Your Town and Parish Council News July 2021 - Have your say on West Sussex Transport Plan and more

Welcome to your latest Town and Parish Council eNewsletter.

We have taken on board some of the suggestions and comments on content and structure you made in the survey we carried out earlier this year.

We will be adding more in the coming months.

Please let us know what you think, and any other suggestions you have by emailing townandparishcouncilnews@westsussex.gov.uk

Covid-19 and vaccinations update

You should have received a special edition of this eNewsletter last Thursday (15 July) detailing the latest on the vaccination roll-out in West Sussex to pass on to your residents.

We want to thank you and your communities once again for doing what you can to keep safe and protect others.

As the number of positive Covid-19 cases continues to rise across West Sussex it remains important that we all continue to follow the Government guidance and help prevent the spread of the virus.

For more information about the Sussex vaccination programme visit the Sussex Health and Care Partnership website.

Please share the link above with residents in your community.

Today (19 July) marks the move to step 4 of the government’s roadmap. For the very latest information on case numbers and the impact on our services please visit our website - link below.

Volunteers wanted - and available

Call for school governors

We need more people who would like to be involved with and support their local school community by becoming governors.

Governors are volunteers who support a school to be the best it can be. They champion all aspects of education, supporting the school to be inclusive of all, especially disadvantaged children and those with additional needs. Positions are available across the county.

Click here for more information about becoming a school governor and please share this link with your residents.

Basic digital help -  reminder for your residents

We have a team of Library Digital Volunteers who can offer free remote support for basic digital enquiries such as using email, transferring photos and files between devices and staying safe online.

If you know residents who would benefit from this support, encourage them to click here to find more information and contact details.

To find out more about volunteering in West Sussex, click below.

Safe against scams

Join us to find out about useful information and resources to help keep your residents and yourself safe from scams.

More than ever before, we have been relying on technology to enable us to work, learn and connect with each other.

Inevitably, criminals have exploited and used our increased digital lives to their advantage. The pandemic has seen a rise in scams including: telephone, courier and romance fraud which have all become an increased concern in West Sussex. Not only is there the financial impact on victims but the emotional impact can be even more significant.

To help raise awareness of these different types of scams, how to spot them, and what to do if you become a victim, the West Sussex Community Safety & Wellbeing Team alongside Trading Standards are running free monthly scams awareness webinars for you to attend.

Tuesday 27 July 2021: 10.00 – 11:30am - book here.

Tuesday 27 July 2021: 18.00: – 19:30pm - book here.

Help with planning issues

If residents need advice and the all-important ‘who does what?’ on planning issues in West Sussex then please encourage them to take a look at the link below.

Responsibility for planning is split between the county council, the district and borough councils, and the South Downs National Park Authority.

Information on our planning webpages include help with neighbourhood planning, Tree Preservation Orders, as well as how to request an Historic Environment Record and details about Conservation Areas and how to apply for planning permission within them.

Help us to shape the future of transport in West Sussex

Now is the time for you and your residents to have your say on the future shape of transport in West Sussex.

The West Sussex Transport Plan (WSTP) is being reviewed to set out the county council’s approach to managing and investing in the transport network from 2022 to 2036.

We are hosting two webinars to introduce the Draft Plan and officers will be available to respond to questions. These will be on 22 July, 10am to 11.30am, and on 8 September, 2pm to 3.30pm, via Microsoft Teams. If you would like to attend one of these webinars, please email ltp@westsussex.gov.uk.

Anyone without internet access, or wanting more information about the consultation, can phone 01243 642105, leaving their name, telephone number/email address and interest (for example, whether they are a resident, business owner, transport operator and so on) or email ltp@westsussex.gov.uk.

The consultation runs until Friday 08 October 2021. Take part here.

Other live consultations to highlight

Here are some of the other consultations we are currently carrying out. Please take part yourself and publicise widely in your community. Click on the 'Find Out More' button below to see all live consultations.

• Proposals to help ease congestion and make journeys safer and more reliable on the A259 by changing junction layouts between Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Closes: Sunday 25 July.
• Plans for a new school as part of the Northern Arc development to support a growing community across Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and Hassocks. Closes: Monday 26 July.
• Proposed changes to the future of Shaw Healthcare day services for older people at six centres in West Sussex. Closes: Thursday 5 August.

• South Downs Findon Gateway, Findon Valley and town. Public consultation begins today (Monday 19 July) on a £1million cycleway/footway scheme to connect the South Downs National Park gateway of Findon Village with Findon Valley. Closes Sunday 15 August.

Committee to review next steps in Early Help service redesign

Changes to the Early Help redesign proposals will be taken to the county council's scrutiny committee meeting tomorrow (20 July).

1,948 people (including 301 children and young people) responded to the 10-week public consultation which ran from 8 March to 17 May 2021 and included five online consultation events. 

A number of changes are being put forward as part of the proposal. A summary of these changes are:

• To increase the number of retained centres from 11 to 12.
• To increase the ‘find it out’ offer to young people allowing for daily appointments at a location to suit the young person.
• To continue to offer some specific group work when there is an identified need.
• To raise awareness of the support and services available at our Children and Family Centres.

The scrutiny committee will review the updated proposals proposals and will make recommendations to help Cabinet Members in making their decision. Next Tuesday (27 July) Cabinet Members will meet to vote on whether to approve the Early Help service offer. If this is agreed, we anticipate that staff consultation on the proposals will begin in September with the new model being implemented in December 2021.

Full papers can be viewed here

Your community can view the meeting online via the live webcast.

Solar together

Spread the word that a county council-supported scheme to help residents install high quality solar panels and battery systems will re-open in the autumn.

Through Solar Together Sussex, residents can get a high quality system installed to generate and store clean electricity and reduce their carbon emissions.

The scheme is run by Sussex councils in partnership with iChoosr, who use a ‘group buying’ approach to ensure that prices are competitive and systems are fitted by reputable, accredited installers. The previous Solar Together Sussex scheme, which opened in autumn 2020, is on course to install more than 500 solar PV systems by the end of this summer.