21 Aug Norman’s Notes – August 2017
Norman Webster, Town and District Councillor for Mid Sussex and Cabinet Member for Community updates us this month.
Experience Mid Sussex and Visit East Grinstead
I hope you have had, or are currently enjoying a good summer break.
Living or working in East Grinstead and surrounding villages we are blessed with a vast array of lovely places to visit, but if you or your staff are looking for inspiration these two web sites are guaranteed to provide ideas of places to visit or things to do, no matter what age you, your children or grandchildren are.
Chequer Mead secures £53,500 grant from Mid Sussex District Council
Our arts and entertainment venue has undergone a number of significant upgrades over the past nine months, which include new accommodation for East Grinstead Police, a new box-office area, office space and the conversion of the old gallery into two new studios. The renovation works have transformed these areas of Chequer Mead but they have also highlighted the need to bring other areas of the centre up to the same standard.
The Chequer Mead Arts and Community Trust aim to continue with the modernisation of the 150-year-old venue and applied to Mid Sussex District Council for a grant to support the work. The £53,500 funding, 50% of the total cost of the project, was recently confirmed by MSDC Cabinet Grants Panel.
Solar panels will be installed on the roof to provide Chequer Mead with a cleaner, greener and more sustainable source of energy. The panels will have a significant impact on energy bills, saving the centre around £3,000 per year on electricity costs.
A glass porch has been added to the entrance to provide the new open plan box-office area with greater protection from the weather. The previous single door entrance offered little defence against the cold, wind and rain but the new porch will create a much warmer interior during the cold winter months.
The dance and music rehearsal room, which is one of the most well used areas of Chequer Mead, is in need of refurbishment so it will be fully upgraded to the same standard as the new studios.
The sandstone brickwork at the front of the building has also become dirty and weathered over the past 150 years so it will undergo a thorough clean and repointing to repair the damaged mortar.
Rex Whittaker, Chairman of Chequer Mead Arts and Community Trust said “We’re absolutely thrilled to have secured this funding from Mid Sussex District Council and we can’t wait to get started on the next phase of our improvement works.
“These renovations will enable us to dramatically improve the quality of rooms for local people to hire, enable us to generate our own sustainable energy and make the building much more attractive.
Councillor Jonathan Ash-Edwards, MSDC Cabinet Member for Resources and Economic Growth added, “The Chequer Mead Arts and Community Trust staff and volunteers work so hard to provide local people with access to quality live performances, meeting spaces and other social events.
“It’s community groups like these that make Mid Sussex such a fantastic place to live and I’m proud that we are able to support Chequer Mead with this grant funding. I hope this financial support will help them to continue all the excellent work they are doing and assist Chequer Mead to become more financially sustainable for the long term.”
GPnotA&E Service in East Grinstead
Did you know all children aged 0-5 years and who are registered with an East Grinstead GP can access same day appointments?
If you are concerned about your child’s health and need urgent but not emergency help or advice, contact your local East Grinstead GP. If registered with one of the four practices, they can provide your child (aged five years and under) with a same day appointment.
Dr Stephen Bellamy, East Grinstead GP and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) locality lead for Mid Sussex, said: “As part of our #GPnotA&E campaign we want to ensure parents receive the right care in the right place and don’t spend time waiting in A&E or elsewhere, when they don’t need to. Children can receive the care they need right here in our local community. See our web page for more information http://www.horshamandmidsussexccg.nhs.uk/news/gpnotae-in-east-grinstead/
- The four practices that offer same day appointments for registered children aged 0-5 include Moatfield Surgery, Judges Close Surgery, Ship Street Surgery and Crawley Down Health Centre
- Late-night East Grinstead pharmacy Lloyds Pharmacy Inside Sainsbury’s, Brooklands Way, RH19 1DD. Tel: 01342 302295
- NHS Helpline, call 111
- Out of hours GP service (evenings, weekends and bank holidays) call 111
- Calls to 111 are free from mobiles and landlines
- Minor Injuries Unit at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead (open 8am-7:30pm daily)
- The Urgent Treatment Centre at Crawley Hospital (open 24 hours, seven days a week). Just walk in, no appointment needed.
Exploring the possibility of a Community Shed in East Grinstead
Men’s Sheds have over the past few years been developing across West Sussex. Some of the initial findings from the Supporting Lives Innovation Pilot operating in East Grinstead, have indicated that there may be a lack of facilities available that are attractive to older men, which may leave them vulnerable to isolation and/or loneliness.
Perhaps you can see a commercial opportunity in supporting a project like this?
To gauge existing or potential interest of setting up this project in East Grinstead a meeting is to be held at East Grinstead Library, West St., on Monday 11 Sept from 2-4pm
For more information, please contact Paul Niner paul.niner@westsussex.gov.uk . Voluntary Sector Relationship Officer (Crawley and Mid Sussex), Partnerships and Communities Team, Communities and Public Protection Directorate, West Sussex County Council. Telephone 03302228359
NHS England Consultation on treatments of low priority for NHS funding
NHS England announced the publication of a joint consultation recommending that 18 treatments, which cost the NHS £141 million a year, should not be routinely prescribed in primary care.
Instead these funds could be re-directed to high priority areas including mental health and primary care. This follows on from the Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group’s work earlier this year to identify items that could be considered low priority for NHS funding.
If you want to have your say on this important issue then go to:
https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/items-routinely-prescribed/consultation/intro/
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