All about the amazing parish council home page

OgImage:

Singleton Parish Council

( Volunteers Clearing the River Lavant )

This website provides information about the activities of the Parish Council in the villages of Singleton and Charlton - pretty villages situated in the Lavant Valley, a few miles north of Chichester in West Sussex.

All of our councillors are volunteers and are committed to representing their community. They:

give views, on behalf of the community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish
undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents
work in partnership with other bodies to achieve benefits for the parish
alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken
help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities

We want to work closely with our community and encourage residents to get in touch with us and attend meetings. Please get in touch and join our mailing list, mailchimp

View All

Latest Parish News

Chichester District Council - District Dispatch

District Dispatch

24

July 2024

District Dispatch – 23 July 2024

Back in January, we announced that refurbishing some of our key play parks in Chichester would be a council priority, and this month I was really pleased that this project has now been given the go-ahead by councillors.

We will be spending just over £814,000 on refurbishing Sherborne Road; Whyke Oval; the Amphitheatre; Priory Park; Florence Park; and, Oaklands Park.

The amount of work needed in these play areas varies. At some of sites the equipment is very worn and needs to be completely replaced, while there are a couple of areas that need more modest refurbishment such as resurfacing. We are also looking to enhance certain areas by installing some inclusive play equipment which can be used by disabled children and those with health conditions and impairments. This will help make our community much more accessible. As part of the project, we’re also looking to collaborate with Chichester City Council.

Outside play areas are so important in helping our children develop in all sorts of ways. They allow our little ones to test themselves physically in a safe environment. They are places where children, their parents and carers can meet up with friends and family and get away from electronic devices. Playing outdoors allows children to be creative, think up their own games and test out new skills, and they also enable children to meet other youngsters from all walks of life. As you will appreciate, playing outdoors is crucial, and there’s nothing more joyful than hearing a playground full of happy, energetic and excited youngsters running around having fun. I know that this project will make a huge difference to families across the area. Over the next few months our Green Spaces team will carry out much of the planning work, so that work can hopefully start next January. All being well, we are aiming for the play areas to be open ready for the Easter holidays 2025.

As it’s Love Parks Week, we thought it would be a good opportunity to start gathering the views of children, parents and carers who use these play parks. From now and over the summer holidays officers from our Green Spaces team will be out and about at the parks speaking to people to find out about how they currently use the parks and what they would like to see, which will help us when putting together proposals for the sites.

We are also liaising closely with Chichester City Council around what is needed at the Priory Park play area and so we will continue to work with them on this over the coming months.

On Saturday 27 July as part of ‘Love Parks Week’ officers from Chichester District Council’s Green Spaces team will be out and about at several of the city’s play areas to gather ideas and feedback from children and their adults. The team will be at Parklands play area 10am-1am; Priory Park 11.30am- 1pm; Florence Road park 1.30pm-2.30pm; and, Whyke Oval 3pm-4pm. The team will also be visiting Oaklands Park and the Amphitheatre play areas - once we have the details about these then we’ll let people know on our social media channels.

‘Love Parks Week’ is a great time to remind ourselves about all the fantastic green spaces that you can visit in the district. We’re lucky to have Bishop’s Palace Gardens and Priory Park right in the heart of Chichester, while in Midhurst South Pond is a wonderful place to sit and relax and simply watch the world go by.

We’ll be sharing some interesting facts about the parks and gardens that we care for so please head to our Facebook, Instagram and X (previously known as Twitter) pages to find out more. And if you’re in one of our parks this week, please do give your thanks to our Green Spaces team who do such a wonderful job looking after these important areas.

Best wishes,

Councillor Mark Chilton, Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services and Chichester Contract Services at Chichester District Council

Highways, Transport and Planning - News and Updates

16

July 2024

HTP members header graphic image

In the July edition of this newsletter you'll find scheme updates from across the county, information about the WSHighways X account and the Public Rights of Way Annual Report.

Scheme Updates

North:

Traffic light upgrades ahead for Southgate Avenue, Crawley

Obsolete traffic lights will soon be replaced with new, more reliable, and energy-efficient equipment at three junctions and a bus gate in Southgate Avenue, Crawley.

To help minimise disruption, the project will be split into three phases.Please note: the following dates are entirely provisional and subject to last-minute changes due to unforeseen circumstances, such as severe weather.

Southgate Avenue’s junctions with Southgate Drive and Hawth Avenue, 15/07/2024 to 13/09/2024

Southgate Avenue’s junction with Tilgate Way, 16/09/2024 to 01/11/2024

The bus gate at the southern end of Southgate Avenue, junction with Brighton Road, 06/11/2024 to 15/11/2024.

Refurbishment of Pedestrian Crossing on Leylands Road, Burgess Hill

Works to install a greener and more efficient pedestrian crossing at Leylands Road between Junction Road and Gladstone road in Burgess Hill. The current crossing equipment is no longer efficient and needs replacing. The refurbishment works start from the 08/07/2024 to 26/07/2024. There will be lane closure with traffic management in place.

South:

Essential work starts soon to reconstruct river wall on A285 Westhampnett Road, Chichester

Essential work starts soon to replace the river wall that helps support the A285 Westhampnett Road in Chichester. To avoid further disruptions, works to replace obsolete pedestrian crossing lights will be carried out at the same time. The works will start on 12/08/2024 and take approximately eight weeks.

The northbound lane in Westhampnett Road will be closed on weekdays for the duration of the works between St James Road and Church Road. Access to properties from Westhampnett Road will be maintained and pedestrian access will be unaffected .

The northbound bus stop adjacent to St James Industrial Estate will be suspended and buses diverted via St James Road for Stagecoach 500 customers and via Swanfield Drive, Bradshaw Road, and Barnfield Drive for Compass 71, 85, 85A and 99 customers.

The traffic management will be lifted every Friday evening to Monday morning. Also, to provide a ‘buffer’ around the Goodwood Revival weekend, the lane closure and diversion will be removed from 05/09/2024 to 09/09/2024, inclusive.

Scheme map

Chichester – Westgate Roundabout conversion to Dutch Style Roundabout

The development at West of Chichester (Whitehouse Farm), requires a programme of highway improvements to the local highway network. As part of the improvements, Mildren Construction began work on a Dutch-style roundabout to replace the existing roundabout at the Westgate / Orchard Street (A286) / Avenue de Chartres (A286) / West Street junction on 03/06/2024. The new roundabout design will improve travel for people on foot, bikes, and mobility aids.

This is a developer’s scheme. However, the Highways Agreements team has set up afurther information webpage which will be updated monthly to show progress.

Installation of a new drainage system in Coldwaltham

A29 London Road, Barn Cottage, Coldwaltham, Pulborough. Works to install a new drainage system is due to start from 24/07/2024 to 30/08/2024 between 07:30 – 17:30. There will be lane closure with trafficmanagement in place.

Community Highway Scheme in Durrington, Worthing

Salvington Road junction Acacia Avenue & Cotswold Road, and Acacia Avenue, Durrington, Worthing.The scheme originates from a community Highways Scheme application proposed by the school governors at Durrington Infant & Junior Schoolto address concerns for pupils crossing multiple junctions which have no formal crossing points.The measures are intended to help Pedestrians cross the junctions at suitable locations and reduce speeds on approach to the junction. The works to start from 29/07/2024 to 23/08/2024 between 07:30 – 17:30. Multi way temporary traffic lights will be in permanent operation on the junction & a road closure in place when the carriageway is resurfaced from 20/08/2024 to 23/08/2024 between 07:30 – 17:30.

Road Safety Scheme in Goring-by-Sea

A259 between Alinora Avenue and Clive Avenue as well as the junctions of Alinora Avenue, Clive Avenue and Goring Road. A local safety scheme to provide on carriageway cycle lanes through the existing toucan crossing on the A259 and provision of a pedestrian crossing refuge island across Alinora Avenue. Works also include reconstruction of the carriageway at the junction of Alinora Avenue, footway, and minor sign improvements. Works to start from 29/07/2024 to 30/08/2024 between 06:00 – 18:00. To facilitate carriageway reconstruction works Alinora Avenue will be closed between 29/07.2024 to 16/08/2024. Multiway lights will then be in place between 19/08/2024 and 30/08/2024.

Local Transport Improvement Schemes

The Local Transport Improvement Programme (LTIP) Team works with schools and communities to deliver safe and sustainable improvements that support County Council priorities. These priorities now focus onActive Travel Please see below for the current and upcoming schemes:

Lavant School, Lavant – 04/06/2024 – 10/07/2024

Chesswood School – 22/07/2024 – 26/09/2024

Birchwood Grove Primary School – 29/07/2024 – 30/08/2024

Further details can be found on the Local Transport Improvements Programme Engagement webpage.

Road Safety Group Event Attendance

A member of staff from the WSCC ‘Road Safety Group’ recently attended two local events, along with representatives from the ‘Sussex Safer Roads Partnership’ (SSRP).

In May, it was the ‘Crawley Festival’. This is a popular event, attended by lots of local families, covering a wide age-range of road users.

Ardingly

In June, The South of England Show in Ardingly proved, as always, to be an extremely popular event with quite an overwhelming turnout. This event presented the rare opportunity to reach out to a higher volume of horse-riders than usual and offer them additional safety advice, which was provided by a member of The British Horse Society who also spent the day with the team.

Attending these events gives us a great opportunity to engage with members of the public, by discussing local road safety concerns and sharing with them, new information and resources.

Follow us on X!

Project updates are frequently posted on the West Sussex Highways X account (formerly Twitter). Just search @WSHighways if you aren't already following.

Public Rights of Way Annual Report

We continued to deliver our 15-month inspection and maintenance programme During 2023 our routine maintenance contractor, County Tree Surgeons, amongst other works, delivered:

1215 signs
126 bridges
13 boardwalks
39 flights of steps
52km of surface vegetation clearance
76 other works (e.g. handrails, small surfacing projects)

Our inspections continue to be greatly assisted by Parish Path Inspector Volunteers working with our local Access Rangers to inspect every path every 15 months, on a parish-by-parish basis. Our Volunteer Rangers also support the service by undertaking a variety of practical works to supplement our maintenance programme across the county. During 56 tasks days during 2023 our Volunteer Rangers delivered:

8km of vegetation clearance and removed 29 fallen trees;
Installed 8 new bridges and rebuilt 4;
Installed 7 plank crossings and 28m of boardwalk;
Laid 42 tonnes of Type-1 stone for surfacing improvements;
Installed 44 new steps.

Produced by the Stakeholder and Partnerships Officer, Highways Transport and Planning. Please contact active.communities@westsussex.gov.uk with any comments or suggestions.