Charity Trustees to get a helping hand

Voluntary Action Worthing (VAW) is launching a new Trustee Club in Worthing on Thursday 20^th July.

VAW has been providing support, information and advice to the voluntary sector since 1993.   It is launching the new club specifically for trustees of charities operating in the Worthing area. Charity specialists MHA Carpenter Box were proud to be invited to be the delivery partner and to support the launch where guest speakers will share their national and local insights relating to good governance. For information on the impressive line-up of speakers go to: http://vaworthing.org.uk/trustee-club/ 

Following the launch, the VAW Trustee Club will start in September and will be a free-to-access, membership club where trustees of charities operating in the Worthing area can meet, gain peer support from each other and attend masterclasses from experts in good governance.

Chris Coopey, Partner and Practice Director at MHA Carpenter Box and President of the Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce, will be one of the impressive line-up of voluntary sector leaders who will be speaking at the launch event. Governance experts from MHA Carpenter Box will then be delivering four of the networking session masterclasses following the event, with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ lead, Dan Francis, speaking at an event during Trustees' Week in November. The sector experts will guide Trustee Club members through what they and their Boards should know to ensure that their charity is legally compliant, robust and sustainable in the long term.

Chris commented: “There have been so many changes in recent years to the rules and regulations that govern how charities operate which makes life challenging for Trustees, so I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in the VAW Trustee Club. It will provide a unique opportunity for members to network with other trustees and with so much knowledge on offer, should prove to be a good investment of their time.”

The launch event is by invitation only and will be held between 5pm and 7pm on Thursday 20 July at St Paul’s Centre in central Worthing, however, if you would like to receive an invitation, please contact partnerships@vaworthing.org.uk 

PUBLIC URGED TO SUPPORT ‘THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN’ AS HIGHDOWN GARDENS MARKS 50 YEARS IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP 

The public is today being urged to show support for Highdown Gardens as a “jewel in the crown” of Worthing’s cultural offer.

Worthing Borough Council is embarking on a major bid to secure the future of the world-famous gardens by applying for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of more than £900,000.

And today the council’s executive member for the environment Diane Guest urged the public to get behind the bid.

She said: “Highdown is a very special place and we want to invest in it to safeguard the future. The more people we can get on board to support this bid the better our chances.”

She made the call as the nationally important gardens, nestling high above the town, prepares for two special 50th anniversary landmarks.

The gardens, on Highdown Hill are owned and run by the council which keeps them free for visitors and has launched Highdown50 to publicise the importance of the place in local and national history.

The gardens are also of worldwide scientific importance and have been designated a National Plant Collection.

July 10 this year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Frederick Stern the creator of the gardens, who lived in next door at Highdown Towers now a hotel and restaurant.

And in February the following year in the 50th anniversary of the gardens being handed to the people of the town by Sir Frederick’s widow Lady Sybil. The Borough Council has cared for the gardens ever since.

Today the council’s executive member for the environment Cllr Diane Guest praised the attraction and lauded its place in the life of the borough.

She said:

“I am always inspired whenever I go up there”

”There’s such a variety of fantastic plants, trees and other species from all around the world, all with a great story to tell and all of national importance.

“I am extremely proud of our role in keeping these gardens in their splendid state and of course on this anniversary we acknowledge the vision and the passion of Sir Frederick and Lady Sybil in defying the odds to make this garden the jewel it is.”

The gardens are a spectacular highlight of counter intuitive horticulture. Sir Frederick’s legacy was to prove that a whole range of plant species could still thrive in chalk downs. Just six inches of loam sits above the chalk face of Highdown Hill but many unique species now thrive there.

A special tree planting and plaque unveiling will take place on July 10 to mark the anniversary of Sir Frederick’s death.

Interim head gardener Gary Prescod said:

“It’s a great job working up here. The gardens give so much pleasure to so many different people, old and young alike. I always get people coming up to me asking questions about the important species we have here.”

The Heritage Lottery Bid if successful will help enhance the visitor experience at the gardens and help safeguard the nationally important collection of species.

Plans might include making the gardens more accessible for the disabled, improving the plant propagation facilities and converting the on-site gardeners’ bungalow into a visitor centre. A public consultation might bring forward other ideas.

A HLF bid last year was narrowly unsuccessful but the fund has encouraged the council to bid again on the strength of the project. This project will build on recent provision of interpretation trails and leaflets at Highdown Gardens, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and installed earlier this year.  

Members of the public are being asked to answer a special questionnaire on the Highdown website which will be used in framing the bid. Deadline for views is August.

Public urged to have their say on multi-million pound Shoreham development

Plans to create a new multi-million pound office block on a Shoreham car park are taking another step forward - with the public being urged to have their say.

The site in Ham Road was formerly used by council staff who worked at the now demolished Adur Civic Centre opposite.

A design team is now preparing detailed proposals for the 0.3-hectare site, which will be used to provide workspace for  local businesses.

Before a planning application for the redevelopment is submitted, members of the public are being encouraged to have their say on the scheme.

A drop-in consultation event will take place on June 26 from 3pm to 8pm in the Shoreham Centre in Pond Road.

An online consultation will then open on the council’s website and run for two weeks.

Comments received will then be used to guide the design team before they submit a detailed planning application.

Councillor Brian Boggis, Adur District Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said:

“I am delighted that the Council is progressing the redevelopment of this site to deliver new offices to support the expansion of local businesses.  

“This public consultation exercise will give local residents and businesses an opportunity to comment on the proposals prior to any formal consultation when the planning application is formally submitted later in the year.”

Staff vacated the civic centre in 2013. Since then, Adur District Council has considered a number of options for the site.

Now, the council is driving forward development of the site, with the first phase of regeneration seeing the creation of an office block on the car park.

It is anticipated a planning application will be submitted this summer with work potentially starting on site in the new year.

New President of Worthing & Adur Chamber Appointed

Chris Coopey, Partner and Practice Director of MHA Carpenter Box, has been appointed as the new President of the Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce, succeeding Peter Bennett who has led the Chamber as President for the last 14 Years.

Chris has had enjoyed a variety of careers, initially in design engineering, before moving on as a telecommunications engineer and during this time, he also served with a Royal Signals territorial unit for a number of years. In 1994 he qualified as a solicitor and later became Partner and Practice Director at Wynne Baxter Solicitors in Brighton. Chris embarked on his current role in 2005 at the Worthing-based firm of chartered accountants, tax and business advisers.

Chris firmly believes that Worthing & Adur is an amazing place to undertake business and commerce. The area has an astonishing number of world leading companies who are often at the forefront of innovation and generate countless other opportunities which have seen the blossoming of a local supply chain providing opportunities for many. Perhaps a little more controversially, he believes that the area succeeds as a business destination despite the lack of government investment in infrastructure and that given its fair share it could do even better.

Chris commented: “I’m honoured to have been elected as the new President and relish the job of representing the interests of Chamber members in the name of better business. My ambition for the Chamber is for it to really influence and drive the decisions that are central to the wellbeing of our local economy. I’ll try to do that in a collaborative style, taking into account the views of the Executive and by engagement with members and external bodies, both local and national.”

Tina Tilley, Chief Executive Officer of the Worthing & Adur Chamber, added: “We are sure Chris will help the Chamber and its members to meet the challenges and take advantages of the opportunities that lie ahead. We have a wealth of volunteers in the Chamber Executive and membership ready to support him, and I am looking forward to us working together to make sure the voice of business is heard loud and clear on the many issues on which we should be engaging.”

We have an Oliver production that is coming up in July just before we break for the Summer Holidays. Worthing High School would like to offer you the opportunity to advertise in our show program.

It is £50 for a full page (A5) as you may be aware we have Charitable status and the monies raised by these payments will help pay for essential equipment hire like microphones etc.

Please let me know if you are interested.

I will be sending out more requests for support at individual events for next year soon but I promise they will be brief. 

Lottery funding for Growing Communities initiative

An innovative project to create happier and healthier communities by involving people with their local open spaces has received nearly £660,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

The Growing Communities programme will work with residents in the Northbrook area of Worthing and Eastbrook in Fishersgate and is the result of a partnership between Adur & Worthing Councils and The Conservation Volunteers charity (TCV).  

Growing Communities aims to harness the ideas and energy of local people and support them in improving the places in which they live, and in doing so, enhance their own health and opportunities.

It is among 1,903 projects across England sharing more than £50 million in National Lottery funding, announced today (June 13). More than £5 million of the funding goes to 201 projects in the South East.

The Growing Communities project will focus on underused open spaces in the area, working with the local community to understand their needs and supporting them to transform the spaces for people to enjoy for years to come.

Activities will be decided by the local communities themselves, but examples could include:

·        Setting up mini allotments

·        Courses and workshops on wildlife, trees and habitats

·        A Green Gym where volunteers get exercise by planting trees or creating ponds.

Councillor Val Turner, Worthing’s Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “I’m delighted we have received this funding, which will help us to achieve our vision for greater community involvement in our parks and open spaces which, in turn, will have a positive impact on health and wellbeing.

“We outline this ambition in Platforms for our Places, our three-year plan on how we aim to create prosperous, healthy, happy and connected communities.”

Councillor David Simmons, Adur’s Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, added: "We believe strongly in empowering people to play an active role in our communities to help them and their local areas to thrive.

“We’ve already been working with our communities in our parks and open spaces and I’m looking forward to building on our partnership with TCV.”

Darren York, TCV’s Chief Executive, said: "TCV believes that there are significant and lasting benefits to be derived - for people's health, prospects, communities and environment - by connecting people with outdoor places and with each other.

“After several years working in close partnership with local communities and Adur & Worthing Councils, this valuable support from the Big Lottery Fund will take our partnership to the next level. Growing Communities will provide a model for connecting people and outdoor places across the UK."

Worthing Churches Homeless Project Shortlisted for Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year in Lyons Farm and Rustington

Worthing Churches Homeless Projects are pleased to annouce that they have been shortlisted in Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year in Lyons Farm and Rustington

You can vote here: https://www.sainsburyslocalcharity.co.uk/

Worthing Museum’s Summer Dress blossoming thanks to green-minded visitors

Forget Paris, London or New York - eco-minded fashionistas have only one destination on their minds this summer, as Worthing displays a unique piece of horticulturally-themed haute couture.

As the days get longer, the Summer Dress in the garden of the town’s Museum & Art Gallery in Chapel Road will gradually start to blossom - thanks to eco-minded members of the public who are creating colourful flowers from things they would throw away.

The unique and completely ‘green’ dress features as part of the wider Worthing Museum and Art Gallery’s costume trail, which is a changing series of displays hosted in showcases at local businesses across the town.

Councillor Heather Mercer, Worthing Borough Council’s executive member for customer services, said:

“It’s wonderful to see such a creative way to use waste materials and put them to use in a new and exciting way.

“The costume trail has been a big hit with thousands of people across the region as the museums and theatres team take the exhibits to the masses.

“I’m delighted the spring dress is part of this and I can’t wait to see people’s imaginations blossom in the weeks to come.”

As part of a bid to encourage people to get crafty with their waste, staff at the Worthing Borough Council venue are calling for people to let their imagination blossom and create flowers from things they would throw away. The colourful additions will then be attached to the dress before being put on display all summer.

Among those already created are beautiful blooms created by cutting into empty used soft drink bottles. Other elaborate flowers have been made by stenciling and embroidering used plastic bags.

The lifesize summer dress has been created by local artist and museum education officer Anna Twinam-Cauchi.

Anna has used PVC-coated garden fencing and garden windbreak to create the crinoline frame for the dress.

Anna had previously created a winter dress as part of the costume trail from evergreen foliage and is known for creating artworks from recycled materials and found objects.

Anna said:

“The Summer Dress has been a great opportunity to create a collaborative artwork outside in the museum garden. We are inviting all ages to be inspired by the idea and to participate in creating something beautiful.”

Flowers for the dress can be donated via the museum front desk for addition to the garden-based work of art.

The Summer Dress will be on display until Autumn 2017.

Free 1-1 Advice for Businesses in Sussex

The Business Navigator Service in partnership with Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce invite businesses to attend a free 1-1 business advisory clinic. 

For each one hour advisory session, you will have theopportunity to discuss your growth aspirations with Ryan Davies, Business Navigator. You’ll have the opportunity to focus on a topic of your choice ranging from sales & marketing, access to finance or reaching new customers and new markets.  

Outcomes from these sessions can range from acquiring business premises, applying for funding, taking on more staff, increasing turnover. The meeting will result in a few simple actions that make a significant difference to your business.

To book your FREE one hour 1-1 appointment with Ryan please email: amelia@worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

*Follow up sessions are available upon request