For the first time, voter identification will be required at a polling station on this date. All the information that you will need about voting in these elections can be found here

HELP REDUCE DEATH AND INJURY ON OUR ROADS

Community Speedwatch is looking for volunteers to help join local Community Schemes.

Please check out the flyer below to see how you can help:

We are delighted to share with you the recent news release from West Sussex County Council about a cap on local bus fares.

Just the ticket: get around for £2 or less on most West Sussex bus routes in New Year

A new scheme is giving people the opportunity this winter to pay less to travel by bus in West Sussex – and the whole of England.

From now until 31 March, 2023, a single bus journey will cost no more than £2 on most routes under the Department for Transport’s Help for Households funded Bus Fare Cap.

Buses Minister Richard Holden said: “Bus travel remains the most popular form of public transport in England, making up around half of all journeys. That’s why we’re investing £60million to cap single bus fares at £2 to support every passenger and help get people back on the bus. 

“With the scheme set to take two million car journeys off the road, it’s fantastic to see so many bus operators signing up to the fare cap, helping people to ‘Get Around for £2’ between the 1st January and 31st March.” 

There has been a gradual return to the buses in West Sussex since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Bus companies have been working hard to encourage people to get back on board and have made many improvements: passengers will find better ventilated vehicles since before the pandemic, with more advanced cleaning regimes used by the bus operators. Many of their vehicles have free Wi-Fi and all have contactless payment now.

Joy Dennis, West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “The £2 fare cap is a great opportunity for people to get on board buses for less: they can save money on petrol costs while keeping in touch with friends and family, travelling to appointments or work, or exploring our beautiful towns and countryside.

“Buses provide a more sustainable way to travel and are a vital link for residents to access key services including healthcare, education, shops and leisure facilities, and can help combat social isolation, too.”

For more information, including the weblinks to the main participating bus operators in West Sussex please click here.

NB: there are no changes to the national bus pass scheme for older and disabled people. Free bus pass holders will continue to receive free travel under the terms of that scheme.

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We are pleased to inform you the Horsham Blueprint Plan was ‘made’ at HDC’s Full Council meeting on 14th December. Full details of the plan can be found here.

Full weight to the policies within the plan will now be applied when planning applications in the neighbourhood plan area are being considered and as a result of the plan, the following Local Green Spaces in Trafalgar area have been given ‘green belt protection’ against development: Victory Road recreation ground, Redford Avenue football field, Pennybrook Green and the Churchill Avenue green space.

Frances Haigh, a former District Councillor in Horsham has offered the following comments on the Horsham Blueprint Neighbourhood Plan:

‘I would like to send my congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to produce a Neighbourhood Plan for Horsham Town. This has been an immense task.

A core group of people from the Town have persevered over many years to produce this plan: Trudie Mitchell from Denne, Diane Sumpter and Graham Sitton from Forest, Morag Warrack and previously David Moore and Mary Crosbie from Trafalgar, David Searle from Horsham Town Community Partnership, Ron Bates from the Horsham Society and Sue Brundish from Horsham in Bloom, as well as District Councillors Godfrey Newman, Ruth Fletcher, Martin Boffey and myself. The Forum has been very ably led by Andrew Cooke, who has been involved right from the start, helping to bring together all of the Town’s organisations and finally to produce the Neighbourhood Plan which is the document before you tonight.

Above all, this is the Town’s Plan. It could not have been produced without the contributions of ideas from many of the people who live and work in the Town. Hundreds of people filled in postcards, answered questions at consultation events, produced drawings or designed the Town in Minecraft.  The Forum has been supported by local business people, including Gill Buchanan of Swan Walk, who gifted the use of empty shops for the Forum’s events. Others helped with artwork or advertising.

I should also say thank you to Angela Koch of Imagine Places, who helped get the whole process started and especial thanks to Alison Eardley who worked on the final plan.

There have been others who have played a role, and I apologise if I do not name them all: thanks go to each and every one who shared their ideas for the future of Horsham Town’.