The West Sussex Plan 

This ambitious plan sets out where the county will be in five years’ time.

It looks in detail at how the County Council, on behalf of our communities, can support our children, our older people, our businesses and our place.

Through the West Sussex Plan, the County Council will concentrate our efforts on delivering on five key outcome priorities, for all our communities, these are:

· Best Start in Life

· A Prosperous Place

· A Strong, Safe and Sustainable Place

· Independence for Later Life

· A Council that Works for the Community

The Plan has been refreshed in order to reflect the focus and priorities of the authority for the next five years.

It reflects the policy priorities following the recent County Council elections and is an evolution of the previous “Future West Sussex Plan”.

The full Plan can be accessed on our website here.

I look forward to working with you to deliver our key outcome priorities for our residents and businesses over the next five years.

Yours sincerely,

Merry Christmas from Glide Training - a FREE online Excel course

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No fee, no catch. A good old-fashioned freebie, no more no less. 

http://glidetraining.thinkific.com/courses/speed-through-excel-with-autofill

Merry Christmas and here's hoping for an enjoyable and prosperous New Year. 

Best wishes, 
Jane and Frank at Glide Training

Baked - Cake with a cause 

Year 7 students from Worthing High School took part in a business enterprise event called BAKED on the 6^th December. They arrived first thing in the morning in their preselected teams of 10 and were introduced to their nominated Business Partners who supported their teams throughout the challenge. The Business Partners were a group of West Sussex based business leaders and owners from many differing professions and industries including, Prosperon Networks, Nay Nay’s Salon, Always Possible, ETI, Tipton Marketing, Pixel Internet, The Orchard Café, Santander bank, Seriously Sorted, Fresh Egg, White Box, Worthing College, Bald Designs, Care UK, Gauntlet Price, HM Revenue and Customs and Clean Cut gardening. ‘The students were a credit to the school and were actively questioning their own assumptions and learning loads about their own abilities to innovate and collaborate.’ Richard Freeman CEO of Always Possible 

The day ran as a partner event with Lauren Roffey who left Worthing High in 2002 and now owns a café in Worthing called Baked. She has a passion for entrepreneurial activity and chocolate brownies!

The students were welcomed and attended individual workshops which included: Finance, Production, Design, Leadership and Marketing. They then feed back to the team so everyone knew what each other’s roles and responsibilities were. The teams then set about their task to plan, design, create and sell a cake showing the judges their ability to work together and to create a viable business.

‘I found the whole experience extremely rewarding and was really proud of the creativeness from all the students. They are all really talented individuals - many of them clearly have a good grasp of business and will be great leaders in the future.’ Mark Schools of HMRC.

During the course of the day the judges looked at every aspect of their businesses and selected the finalists who then did a sales pitch to a panel of experts. It was hotly contested and Team 20 (Cakes R Us) won. Alice Thompson from Year 7 student and from the winning team said; ‘I really enjoyed the day and I now know what it is like to run a business, we had to work really hard and we all had our jobs to do. Luke Brice from Clean Cut Gardening was our Business Partner and he really helped us succeed.’.

‘I think Worthing High is doing a phenomenal job teaching core values to young people, whilst also building resilience and self-motivation.’ Naomi Oliver Owner of Nay Nay’s Salon

‘It was great to step outside of the everyday business environment and work with such a fantastic group of children for the day. I really enjoyed getting to know them, helping them explore their different skills and bring these into the business enterprise challenge. It was so interesting to see the students grow in confidence throughout the day and all the different personalities and skill-sets coming together. You have a hugely talented group of children at the school, many of which you can already see are really passionate about certain subjects and personal interests. Given that they’re only just at the start of their high school careers, it’s very exciting to think what they might bring to the world of business in the future!’ Nicky Moody Project Director of Fresh Egg

‘I am so pleased the day went so well. Having the whole year group engaged in such an ambitious task was a challenge but thanks to the support of the local Business Partners students were able to flourish. Worthing High School is really grateful for having such a positive business support network for its student’s employability progression and entrepreneurial experiences.’ said Phil Dean-Business Partnership and Careers Manager at Worthing High School.

Contact details:

Karen Hayler, Business Development Manager, Worthing High School

01903 229275 email khayler@worthinghigh.net

Highdown Gardens wins lottery funding for project to protect its future

Worthing’s world-famous gardens at Highdown have received a major boost with the award of Lottery funding to help preserve their future.

The gardens, internationally important because they are home to hundreds of rare and exotic plants and trees uniquely grown on chalk soil, are visited by tens of thousands of people every year.

Worthing Borough Council, which owns and maintains the gardens, has now successfully applied for Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) money to develop a long-term survival plan for the landmark which is open free to the public.

The Fund has awarded almost £100,000 to the Council to develop a new plan for the 8.5 acre-gardens which will include;

·        Action to preserve plants which could be crucial to stopping extremely rare specimens becoming extinct

·        The establishment of breeding processes to ensure the survival of the rare plants.

·        The building of a new visitor centre to tell the story of the gardens and its surrounding landscape

·        Plans to tell the fascinating story of the originator of the gardens, Sir Frederick Stern, and his contribution to worldwide horticulture

·        Proposals to develop community ownership of the gardens through a full volunteer programme

Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, Cllr Diane Guest, said; “I’m delighted to hear about the award of HLF Stage One money. Highdown Gardens is a jewel in our crown and I think the Council can be justifiably proud of our work keeping Sir Frederick Stern’s legacy intact.

“However this money will allow us to develop a plan which will preserve the future of Highdown, its important plant collection and increase enjoyment for the tens of thousands of visitors who enjoy the gardens every year.”

Highdown was designated a National Collection in 1989 to recognise that Sir Frederick had proved something most experts told him he could not; to grow plants on terrain with just a few inches of soil above chalk. Chalky soils are notoriously difficult to grow on.

Sir Frederick moved to Highdown Towers, now a hotel and restaurant, in 1909 and began a project to expand and develop a garden using exotic plants brought back from places such as China and Bhutan by intrepid hunters.

He left the gardens to the Council after his death in 1967. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the Council taking ownership. Now the authority wants to bring the story of the gardens to life and begin plans to create an archive of all materials, letters and, plant records concerning Stern’s project for the use of garden researchers and visitors.

Plans are also being developed to catalogue the number of different species in the garden, protect the valuable plants from damage, improve disabled access, extend opening hours in the summer, rebuild the greenhouses and provide interactive displays for families.

The Council now has a year to bring together more research and costing for the projects, involve partners and then submit a full second round application for the full cost of the scheme.

How to increase footfall ebook

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This ebook on how to increase footfall also includes case studies from three retail businesses of how to attract customers: the methods to attract customers that they have used.

When thinking how to increase sales, how to increase footfall is the vital first step for any retail business to think about. Download this how to increase footfall ebook and start growing your customer base today!

To download the free ebook click here

The Dining Room have some amazing offers for members of the Chamber this festive season.

If you haven’t had chance to plan your firm’s Christmas party (or if you fancy holding another one!) then we have the ideal venue for an exclusive and intimate event for 12 up to 24 people.  If you’re a smaller business, then we still accept group bookings for any number.  Our wine list has a great reputation and our bar is fully stocked.

Our party nights offer a three-course meal, plus sorbet, canapes & cocktail and coffee & petit-fours, with a good selection of exciting and innovative dishes.  Normally this would cost £29-50 at lunch or £34.50 for dinner, but we are pleased to offer Chamber members the party night menu for just £24.50 at lunch or £29.50 in the evening.

There’s also live musical entertainment from the UK’s Singing Chef, plus we offer validated parking for Buckingham Road Car Park in the evenings.

The party menu is available Monday to Friday throughout December… but if you’re one of those busy businesses who would rather party in January, then do contact us and we’ll see what we can arrange!

To book, just email info@the-dining-room.co.uk  or ring 01903 204194.  Give us your Chamber membership number to access the offer and we’ll do the rest.

Click here to see the Christmas Party Menu

Another alternative is our 7-course Tasting Menu, available on Sat.2^nd, Sat.9^th, Sat.30^th and Sun.31^st .  There a few seasonal twists on there and it certainly something to impress your clients, your staff or your loved ones.

Normally £48 or £66 with a matched wine flight (4 glasses), we’re happy to offer you this dining experience for just £42 (£60 with the wine flight).  The NYE event has an added glass of champagne at midnight and live musical entertainment too.

Click here to see the Christmas Tasting Menu

Bestselling crime and thriller writer to host ‘evening with’ for local charity

International bestselling crime and thriller writer, Peter James, famous for the Brighton-based Roy Grace series, is to host an ‘evening with’ in aid of Sussex charity, Care for Veterans.

Mr James will talk about his life and extensive career, as well as answer questions from members of the audience. Some of his works will also be on sale on the evening, and guests will have the opportunity to get them signed by the author.

Elizabeth Baxter, Head of Fundraising and Marketing at Care for Veterans, said: “We are delighted that such a well-known and well-respected author as Peter James is helping to raise money for our veterans. It is so kind of him to undertake this event, which we know will be popular as he has so many fans and is so well read. This is a remarkable opportunity for Care for Veterans and the money raised will be very well spent on those ex-Servicemen and women in our care.”

The ‘Dead Good Evening’ will be held at the Sir Robert Woodard Academy in Lancing, West Sussex on Thursday 15 February, 7pm. Tickets are £20 each and on sale now from the Care for Veterans’ Fundraising Office on 01903 218444, open 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Adur Local Plan is approved giving local people control over future development

The Adur Local Plan, which will give residents control over development across the area for the next 15 years, has been approved by councillors.

In what has been a six year process, Adur District Council has consulted with hundreds of residents, businesses and other stakeholders in drawing up the 1,200-page blueprint.

The result is a document which has been found ‘sound’ by a Government appointed Inspector and which now gives the local authority control over where and how much development is built up until 2032.

After the document was adopted at a meeting of Adur Council last night (Thursday December 14), Councillors made it clear the document would provide the policy framework against which future planning applications would be assessed.

Councillor Neil Parkin, Leader of Adur District Council, said: “The Adur Local Plan will have real and lasting impact on all of our communities for decades, even generations.

“After more than six years of work and countless consultation, the result is a fair, balanced and most importantly, a sound document which will guide development across the area.

“I personally would like less development but weighing up all the evidence and competing views, I believe this is the best possible result for everyone across our communities.

“Nothing is perfect but in this case nothing would be a disaster. Not agreeing a local plan would not stop local developments; without a local plan we lose all control in terms of where building can take place, making it more likely our valued countryside will be lost forever.”

Unlike many other authorities locally and nationally, Adur’s plan has been supported by a Government-appointed Inspector.

When backing the blueprint, Inspector David Hogger said that he accepted that the council could not fully meet the housing demand in the area due to “significant constraints of building” in an area buffered by the sea and the South Downs.

However, he made clear he would only give approval to the document if it included the word “minimum of” in regard to number of homes and commercial space in key strategic allocations.

The Plan, which covers all the District except those parts which are in the South Downs National Park, will:

·         Deliver a minimum of 3,718 properties up until 2032 - more than half the housing need of 6,825;

·         Deliver a minimum of 41,000 square metres of commercial space across three main sites - Shoreham Airport, Shoreham Harbour and New Monks Farm;

·         All developments of ten or more homes required to provide 30% affordable housing;

·         Preserving a “local green gap” to ensure individual settlements like Shoreham and Lancing retain their individual identities;

·         Inclusion of greenfield housing sites at New Monks Farm in Lancing and land at West Sompting

The Plan also makes clear that where a development does not mitigate the impact on air quality the application will be refused.

Councillor Brian Boggis, Adur District Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “As a long-standing local resident I too want to protect the unique environment that we live in as far as possible. But we have to make sure we do this while providing places for people to live and work.

“The Adur Local Plan has never been about individual planning applications for specific sites; it is up to the planning committee to use this blueprint as a guide to make decisions as and when they are brought forward.”

As is consistent with emerging government policy, the Plan will be reviewed within five years.

Extra car parking spaces coming to Worthing

Worthing is to be given a car parking boost this winter as new town centre spaces are opened to the public this week.

Worthing Borough Council has converted the former tennis courts in Beach House Park into a car park, creating 63 new spaces including two dedicated bays for blue badge holders. It goes operational this Thursday (December 14).

With the recreation space not being used since 2009, council leaders believe a permanent car park will allow a range of users to use the area throughout the week whilst generating income to support the maintenance of the park.

It will also provide additional parking for those using the Splashpoint Leisure Centre following the closure of the Aquarena site due to a wider redevelopment.

Councillor Diane Guest, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for the Environment said: “Worthing town centre is clearly on the up and this proposal will ensure that visitors from near and afar are able to leave their vehicles within a pebbles throw of the town centre.

“Whether it is NHS workers heading to the hospital, families using Splashpoint or tourists visiting the coast, this gives people another off-street option to safely park their cars. We also hope it will generate thousands of pounds which we can reinvest into maintaining our town’s premier park.”

A planning application for the proposal was approved in August for permission to convert the area until August 2020.

Work to convert the area was undertaken in-house by the council and completed on time and on budget.

Splashpoint users are reminded they can claim back for up to two hours of parking in the adjacent pay and display car parks, including Lyndhurst Road, when they use the leisure centre.

Christmas event marks “superb” first year for Worthing’s creative hub

Worthing’s thriving creative hub continues to go from strength to strength - with new figures showing thousands of people have used the space in the first year of opening.

Sited at the end of Warwick Street, Colonnade House was established after Worthing Borough Council made a successful application to the Coastal Communities Fund for £245,000 to refurbish the building.

Since then, the refurbished galleries and three floors of studio space have been used to support those working in the creative industries - from animators to illustrators, photographers to painters - to provide a showcase for the work of local artists.

To mark the first year, Colonnade House is holding a late-night shopping event on December 14 until 8pm as part of a two-week seasonal Pop-Up Shop, where a host of delights from local artists and designers will be on display to buy.

Councillor Heather Mercer, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Customer Services, said: “I’m delighted to see the progress that has been made in what has been a superb first year for Colonnade House.

“The popularity of this resource shows that there is real demand for studio and gallery space for dozens of talented locals to display their creative talents.

“It shows that Worthing is a town that’s truly on the up when it comes to the creative industries. I sincerely believe it will only go from strength to strength.”

Colonnade House officially opened as a creative hub in September 2016.

It has been leased to Adur & Worthing Trust, a local charity that supports arts and culture and is managed through a partnership between the Trust and the Council with a team of three members of staff.

One year on, the ten studio spaces are running at around 80% occupancy and are let to people working across the creative industries.

Other headlines from the first year include:

·        Gallery space rented out to 33 different artists and organisations;

·        More than 1,000 visitors a month to the gallery space;

·        Nearly 200 people attend 16 professional development events aimed at the local creative community;

·        Arts Council England backing for a digital installation project Geminate II which ran in March this year attracting large audiences physically and online and gaining TV coverage from BBC South.