Facelift for Worthing’s Gospel Hall

A much-loved historic building in the heart of Worthing has received a facelift thanks to Worthing Borough Council.

The Gospel Hall has stood in Bedford Row for nearly 170 years and is a landmark building in one of the town’s oldest streets.

But, with the privately-owned building standing derelict for more than a decade, the property’s appearance severely deteriorated with chipped and cracked masonry, graffiti and rubbish dumped in the forecourt.

That was until the Council’s planning enforcement team stepped in and used various powers to encourage the owner to renovate the facade of the Victorian structure.

It forms part of a major push by the Council - in conjunction with the Worthing Society - to spruce up the South Street conservation area and ensure the town’s historic buildings stand tall for years to come.

Councillor Kevin Jenkins, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “We take our role as guardians of the town’s heritage seriously which is why we are working with the Worthing Society to improve the whole of Bedford Row.

“The Gospel Hall is very much at the heart of this historic street. While it has been empty for many years, it remains a much-loved building which residents and visitors appreciate greatly.

“For that reason I want to praise the owner of the Gospel Hall for responding to our request. The transformation really is remarkable and it shows that by working together we can ensure our historic buildings remain preserved for future generations.”

Bedford Row is the focus of a pilot regeneration scheme by the Council’s planning enforcement team.

Built in the early 19th Century, it is one of three significant east-facing bow fronted terraces in the town centre alongside Montague Place and Liverpool Terrace.

But, over the years, the condition of the properties has deteriorated with the exteriors not of the standard with what is expected of a conservation area.

The Gospel Hall dating from 1850 is a prime example of this. Standing at the entrance to the row it is integral to the overall setting of this Grade II Listed Regency terrace.

To encourage the owner to carry out remedial works to improve the building’s appearance, the Council’s planning enforcement team sent a series of notifications to the owner. A Section 215 order which asks freeholders to undertake the work or risk the council carrying it out for them then claiming back the costs was prepared for the building. However, before it was served, the owner took steps to begin the work.

Within days scaffolding appeared, external facades were painted, doors replaced, and weeds and rubble were removed from the forecourt as the building was transformed back to its original grand state.

With other property owners in the street also agreeing to carry out improvements, the terrace is beginning to improve.

Combined with clean-up work led by the Worthing Society and Storm Ministries which cleaned up graffiti and weeds from the communal areas, the South Street Conservation Area is starting to sparkle again.

Susan Belton, chairman of the Worthing Society, said: “We are delighted and encouraged that the owner of The Gospel Hall has begun the renovation of this historic Victorian building which contributes so positively to the character of the area.

“We will also continue to work with the council and others on our campaign to upgrade other aspects of the South Street Conservation Area.”

The work feeds into two of the five areas - Our Social Economies and Leadership of our Places - featured in Platforms for our Places, Adur & Worthing Councils’ direction of travel.

Worthing Mental Health Awareness Week launch a new website and the programme for 2018

The organisers of Worthing Mental Health Awareness Week (WMHAW) now in its 6th year are thrilled to announce that they have a new website going ‘live’ today.                                                                                                                                         

It can be found at www.worthingmentalhealthweek.co.uk

A crowdfunding campaign whereby gifts in kind were recognised by the Worthing County Local Committee who then generously awarded a grant to cover the cost of the website. It is the first grant in the Worthing area to be awarded under West Sussex County Council's new funding scheme.

The website was designed by Worthing website creator Stacey Church from Lime Pixel https://limepixel.co.uk who has worked tirelessly in order to get the website up and running in time for the annual Worthing Mental Health Awareness Week which coincides with World Mental Health Day (10^th Oct).

for this year's Worthing Mental Health Awareness Week (8th - 13th October at Offington Park Methodist Church, South Farm Road by Broadwater Green) will be updated on the website, on Facebook and via #WMHAW on Twitter.

The aim of the Week is to challenge the stigma around mental health and to provide good quality information in a safe and non-judgemental environment.

Most of the events are free and are open to all. Local charities, organisations and groups will have displays in the 'Information Centre' and there will be a variety of workshops and talks designed to promote positive mental health throughout the week.

The week will be launched on Monday 8th October at 10am by the Mayor of Worthing Cllr Paul Baker followed by the Mayor’s Chaplain lighting a Peace Candle with co-founder Bob Smytherman acting as Master of Ceremonies.

The key note presentation this year will be by representatives of the local branch of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).

Organiser Carol Barber said she was "delighted that SSAFA had agreed to talk to WMHAW about the ways mental health impacted on those in the Armed Services, Veterans and their families."

In the evening there will be a special Meeting of Worthing Rethink Mental Health Carers group run by Mark Hughes with a guest speaker from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Tuesday 9th will focus on keeping well in later life and include an open meeting of Dementia Friendly Worthing at 4pm.

On Wednesday 10th October which is World Mental Health Day. The organisers have asked Grassroots (a local suicide prevention charity) to deliver their SafeTALK (suicide alertness) training.

This will start at 10am and last for three and a half hours. This is the only event in the Week for which there is a small charge.

This training event is subsidised courtesy of the grant from the County Council at just £35 per person and includes a ploughman’s lunch provided by Offington Church places are limited and must be booked in advance by contacting Carol Barber.

Thursday's and Friday's activities include ways of promoting self-care and emotional resilience, and also the opportunity to paint pebbles as part of Coastal West Sussex MIND's anti stigma campaign called 'West Sussex Rocks'.

For more information https://www.coastalwestsussexmind.org/get-involved/anti-stigma-and-awareness-raising

A film will be shown on the Thursday night.

On the Friday evening the week will conclude with a free concert, with a retiring collection for Coastal West Sussex MIND.

The concert is co-ordinated by Karen Simporis and compared by Guild Care Trustee Mr Percy Nowell

Hundreds attend grand opening of new Worthing playground

Youngsters were all smiles as the ribbon was cut on their brand new playground

Worthing Borough Council has spent £90,000 on revamping a children's playground in West Park, Shaftesbury Avenue, Worthing.

After hundreds of people had input on what the new playground would look like, contractors have been busy installing a mixture of swings, slides, and other fun-filled apparatus.

The playground was officially opened on Friday (17 August 2018), as youngsters queued up eager to try out the new kit. The grand unveiling also included bunting, balloons and a face painter for the little ones.

Councillor Edward Crouch, Worthing Borough Council's Executive Member for Digital and Environmental Services, cut the ribbon in front of an audience of over 200 people. He said:“This is the culmination of over a year’s hard work between the local residents, the friends of group, local members and the council. It’s great to see all of the children and families here today to support the opening – it shows how valued it is to the community.”

The refurbishment has been made possible utilising Worthing Borough Council’s s106 developer contributions.

It’s part of a widespread investment that the Council is making in its open spaces, with improvements made after a period of widespread consultation with local communities.

One of the youngsters who rushed to try new equipment was Isla Wilson. She said:“The zip wire is my favourite – I like how fast it goes! It’s a lot better than what was here before. There’s lots more things to go on instead of just the swings. We come here a lot of times after school and I'm looking forward to coming back!"

Abby Barras, a parent who attended the opening, explained what the new playground means to her: “We live locally and we’ve been living here about nine years, so we’ve been coming to this park for a long time. It’s lovely to see some regeneration and the community coming back together. A big thank you to everyone who’s been involved in putting it together.”

Andy Edwards, Head of Environmental Services at Adur & Worthing Councils, explained:“These improvements are part of a rolling programme demonstrating our commitment to investing in play equipment for the future. Next we will be holding a public consultation on the installation of fitness equipment at West Park, and we look forward to hearing local residents’ ideas and suggestions.”

Anyone interested in contributing to the public consultation on fitness equipment can email parksandforeshore@adur-worthing.gov.uk.

Award winning Avantguard Security Officers

Avantguard are delighted and extremely proud to announce that our security officers Dave McFarlane and Kevin Hyde have been presented with a special awars from our client, OneFamily based in Brighton. 

The values award scheme was set up by our client in September 2017 and aims to recognise the commitment and effort of their employees. The awards are based on recommendations from the staff and management at One Family, who can nominate their colleagues if they feel that they have really gone above and beyond to represent the teamwork and values of OneFamily.

It is particularly special that our own team members were nominated, being contractors to OneFamily. But regularly working on the reception of the office in Brighton has made them part of the team, so much so that they are on first name terms with almost all of the 500 staff who work in the building. 

Overall there were 152 nominations and this was shortlisted to 32 people by a panel of judges. Dave and Kevin were presented with their award at a special ceremony at Hotel Du Vin in Brighton. They are incredibly honoured to have receievd this award and we are immensely proud of their achievement and to have them as part of the Avantguard  team.

Worthing Theatres, staging the future; key improvements start at the Pavilion Theatre

The first steps towards the grand vision for the Pavilion Theatre’s redevelopment began this month; Worthing Theatres cemented their commitment to ongoing building improvements across all of the venues, starting work on the Pavilion Theatre toilets refurbishment.

The plans for redevelopment of the toilets, first announced earlier this year, will be the most comprehensive in the theatre’s recent history and will enlarge and modernise the facilities to create additional family spaces for baby changing and increased capacity to reduce wait time for patrons.

This will involve utilising sections of the basement of the building's previously wasted storage space; re-purposing the space below the theatre’s auditorium. The newly refurbished toilets will be at the heart of the building and will vastly improve queues, allowing guests to enjoy more time at the bar and to find their seats for one of many performances at the Pavilion Theatre throughout the year, including the much loved family Pantomime. With an additional five cubicles within the ladies restrooms and all fixtures and fittings to be completely replaced, this will completely transform the space. 

Simon Gray, General Manager for Operations comments “The modern design will really add something new and much needed to the redevelopment of the venue. I’m really pleased with these developments, and I am sure the public will be too.” 

Refurbishments are already underway and the toilets are due to reopen in late autumn. For all performances during the refurbishment, patrons will have access to the the Pavilion Cafe Bar toilet facilities as well as the promenade public toilets, adjacent to the venue. 

Amanda O’Reilly, Head of Culture stated “We always try to ensure we review our customer feedback and this has always been an important improvement on our list, we look forward to hearing what people think of the new facilities. Our vision for the Pavilion is to have a building that will thrive for years to come and this is an exciting small step towards that.”

Shoreham Port Finance Executive vacancy 

Main duties, tasks and responsibilities:

A varied role including the processing of sales invoices for all of the Port’s revenue streams such as commercial shipping, tenants and the leisure sector. Responsible for Credit Control. Processing supplier invoices covering a vast range of expenditure streams such as haulage, maintenance, utilities and agency ship costs.

For a full list of duties, please visit the Port’s website and download the job description for the role.

www.shoreham-port.co.uk/jobs.  

Key Skills:

• ·         Attention to detail – to ensure efficiency and accuracy of work
• ·         Proficient in the use of Microsoft packages
• ·         Meeting deadlines on a timely basis
• ·         Dealing with and resolving problems
• ·         Decision making
• ·         Communication on all levels

Desirable but not essential:

• ·         Knowledge of accounting principles, e.g. part or fully qualified in AAT
• ·         Proficient in the use of Access Dimensions

Working pattern

0800 – 1700 with a one hour lunch break, Monday to Friday. 

Closing Date:

The closing date is 31^st August 2018.

Application Method:

Please download an application form from the jobs page of our website www.shoreham-port.co.uk/jobs and submit your application to: recruitment@shoreham-port.co.uk.  CV’s without an application form will not be accepted.

Further Information:

To find out more about us please visit our website – www.shoreham-port.co.uk.

Please Note: Port staff are subject to random drug and alcohol testing and all successful candidates will be expected to comply with the Port’s policy.

Adur & Worthing Careers Fair – 27th September 2018

Preparations are under way for the forthcoming Adur & Worthing Careers Fair – an exciting collaboration between business, local authority and education establishments across the area, inspiring people of all ages on their career journey.

Taking place on Thursday 27th September at the Assembly Hall, the fair will be open exclusively to secondary schools between 10am to 2.30pm. However from 3pm – 6pm it will be open to everyone – parents, college students and the general public either looking for work or for a career change. Advice and support will be available to everyone during this time, including help with CV writing and finding a job as well as guidance for those looking to change career.

Beki Tonks, Senior Enterprise Coordinator at Coast to Capital said “Schools across the area have signed up to take advantage of this free, interactive event & are encouraging parents to come along after 3pm with their children to find out more about career opportunities.”

Kevin Jenkins, Executive member for Regeneration said “with over 35 exhibitors confirmed, across all sectors, it provides a great opportunity for people of all ages to find out about our local employment economy and what jobs are available to explore“.

The event is a partnership between Coast to Capital, Adur & Worthing Council, Adur & Worthing Business Partnership, West Sussex County Council, the Careers and Enterprise Company, JSPC Computers and the National Careers Service.  In addition, the National Collaborative Outreach Project is assisting with project management and targeted school engagement.  Working together, this project has provided funding and support to help schools release students, especially where barriers would not have allowed. 

Traditionally, transport has been a barrier, however this year, schools have received a boost from The Adur & Worthing Business Partnership, who have funded all transport costs for the schools in Adur & Worthing, helping reduce the financial burden they face.

Andrew Swayne Chair of the Partnership says "this is a very practical way to show support but one which makes a massive difference between attendance and non-attendance from local schools. With support from other sponsors, every school should be able to attend. The Adur & Worthing Business Partnership are thrilled to be sponsoring the transport.  With many of the local schools scheduled to attend, our funds are already showing a return on investment.”

Providing sponsorship for the venue is local, multi – award winning company, JSPC Computers.  James Stoner, Managing Director said “The Adur and Worthing Careers Fair is a great opportunity for people of all ages to explore a range of career options from multinational global brands to specialist companies. As a supplier of IT solutions to schools and businesses in the region, we know there are a lot of businesses looking for new talent and lots of bright minds keen to get their first step on the ladder. The Careers Fair gives everyone a chance to broaden their horizons and perhaps find new ideas for how to develop their career.  JSPC are very proud to support the event”.

If you are a local employer and wish to have a stand or have a general enquiry, please contact Beki Tonks on rebecca.tonks@coast2capital.org.uk 

Hooray for Hula Hooping! Local wellbeing programme continues with a unique approach to fitness

All in a spin – and for good reason! Growing Communities are hoopin’ that their latest event will inspire families to get active together.

Growing Communities, a scheme to enable communities in West Sussex to improve their health and wellbeing, is now well into the swing of a busy summer programme of activities. Its latest Hula Hoop event took place last week at Eastbrook Manor Community Centre.

Cleria Humphries, who runs a local fitness business, linked up with Growing Communities to run the event. She explained why: “There are lots of benefits to Hula Hooping. It helps strengthen muscles, gives you a full body workout, and it puts a smile on your face! Not only is it a fun way to keep fit and active, it also brings the whole family together. I always say that anyone can Hula Hoop!”

Dionne Jardine, from the local Nido Montessori, regularly enjoys taking pupils out to ‘Shark Park', as Eastbrook Manor Community Centre is more informally known. Experiencing a Hula Hoop fitness session there was an added bonus! Dionne said: “It’s all about exercise, fitness, and coordination – plus it’s impossible not to smile when you’re Hula Hooping!"

The Growing Communities scheme is run by a national group The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) with support from Adur & Worthing Councils, and is primarily funded by the Big Lottery Fund. It aims to encourage local residents in Eastbrook, Adur and Northbrook, Worthing to get involved in free projects which aim to improve health and wellbeing in open spaces.

Next up on the programme is the ‘Schools Without Walls’ arts and crafts event, taking place on Tuesday 21 August from 11am – 4pm at Northbrook Park.

For full details of the programme go to the TCV Growing Communities Facebook page and also view the Growing Communities page on the TCV website.

Tell us what you would like to see in a Worthing Community Hub!

West Sussex County Council is taking a fresh look at how we offer services to the Worthing community to provide better local services in this area. We’re looking at the services provided by the library, children and family centre, and registration services to see whether they could be brought together to one central hub.

We want to invite you to tell us what is important to you and to share your ideas for a Worthing community hub!  Your ideas could involve these services, or something completely different.

You can participate by visiting ‘The Ideas Zone’ at Worthing Library, which you will find on the ground floor near the Information Desk.  Once there we hope you will be inspired by the artist’s illustrations of what a community hub could include – but you could suggest something different.   Feedback forms will be available in ‘The Ideas Zone’ for you to write down your ideas.  You can then post them to us in the blue box provided nearby for this purpose.

Don’t worry if you can’t get to the library.  You can still tell us what you think by visiting www.westsussex.gov.uk/worthingcommunity, or by emailing us direct at worthingcommunity@westsussex.gov.uk.

Whichever way you choose to participate, please let us have your ideas and comments by the closing date: 24^th September, 2018.

If you would like this information in an alternative format them please contact us via email at worthingcommunity@westsussex.gov.uk, on 01243 777100 or via NGT Text Relay 18001 01243 777100  (which is available on computers, tablets and smart phones through a free downloadable app) .

Blackeyed Theatre presents Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
 
This autumn, Blackeyed Theatre bring to the stage a thrilling new adaptation of The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s epic second Sherlock Holmes novel. Adapted and directed by Nick Lane, with music composed by Tristan Parkes, this spectacular world premiere embarks on a six-month UK tour this September, which plays at the Connaught Theatre from Thursday 20 – Saturday 22 September.
 
When Mary Morstan arrives at Baker Street to request help following the mysterious disappearance of her father, Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr Watson are plunged into a murky world of deception and a complex plot involving murder, corruption and stolen jewels.
 
Crammed full of adventure, romance, comedy and, of course, one or two rather brilliant deductions, this faithful adaptation will combine original live music, high energy theatricality and ensemble storytelling.
 
The cast features Luke Barton as Sherlock Holmes (The Unexpected Guest, Mill at Sonning; Misterman, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse), Joseph Derrington as Dr John Watson (The Importance of Being Earnest, MAC Belfast; The Canterville Ghost, Erasmus Theatre), Zach Lee as Jonathan Small (Bouncers, Glass Menagerie, Hull Truck; The Derby McQueen Affair, York Theatre Royal), Stephanie Rutherford as Mary Morstan (Kubla Khan, Mirror Mirror, Oily Cart; Cinderella, Derby Theatre), Christopher Glover as Dost Akbar (Peckham The Soap Opera, Royal Court; Eastenders, BBC) and Ru Hamilton as Thaddeus Sholto (Tipping the Velvet, Lyric Hammersmith; Peter Pan, Derby Theatre).
 
Director Nick Lane comments, “I don't think I know anyone over the age of ten who doesn't know at least the name Sherlock Holmes. He is part of the literary fabric of this country - hugely popular and hugely adaptable - and his cases with Watson are a blueprint for so many crime novels, films, TV shows and theatre. We have approached this adaptation in a stylised way which will appeal to avid fans of the novel as well as those who simply want to come to the theatre and enjoy a rattling good crime story!”
 
Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four is produced by Blackeyed Theatre in association with New Theatre Royal Portsmouth and South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell and supported by Arts Council England.

Tickets for Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four at the Connaught Theatre are priced at £10 - £19.50 and are available from the Worthing Theatres box office on 01903 206 206 and online at worthingtheatres.co.uk.