Welcome to our special edition Residents’ eNewsletter. However you are planning to spend the period over Christmas and the New Year, we wish you a safe, peaceful and enjoyable time.

Merry Christmas from West Sussex County Council

A message from the county council's Chairman and Leader.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

During this busy season, county council staff will be working to provide services as usual, ranging from libraries and highways to social care and the Fire and Rescue Service.

2024 has been a very successful year for the county council, with more investment in social care and extra investment in highways across the county, including our gritters which stand ready to tackle challenging winter weather.

The county council will continue to work for you in 2025.

Cllr Pieter Montyn Cllr Paul Marshall

Chairman (pictured right) Leader.

We're here for you

If you need us over the Christmas and New Year holidays, we are here for you.

The link below has details of opening hours over the festive period, including our community hub, family hubs, and customer service centre.

You can also find all the out of hours contact numbers you many need, and what problems you can report online.

Christmas at our children's homes

Children and young people cared for by the county council have been getting into the Christmas spirit, with special festive events throughout December.

Parties have been taking place across the council’s children’s homes to bring the magic of the season to the young people, who have often faced significant trauma and challenges in their lives.

One child described an event at High Trees home in Crawley as the ‘best party ever’, while a parent said: “I cannot thank the team at the home enough for all they do for my child and our family.”

A wartime Christmas in West Sussex

Take a step back into festive times past and read about two wartime evacuees who produced a magazine called The Petworth Stars.

Amy and Nellie Scaddan were living with the Parvin family in Petworth and their hand-written and illustrated magazine highlighted the happy times they had in the West Sussex village, despite the hardships of wartime Britain.

The magazine’s 1943 Christmas issue is featured in one of our Record Office blogs where you’ll discover what the family ate for Christmas dinner and their full list of gifts – which included slippers, a pink scarf, a doll’s bed, and a toothbrush.

Visit our Record Office on the link below to discover a wealth of local history dating from 780AD to the present day.

You can trace your family history, view historic photos, research a military ancestor, use maps to explore your local area and house history, find out more about times gone by – and much more!

Help us help you

The NHS is asking everyone living in Sussex to Help Us Help You as demand on health services increases through the winter months.

If you have loved ones in hospital, help them to leave hospital when they are clinically safe to do so. Every day spent in hospital when they don’t need to be there makes their recovery longer - it’s ok for them to ask ‘when am I going home?'

If you’re eligible, today (19 December) is the last day you can book your flu and Covid-19 vaccination online using the NHS National Booking System. From tomorrow (20 December) you can arrange an appointment directly with a local service or attend a walk-in session.

Find out how you can make the right choices on which health services to contact over the Christmas break on the NHS Sussex website.

You can also visit our Keeping Safe this Winter webpage for tips on staying safe, well and warm this winter.

Get ready to reduce waste this Christmas

We’re encouraging residents to reduce waste wherever possible during the festive season.

Wrapping gifts in reusable materials like ribbon and scarves, using crockery when hosting parties rather than paper plates and plastic cutlery, and making your own crackers are just some of the ideas that can reduce Christmas waste.

We understand that some waste is unavoidable, but there are lots of Christmas items that can be recycled, including:

• Christmas cards
• Wrapping paper (if it scrunches up in your hand and stays scrunched)
• Paper bags
• Glass bottles and jars
• Plastic bottles (with lids on)
• Plastic pots, tubs and trays (including sweet and chocolate tubs)
• Flexible toothpaste tubes
• Tins and cans
• Foil
• Pringles tubes

Finally, it’s easy for food waste to build up over the festive period. Instead of letting leftovers go to waste, why not turn them into something delicious or make a conscious effort to only buy what you need.

Stay safe from fire

The festive season should be filled with joy, not disaster. Stay safe by following our West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s essential dos and don’ts for fire hazards in your home:

• Never place candles near your Christmas tree or materials that can catch light easily.
• Keep candles, lighters and matches out of children’s reach. Never leave burning candles unattended.
• Never overload electrical sockets. Always switch Christmas lights off and unplug them before you go to bed.
• Decorations can burn easily – don’t attach them to lights or heaters.

Check out our Newsroom to read more West Sussex stories.

• Do you or someone you care for receive respite care? We're looking at how respite care services can better support adults with lifelong disabilities and mental health conditions, as well as their unpaid carers. Respite might mean support at home, day activities or residential stays, and we want to make sure these services meet everyone’s needs. Please complete our survey and give your views on how respite services could work better. This will help us shape future plans and improvements.
• Our West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has welcomed two new on-call firefighters.
• We have announced a major expansion to stop smoking services in the county to help people quit.
• We're asking for your feedback to help shape the West Sussex Road Safety Strategy, which outlines how we intend to improve road safety across the county and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in traffic collisions.

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Festive recycling dates and information

Don’t forget that your household recycling and waste collection dates will alter slightly over the holidays. You can check for your personal collection dates online.Other changes include the Garden Recycling Service which will stop on Friday 20 December 2024, starting again on Monday 6 January 2025. You can also receive bin collection reminders and live updates on your phone through the Chichester District Council app - make sure you switch on notifications to get these.

Be ready for winter

We’re encouraging people to make sure they are ‘winter ready’ by following a few key actions to keep you and your loved ones safe. There are many things we can all do to make sure our homes, gardens, businesses are ready for the winter months. Please find out more on our emergencies section - we've also included lots of information in the winter edition of Initiatives magazine

In the November edition of this newsletter you'll see a 6 month overview, scheme updates, updates from our Countryside team and more!

Better Roads: A busy 6 months maintaining our highways in West Sussex

Almost 40,000 safety related defects on highways across West Sussex have been repaired between April and September as we retain our commitment to better roads.

This year the council invested an extra £13 million to actively tackle the problem of our deteriorating roads and keep the county moving.

This was in addition to the base budget for the year of £42.8 million and £2.1 million received from the Department for Transport’s Road Resurfacing Fund.

Preparing for winter

Ahead of the coming winter months, we are increasing work to clear drainage systems and ensure water can run off the roads as effectively as possible should we get more heavy rain, providing extra resources to clear more gullies, ditches and areas where leaves build up.

So far this year, we have carried out more than 43,000 drainage gully cleanses, brought in extra CCTV resource to monitor and identify issues, and provided an additional jetting unit to clear flooded areas and get them moving as soon as possible.

West Sussex County Council’s Highways Team will continue this work over the coming months and is calling on road users to help keep the network open by continuing to report any issues you encounter using our online reporting tool.

Planting Season

Our planting season has begun, with West Sussex securing 300 trees to be planted around the county. This year we have 85 new trees kindly donated by our Parishes and our Donate a Tree Scheme. West Sussex supplied approximately 91 replacements and 124 new trees to be planted. If you are fortunate to have a new tree planted near you, please help by watering it, no amount of water is too much.

For more information on tree planting or if you would like to participate in our Donate a Tree Scheme please visit our web pages Tree planting - West Sussex County Council

Scheme Updates

Pedestrian Crossing refurbishment on Haslett Avenue East, Hawth Avenue, Crawley

Part of the Halogen Bulb Replacement Programme works to refurbish the crossing to a more efficient and green crossing from 11th November for approximately 6 weeks between 09:30 – 15:30. The works will include decommissioning of current pedestrian crossing and signals and installation of upgraded crossing, new signal poles, signal heads and controller. There will be overnight road closure from 18th November 2024 to 21st November between 8pm to 2am. Multi Way traffic management will be in place throughout the works. Further details on one.network.

Community Highway scheme at Southwater

Road Closure on Wallage Lane, Rowfant, Crawley

Planned works to repair and install new drainage system to prevent flooding to start from 9^th to 17^th December 2024. There will be full road closure with route diversions signed on site. Further details can be found on one.network.

‘Road Safety Theatre in Education’ performance at Felpham Community College

On Monday 14^th October, two ‘Road Safety Theatre in Education’ performances were put on at Felpham Community College; one for Year 7 and the other for Year 11 students. These performances are arranged by theatre company ‘Rapport Ltd.’, in collaboration with the ‘Sussex Safer Roads Partnership’, with whom WSCC are partners.

The Year 7 performance is called ‘Look Up’ and teaches students about the importance of pedestrian safety. It also covers how to spot hazards on a journey as a pedestrian, the importance of using our senses in road safety and how to think like a driver to become more aware of the impact behaviour has on safety.

The Year 11 performance is called ‘Take a Second’ and students learn about the impact of their own behaviours. It covers how to be a safer passenger actively, the impact of speed on an accident, the dangers of distracting a driver, drink and drugs and how to speak up to stay safe in a car.

Councillor Jaine Wild (for Felpham) attended the Year 7 performance and commented: -

“I attended the 2024 tour for Road Safety ‘Theatre in Education’ at Felpham Community College and must say how impressed I was. The engagement with students watching was first class and the team also interacted with the students asking individuals to come up and share situations. The theme was based on modern times, of children head down crossing roads looking at mobile phones or wearing head phones and hoods up. This would of immediately struck a chord with the age group they were entertaining. We also had visual slides and sounds. The students would have been able to connect with the three main characters acting, and I was greatly impressed overall with the performance which would of made the students think. I personally would like to also see a theatre group for younger children, primary age who would be riding bikes to school for the first time. But overall a great production and certainly in terms of cost, worth it.”

Jaine Wild, County Councillor for Felpham

Countryside Updates

Buchan Path, Buchan Country Park – Surface Improvement Works

Hurstpierpoint & Sayers Common – Footpath 66Hu – Surface Improvement Works

Plaistow – Restricted Byway 639 – Surface Improvement Works

Lancing – Bridleway 2065 – Surface Improvement Works

Horsham – Footpath 1697 – Bridge Replacement Works

Bolney – Footpath 18Bo – Surface Improvement Works

Hassocks – Bridleway 8C – Surface Improvement Works

Aldingbourne – Footpath 300 – Surface Improvement Works

King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP)

The final section of the King Charles III England Coast Path in West Sussex, between East Head and South Hayling, was approved on the 16^th July 2024 by the Secretary of State.

Work is now underway to prepare the new stretch of coast path for public use. The first step is to contact owners and occupiers of the affected land to discuss the design and location of any new infrastructure which is needed, such as signs and gates. There will also be improvements to path surfaces and new sections of path for the public to enjoy.

When preparations are complete, new access rights will come into force along the route and adjoining spreading room.

We need your feedback!

We want to improve the Highways, Transport and Planning newsletter and would appreciate your feedback.

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.

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

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Budget consultation special edition

November 2024

Please share the information in this eNewsletter widely within your communities.

The county council is running a public consultation on our budget, Our Council Plan, and how we spend taxpayers’ money in the coming financial year 2025 to 2026.

The views of our residents across West Sussex are vital to the budget-setting process, ensuring we’re making the best use of our resources and can continue to invest in and deliver services that support our communities.

That’s why we’re encouraging as many people as possible to take part.

Please could you encourage your parishioners to complete the consultation via this link.

Anyone without access to the internet can visit a library or family hub to complete the consultation.

If you know anyone who would like to receive a printed copy of the survey and a freepost return envelope, please call our customer services team on 01243 777100.

An Easy Read survey is also available online on the consultation page via the link above.

If you are able to share our social media posts which are also encouraging people to take part that would be great too:

• Facebook
• Twitter/X
• Instagram

We also have a poster if you are able to download it and print it out to display and an animation you are welcome to watch and share.

The consultation closes on Sunday 15 December and all comments will be considered as part of the budget setting process for 2025 to 2026.

The West Sussex County Council Cabinet is due to consider feedback from the public consultation at a meeting in January before recommending the Council Plan and budget to Full Council in February for a final decision.

Read more about our budget and finances from Council Leader Cllr Paul Marshall.

Thank you for your help.

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A284 Lyminster Bypass

The scheme aims to alleviate traffic issues through Lyminster Village with the northern section of the bypass completing the link road from the A27 at Crossbush, providing access to Littlehampton.

The progress made so far:

North of Ancient Hedgerow

We have been working on the new culvert and the tie in, where new bypass joins the A284.Work continues on the Lyminster Road, following a temporary change to the layout to allow the breaking up the existing road to make it ready for the installation of the second part of the ready-made culvert in Brookfield Stream.

Ancient Hedgerow to Bridleway

Street lighting columns and traffic signs have begun to be put up around the link road. Acoustic fencing to reduce sound levels has started to be installed and timber fencing with badger mesh also has been installed. The mesh blocks badgers from going into live traffic, instead directing them to use the designated badger crossing, which is a concrete tunnel that feeds underneath the road.

Bridleway to Black Ditch

Combined drainage kerbs have now been set across the viaduct. These separate the cycle/pedestrian pathway from the new road; they also catch surface runoff and channel it down towards the south of the viaduct.

South of Black Ditch

The soil mixing has begun to an area south of the viaduct to give the ground improved properties. The process has started where the attenuation tank (for storage of excess rainwater) will be, this is so the surrounding material will gain maximum strength so the area can be safely dug and the tank put in.

Community STEM activity

Over two evening sessions in June, Public Liaison Officer Shannon Acton-Brown and Industrial Placement Abbie Scott from our contractors Jackson Civils, facilitated a series of STEM challenges with the 4th Goring Guides and Brownies. The activities included bridge building, drawing, teamwork, and communication skills. They were aimed at showing the diversity of roles in civil engineering, such as structural engineering, designer engineering and construction engineering.

Railway Approach, Worthing

The Worthing Growth Programme has invested £2.86 million to upgrade Worthing Railway Station frontage and Railway Approach. This includes

• Improve pedestrian and cyclists’ access with new bicycle racks.
• Greening with trees and planting.
• Safety through better lighting and new CCTV.
• An Active Travel funded contra-flow cycle lane, linking Railway Approach to Cross Street, and a raised crossing and table to give pedestrians priority will also be provided as part of these works.

Throughout this project, sustainability has been a focus with measures such as the introduction of rain gardens and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems to reduce rainwater runoff and improve water quality. Existing materials have been re-used throughout the refurbishment, with existing stone and paviour surface materials being utilised to improve the look while reducing waste materials.

A29 Realignment Scheme

The scheme will deliver a new 4.34km road to the east of Eastergate, Westergate and Woodgate villages in two phases:

Phase 1 (north): From the A29 south of Eastergate Lane to a new junction with Barnham Road. Video link here

Phase 2 (south): From Barnham Road to a new junction on the A29 south of Lidsey bends

Phase 1 update:

WSCC Major Projects team working jointly in agreement with Church Commission Projects has successfully demolished the Fleurie Nursery greenhouse site at Barnham. This has enabled WSCC team to successfully apply for planning commencement of the phase 1 scheme.

Jackson Civil Engineer and their specialist demolition sub-contractor – DDS, completed the works in 10 weeks, removing individual panes of glass from the four large greenhouses before collapsing and cutting up the aluminium frames.

All material went to recycling, with specialist asbestos removal to a licensed waste tip. The scheme also worked closely with Utility providers to remove redundant electrical and communications equipment from the site.

During Autumn 2024, we will be undertaking further archaeological investigation on the nursery site.

We are currently examining the potential for the early implementation of the Barnham Road roundabout as part of a Phase 1A in order to support the wider development delivery.

A259 Bognor Regis to Littlehampton

Bognor Regis Esplanade

Haywards Heath - South Road

The scheme emerged from the Haywards Heath Town Study 2015 and aims to discourage traffic through the shopping area along with providing an environmental enhancement.

Following the public engagement in summer 2022, the scheme was costed, and funding opportunities were reviewed. The prospect of additional funding from Central Government is no longer looking to be viable within the foreseeable future. As such, the scope of the scheme is being reviewed if it is deliverable using available developer Section 106 contributions.

We are currently liaising with Councillors to agree a revised design.

Centenary House Access - Durrington

The scheme consists of a new left-in/left-out access on the A2032 Littlehampton Road West of the Durrington Lane Roundabout.

In order to facilitate the future development of the site, it is proposed to provide a new access serving the Police Custody Suite. This will enable the site, which is jointly owned by Sussex Police and County Council, to be split into two, with each party taking sole ownership of their element. This will be necessary to allow the County Council to redevelop or sell the site in the future.

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

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Download a PDF version of the planning newsletter here

Welcome to our special edition 'Bus it' eNewsletter!

Take the bus and enjoy the summer in West Sussex.

Read on for everything you need to know about discounted bus fares, popular locations you can visit by bus, and the latest transport improvements.

£1 Summer Special on Book-a-Bus

Book-a-Bus is an on-demand, flexible bus service for areas in West Sussex with limited or no traditional bus service.

With Book-a-Bus fares capped at only £1 per trip for the whole month of August, you can plan a summer day out in the West Sussex countryside.

View our interactive map to plan your destinations.

Big adventures, low fares

There are plenty of exciting locations in our county just waiting to be explored. With most places being accessible via bus, why not hop on board and see the sights for less?

The £2 single bus fare is still available until the end of 2024 for all passengers.

Young people can save even more on their bus fares by simply asking for the 16 to 20 Bus Saver discount. Get reduced fares via bus operator apps or from the bus driver when they show relevant ID.

Don’t forget to take a moment to check if you’re eligible for a free bus pass. Apply for one or renew your pass if needed (free for people with certain disabilities or those of state pension age).

We're working hard to make bus journeys better

Over the next few months, we will continue to carry out work throughout the county which aims to improve bus journeys.

• Need to know when the bus will arrive? Over 250 Real Time Passenger Information Displays have been installed with more to come.
• We’re improving journey times by refurbishing 10 junctions with bus priority traffic signals with another 10 lined up.
• In partnership with Crawley Borough Council, construction for the Western Boulevard Scheme is making good progress.
• An extension to the recently constructed eastbound bus lane in Manor Royal in Crawley from Crompton Way to London Road (A23) is continuing.
• Further works have been planned to improve the bus stops along the Hydrogen Fast Routes 10 and 20.

You can stay updated on all our projects and view the map to find out where existing and planned improvements are taking place.

What's new from our local bus operators

Metrobus and Brighton and Hove

From coast to countryside, exploring West Sussex is now more budget-friendly than ever.

For inspiration on fun and interesting things to do and how you can get there by bus, head to Metrobus Days Out.

In May, improvements were announced to the 273 service that connects Crawley and Brighton. The improvements include increased frequency, with services running up to hourly, faster services with some taking under an hour, and a new service on Sundays and public holidays. The full timetable can be found here.

Use the Metrobus Journey Planner to plan your next trip and download the Metrobus app for live updates and departure times.

Stagecoach

Stagecoach is celebrating the 1st anniversary of the 500 bus service between Chichester and Littlehampton.

That's 365 days of getting passengers to work, school and connecting them to their communities. To thank customers for their continued support, Stagecoach is offering £500 worth of Chichester Gift Card vouchers to one lucky winner!

To enter, simply fill out the form before 31 July.

Compass Travel

You'll be able to travel on upgraded Compass Travel buses from September as a major upgrade of their services 31/31A and 33 in Mid-Sussex is rolled out.

Passengers will have a better experience with new, modern buses designed to offer a much-enhanced travel experience including:

• USB charging points at every seat
• comfortable and spacious seating
• the latest real-time passenger information technology with next-stop audio and visual announcements
• enhanced accessibility with more space for those with reduced mobility, pushchairs, or prams
• internal lighting on steps for better visibility and under-seat floor lighting for added safety
• advanced stop-start technology delivering cleaner tailpipe emissions making it more eco-friendly.

These improvements, supported by West Sussex County Council, are part of Compass Travel's commitment to providing a better travel experience.

Welcome aboard the next-generation buses, and stay updated with Compass Travel.

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Bus it! is part of the wider Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) which is funded by the Department for Transport.

Welcome to a special edition of our residents’ newsletter in which we focus on the challenges we’re currently facing with the condition of our roads, what we’re doing to repair them, where you can find more information and how you can help us.

What’s going on with our roads?

We understand how frustrated people feel about the exceptional number of defects currently present on some roads in West Sussex and the impact this has on travelling around the county.

We feel that frustration too and are working hard to make improvements using the resources available to us.

Like many other local councils across the UK, we have deteriorating roads due to a combination of factors:

• extreme fluctuations in weather, especially the wet spells earlier this year
• volume and weight of vehicles using the network
• not enough funding available to carry out all the repair works that need doing.

But we are facing the challenge head-on and pumping a multi-million pound package into a series of road repairs and improvements, to provide a road network we can all be proud of.

We’d like to thank our teams, suppliers and contractors, who are all working flat out to resolve the issues.

Read more on the link below about our challenge and the work our Highways teams are completing across our 4,000kms of roads.

Visit our new website

Take a look at our new ‘Better Roads’ website, where you can find all the information you need, including how potholes form, how we prioritise repairs, the types of repairs we conduct, the scale of the challenge and our progress.

More information will be added over the coming months so be sure to check back for the very latest updates.

Help us by reporting any problems you see on our roads

Please continue to report any issues you see on our roads. Each report we receive is triaged and your safety remains our top priority.

You can report issues to us online, or if a pothole is an immediate risk to public safety, call 01243 642 105. Emergency reports can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Reminder: We have more than 40 eNewsletters on a wide variety of topics including Envrionment & Climate Change, Walking & Cycling, Highways & Transport, Recycling, Weather Alerts and Staying Safe Online. View all topics here.