REX’S NOTES NOVEMBER 2024 Local Council Updates
Councillor Rex Whittaker brings us up-to-date with local government news in and around the town and district …
TOWN COUNCIL
Ms Sam Haynes commenced her Town Clerk role on 1 November , after taking over from Mrs Julie Holden. She has moved from the parish of Cuckfield so knows Mid Sussex very well. She can be contacted via her PA, Kirstie Hamper, on 01342 323636 or k.hamper@eastgrinstead.gov.uk
On Sunday 10 November East Grinstead town council once again facilitated and hosted a superb High Street Remembrance Parade and Service that involved hundreds of community group members, as well as a thousand or so members of the public.
On Saturday 23 November both London Road and the High Street will be closed to traffic to host the annual ‘ Big Reveal ‘ retailer event coupled with the Christmas Lights switch on at 5.15 pm. Roads will be closed for public pedestrian use between 3 and 8 pm. And there is free parking in the town’s short stay car parks from 3pm on that day.
On Sunday 8 December there will be another town centre event when London Road between Bluebells and Lloyds Bank will be closed to traffic between 7 am and 6 pm to host the annual Christmas Fayre of food stalls, and community group and charity stalls.
MID SUSSEX DISTRICT COUNCIL
Discussions continue between MSDC and NewRiver REIT plc regarding a joint venture to facilitate the part re-development of Burgess Hill town centre. Further progress report papers are expected to be presented at the full Council meeting on 11 December.
The updated and revised MSDC District Plan covering new housing and employment site allocations for the period 2021 to 2039 has seen the first two weeks of independent public examination. This was held in public and all sessions can be viewed on the Council’s YouTube channel on its website.
The examiner Mrs Nurser is expected to arrange a second phase of the examination in early 2025. A comprehensive examination document library is also on the MSDC website for public scrutiny. It is hoped that the final (amended) version of this plan can be adopted by Autumn 2025.
The Gatwick Airport Northern runway planning public examination concluded in September, and the Examiners report is expected to be sent to the Government for review by Cabinet in 2025 before a decision is announced. The EGBA are holding a specific Gatwick Airport Q&A event on Wednesday 27 November at Chequer Mead starting at 6pm.
As previously reported the former Homebase site received planning permission to construct a new Lidl store. Site hoardings have been erected and demolition has commenced. Store completion is expected in November 2025.
In January 2025 the Government is expected to publish its final updated version of the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This was initially published in August for a public consultation. This is the key planning policy precedence document for all planning decisions. It is expected that this document will be used by central Government as a catalyst for speeding up and simplifying planning application decisions, with an objective of aiding the growth agenda.
BUDGETS
Autumn is traditionally the time when local councils review their budgets – all our local councils are halfway through this process. Usually in January more specific particulars of their intended plans are published for public scrutiny. Further details of these will follow in these notes in January 2025.
Suffice to say though that the Chancellor’s budget on 30 October caused quite a stir in the business and farming communities respectively. Employers NI and minimum wage increases will adversely impact business costs at a time of weak market conditions and global uncertainty. The radical change to farming inheritance tax will clearly fundamentally alter the business mechanics of farming and land management, and this will directly affect our rural areas. EGBA will monitor this very closely and seek advice from specialists that they know.