on 26 January 2024 has been published. The meeting will be available to watch live.

Wednesday was STC's Full Council at the Town Hall, and we would again thank everyone who responded to the Town Council's Business Plan survey because the main item on the agenda was the budget. Andrew was unwell so Donna chaired the meeting. I proposed, following the responses received to the Business Plan consultation, that we continue to fund the mobile recycling tip for a further 3 years, and adopted the proposed budget, but consulted residents again before deciding to renew the contract again.

A follow-up from last week’s blog and the bathing water cleanliness of Sussex's beaches: Worthing has also now got a sewage problem like Bognor. Also don't forget: - 

• CDC has also given the go-ahead for Chichester’s first ever Vegan Street Market in East Street on Sunday 28 January between 10.30am and 4pm; 

• From February 12 you will need to pre-book a timed slot to visit one of the West Sussex Recycling Centres (on the same day or up to 14 days in advance, and are for either 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the site you choose to visit.)

I grew up in the village of Shipley because my father was Head of its school. I remember canoeing on the Adur, navigating many a twist and turn. I even worked on the Local Knepp Estate in my Summer holidays helping to ‘bring in the hay!’ I love driving, and my first experience was behind the wheel of a Massey Fergus son towing a large trailer full of bales. Since then rivers have been straightened to reduce localised flooding, but if turns out this may proven unwise, as you can read here, because it moves the problem downstream to more inhabited areas. 

We have mentioned before that ‘Sextortion’ is a form of blackmail involving threatening to publish sexual information, photos, or videos about someone. This may be to extort money or to force the victim to do something against their will. Across West Sussex our teenagers are at risk, specifically 14-17 year old boys. There are many ways a victim can be contacted, including via social media, gaming, and dating. Please share this link with any parents you may know.

Wizz is still a relatively new app, launching in the UK back in October 2022. It’s a free-to-download mobile app, which closely resembles a dating app, and has been linked to sextortion. There are also concerns around in-app purchasing, poor age verification processes, and a lack of effective privacy controls. With over 10 million downloads, it is definitely an app to be aware of. Find out more on the ParentZone website.

Local artists are being invited to create new art to celebrate the beauty of the Chichester District’s RSPB Medmerry Nature reserve, as part of an upcoming Culture Spark community art exhibition. Artists can respond to three unique commissions that offer the opportunity to use different art forms and styles to celebrate the reserve in individual and creative ways. These pieces will also explore the relationship between the community and Medmerry.

 

Artists are asked to submit their initial expressions of interest in this project by emailing a CV and examples of their previous work by 29 January 2024. The three art pieces will capture and celebrate a different aspect of the nature reserve, and will be displayed in the relevant location — one at the Earnley Viewpoint, one at Easton Viewpoint; and one at The Breach Viewpoint.

 

At Earnley Viewpoint, artists are invited to create a sculpture that reflects the surrounding environment, ideally incorporating materials that could be found at Medmerry.

For the piece at Easton Viewpoint, artists are invited to develop a soundscape that captures the sounds of the land and possibly recount stories from the community.

 

The Breach Viewpoint piece invites artists to build a structure that will allow visitors and residents to house their mobile phones and capture photos of The Breach. This will form a citizen science project, with instructions next to the structure on how people can upload their images, creating a visual record of the surroundings as they change through the seasons.

 

The commissions will be co-ordinated as part of the Culture Spark programme, with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund — administered by Chichester District Council — and a conservation grant from Southern Water Harbours Project. The Culture Spark project has received a total of £75,000 funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Finally: - 

• Report potholes to WSCC

• Housing Health & Safety

• Warmer Homes UK

• Suicide in Sussex

• Domestic Abuse

• Supporting You

• WSCC Meetings

• CDC Meetings

As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.

Tim