News
WORKHOUSE TOURS & CEMETERY WALKS
As part of the nationwide Heritage Open Days initiative, two guided tours of the old Union Workhouse in Church Hill have been arranged for Thursday 9th September and Friday 10th September, both at 2pm. The building is currently empty and has been partly renovated in preparation for being converted into flats. Harry Gaston, the author of a number of books on local workhouses and hospitals, will talk about life in the workhouse and also what the building has been used for in later years and Paul Myles, the director of the construction company which owns the Workhouse, will talk about the architecture and construction of the building. There are limited numbers (15) of free tickets for each tour - please collect these from the Town Council offices, 18 Fort Road, Newhaven.
Due to popular demand Ian Everest will also be offering two further guided walks around Newhaven Cemetery. These will take place on Friday 10th September and Saturday 11th September at 10.30am. There will be an opportunity to go inside the old mortuary building and hear about how and why the cemetery was built, the war graves and paupers graves, as well as hear the stories behind some of the older gravestones. Again, the free tickets are limited in numbers (25) and should be collected from the Town Council offices at 18 Fort Road, Newhaven.
WEST BEACH IN MAIL ON SUNDAY
The Mail on Sunday ran an article on the West Beach this week. To read the article go to:
WEST BEACH VILLAGE GREEN PUBLIC INQUIRY
The Public Inquiry into the application made by the Town Council to register the West Beach as a Village Green will be held at Meeching Hall, Fort Road, Newhaven on 6th, 7th and 8th July from 10am to about 5pm each day. This meeting will be open to the public.
Louis Philippe has landed (eventually)
The re-enactment of the landing of ex-King Louis Philippe of France in Newhaven in 1848 took place in glorious sunshine in front of a crowd of local adults and schoolchildren from Southdown and Meeching Valley Schools on 16th June. Although the weather was perfect for the spectators, the stiff north-easterly wind caused a few problems for the men rowing the King and Queen ashore and the rowing boat eventually accepted a tow from a small motorboat.
The King and Queen were met by local resident Mr Simms who arranged for them to be taken to the Bridge Inn by horse and carriage.
Local school children welcomed the royal party to the town outside the Bridge Inn.
Mr William Catt, a local landowner and the owner of Tidemills, hurried to the Bridge Inn to welcome the King and Queen to England.
Louis Philippe Returns to Newhaven
Sussex Day on Wednesday 16th June will see a unique event taking place in Newhaven – a re-enactment of the landing of the fleeing King Louis-Philippe of France at Newhaven in 1848.
Louis-Philippe had become King of France in 1830 as a result of a revolution, and was forced to flee France in 1848 as a result of another revolution. The King and Queen had travelled secretly and in disguise from their chateau at Dreux to Le Havre where the British Consul provided them with a passport in the name of Mr and Mrs Smith and they boarded a steamer for Newhaven. On arrival at Newhaven they were taken in a horse and carriage to the Bridge Inn, where they stayed the night and were visited by a number of people from the town and surrounding area, before leaving for Claremont House in Esher, Surrey, where they were to spend their exile.
This historic event will be re-created with actors from Meeching Amateur Dramatics (MAD) playing the King and Queen being rowed ashore by local sea cadets. The Royal couple will land at 10.45am at the Newhaven Marina Slipway and will then be taken by horse and carriage along West Quay, Fort Road, South Way, Meeching Road and the High Street to the Bridge Inn, where they are expected to arrive at about midday.
Newhaven Town Council and the Newhaven Historical Society have worked together with MAD and the Sea Cadets to organise the event.
NEWHAVEN FISH FESTIVAL
The Newhaven Fish Festival takes place on Saturday 12th June at the West Quay Lawns between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm. Free fun event for all the family to celebrate Newhaven's fishing industry. On the same day at 4.00 pm there will be a Newhaven Uncovered guided walk around the Town Cemetery. Numbers are limited - please contact the town council office to check availability.
WHAT DO YOU WANT AT FORT ROAD REC?
Lewes District Council is arranging a consultation event at Fort Rd Rec on Tuesday 1st June. Anyone can "drop in" between 3-7pm to give their views and ideas for the skate park / BMX and the rec in general. Please go along if you can - they really want to hear from you.
LAUNCH OF NEWHAVEN UNCOVERED PROJECT
The Newhaven Uncovered project will be launched at 10 High Street, Newhaven on Saturday 22nd May from 10am to 12 noon.
Residents are invited to come along and collect a new free resident and visitors guide (including street indexed map, community group information and a self guided walk). There will also be a new Uncovered Photographic Quiz, with a fabulous first prize of £500, plus £500 worth of runners up prizes, donated by a Newhaven resident.
Members of the Uncovered Project, Newhaven Historical Society & Maritime Museum, Our Newhaven team and Newhaven’s Conservation Society will be on hand together with town councillors. This will be a great opportunity to browse through photographs of Newhaven’s past and share thoughts about Newhaven’s future.
If you are interested in joining a walk around the cemetery during June or July please contact us via the tab on the left.
A pdf version of the new guide and map can be downloaded - click on the About Newhaven tab on the left and then click on Town Map.
WEST BEACH VILLAGE GREEN APPLICATION
For an update on the current situation regarding the Town Council's application for Village Green status on the West Beach, please click on "The West Beach Village Green" tab on the left.
Free Fort Tickets for Newhaven residents
Free tickets are available for Newhaven residents to the Newhaven Fort Festival of History, which is taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend, Saturday 1st May to Monday 3rd May. The tickets are available from the Town Council offices at 18 Fort Road, Newhaven, TEL: 01273 516100 or from Newhaven Fort.
AWARDS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE - THE WINNERS
The Young People of the Year Awards Ceremony took place at Tideway School on Tuesday 23rd March at 6.30pm.
The evening was a huge success with over 150 people attending the ceremony. The winners were:
Heidi Aveline Young Volunteer for 2010 Award
Nicolle Payne Young Carer for 2010 Award
Nicholas Cole Young Person of Courage for 2010 Award
Adam Wiggins Young Achiever for 2010 Award
Connor Sandalls Young Sportsperson for 2010 Award
Maddison Manville Young Fundraiser for 2010 Award
The Young Group of the Year Award went to Newhaven & Seaford Sea Cadets.
The audience enjoyed refreshments before and after the ceremony, along with Tideway School presenting two songs from Grease - Hopelessly Devoted and Greased Lightnin'.
Once again we would like to thank everyone that helped make this evening a success.
Awards for Young People to be announced
The results of the Young People of the Year awards introduced by Newhaven’s Young Mayor, Daly Tucknott, will be announced next Tuesday, 23rd March at the Awards Ceremony which is to be held at Tideway School at 6pm for 6.30pm.
Daly has been delighted by the response to his idea for the awards. A total of 44 nominations were received for 7 categories – Young Achiever, Young Sportsperson, Young Fundraiser, Young Volunteer, Young Person of Courage, Young Carer and Young Group.
Each individual winner will receive a cash prize of £50 and a trophy. The awards have been generously sponsored by local companies and organisations – the Newhaven Chamber of Commerce, NCDA, Wave Leisure, G W Ironworks, Lewes District Crime Reduction Partnership, Excell Design and the Newhaven Enterprise Centre.
All in all, the new Awards Scheme has proved to be a huge success and has certainly shown that Newhaven is not short of amazing children and young people who are achieving wonderful things.
Town Council to sponsor Floral Displays
Newhaven Town Council has agreed to providing floral displays in the Drove area of the Town. This follows on from the much appreciated wild flower display last year on the Drove Roundabout and this year will be extended to include other areas on the eastern side of the Town. There will also be some tree and shrub planting to compliment the displays. Planting will be starting during March.
Nominations needed for Young People's Awards
We are now looking for nominations for the new Young People of the Year awards introduced by the Young Mayor of Newhaven, Daly Tucknott to recognise and celebrate the positive things that children and young people in Newhaven achieve. Daly feels that often young people get a bad press and wants to counteract this.
There will be one award for each of the following categories:
• Young Volunteer (someone who has done outstanding work in the community)
• Young Carer (someone who cares for their parent(s) or other family member
• Young Hero (someone who has done something really brave such as saving someone else from danger)
• Young Person of Courage (someone who has battled bravely against illness or disability)
• Young Achiever (someone who has achieved something outstanding through hard work and/or talent)
• Young Sportsperson (for outstanding sporting achievement)
• Young Fundraiser (someone who has campaigned to raise funds for something worthwhile)
• Young Group (a group of young people who deserve recognition)
Any young person who is aged 17 or under on 1st April 2010 and who lives or goes to school in Newhaven is eligible to be nominated.
Each individual winner will receive a cash prize of £50 and a commemorative trophy which will be engraved with their name. The Young Group will receive a treat of their choice, such as a pool party or trip to the cinema. The awards will be made at a ceremony at Tideway School, Newhaven on Tuesday 23rd March 2010.
If you would like to nominate a young person or a group to receive one of these awards, please click here to download a form (pdf 307kb). The deadline for nominations is 14th February 2010.
Icy conditions in Newhaven
A number of local residents have contacted the Town Council raising concerns about slippery roads and pavements in the town during the current spell of snowy and icy weather.
East Sussex County Council is the local Highway Authority and as such the gritting of roads and pavements is their responsibility. Whenever ice or snow is forecast, they pre-treat over 800 miles of the county’s road network with salt to reduce the potential for ice forming on the road surface. The pre-treated routes comprise all the major roads across the county and also a significant number of interlinking minor roads to ensure that the strategic network is passable. The County Council do not have the resources either in terms of vehicles or manpower to grit all the roads across the whole county at once and more minor roads can only be treated after the County Council are certain that the major roads are all clear. Hand salting of pavements by the County Council (which requires a huge amount of manpower) is only undertaken when the roads are clear.
At times when there is extensive snowfall and ice across the whole county for several days the resources of the County Council will be at full stretch and cannot cope with hand salting pavements.
Although Highway matters are not strictly speaking the responsibility of the Town Council, our councillors nonetheless share residents’ concerns about the state of roads and pavements in the town. We are a very small organisation and certainly do not have the staff ourselves to undertake hand salting in the town. However, it would be possible for the Town Council to finance the provision of additional salt bins in the town which local residents could then use as and when required. Unfortunately this cannot be an instant solution – each bin would require a licence from the County Council and of course, would also need to be ordered, installed and filled with salt. It is likely that many towns and villages across the country will also want to install bins and as a result there may be delays. Decisions would need to be taken as to where to install the bins and how many the Town Council could afford. Inevitably it would not be possible to provide one everywhere that ice was a problem. It also needs to be borne in mind that existing bins are often a target for vandalism and that keeping them filled with salt can also be problematic. The County Council used to provide grit bins at strategic locations, but has removed many of them in recent years because of constant problems with vandalism, the bins being filled with rubbish or dog waste and the salt in the bins being used by both local residents and people from further afield to clear their private driveways and paths.
It is very likely that the Town Council will be discussing this matter further over the next few weeks and we hope to have further information following the next meeting of the Council on 2nd February.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
The Town Council offices will close at midday on Christmas Eve, 24th December and will re-open at 9.30am on Monday 4th January 2010.
For emergency enquiries over the Christmas period please telephone Lewes District Council on 01273 471600 and listen to the recorded message.
Everyone at Newhaven Town Council would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
Tree planting at Valley Ponds
Children from Meeching Valley School helped plant some rare Black Poplar trees donated by Wakehurst Place at the Valley Ponds on Thursday 17th December. The trees around the Ponds are predominantly willows and the planting was part of a programme to introduce some different native species to the area.
Car Parking Charges reduced
Lewes District Council has agreed to cut car parking charges in the town in the run up to Christmas to encourage more people to shop in the town centre.
All car parks in the town will be free of charge after 4pm so that people can drop into the town on their way home from work. On Saturdays the multi-storey car park will charge a flat rate of 75p for the whole day.
The reduced rates will apply for the whole of the month of December.
New Youth Club opens at Denton Social Centre
A new youth club for 13-18yr olds has just opened at the Denton Social Centre in Denton Recreation Ground, Denton Road. The club will run every Friday during term time from 7.45pm-9.45pm and will be operated by NCDA (Newhaven Community Development Association) with funding provided by Newhaven Town Council and South Heighton Parish Council.
The Club will offer a range of activities including crafts, art and sport, together with access to lap tops for e-research projects plus a progamme of informal advice sessions.
Chloe Uncovers a Bike!
Chloe Avenell of Brighton Road, Newhaven was the lucky winner of a £250 voucher for a bike from Mr Cycles in Seaford in the recent photo quiz competition held by Newhaven Town Council to launch their Newhaven Uncovered project.
Chloe identified some difficult to recognise parts of Newhaven in 21 photographs and was the first correct entry drawn out of the hat. Twelve lucky runners up received family tickets to either Paradise Park or Newhaven Fort.
Newhaven Uncovered is a project run by the Town Council to encourage you to look at the town in a different way. Like an archaeological dig, this project aims to reveal some forgotten treasures and to signpost you to finding out more about Newhaven's rich history.
Newhaven Uncovered will take you on self-guided walks in the town linked to a series of interpretation boards, organise guided walks and highlight other local walks and trails. There will also be a Newhaven Uncovered Resident's Guide to be published and delivered to every household early in 2010.
And coming very soon – What’s on in Newhaven for Children and Young People – a leaflet uncovering the wide range of youth activities available in the town, which will be distributed through local schools and youth groups and available at the library.
Money Available for Local Organisations
Newhaven Town Council has launched its annual small grants scheme. Every year the Council invites local groups and organisations who work for the benefit of Newhaven residents to apply for funding. Grants awarded last year went to support all sorts of activities, including Christmas lunches and outings for the elderly and vulnerable, the purchase of play equipment for pre-school groups and the hire of a skip to enable local residents to clean up their area.
Councillor Graham Amy, the Chair of the Town Council’s Grants Committee, said “Newhaven has a really wide range of voluntary groups who work so hard for the local community. We are delighted that we can help them in this way.”
Local groups who want to apply for grants can download guidance notes and an application form here. The deadline for applications is 23rd October 2009.
Uncover Newhaven and Win a Bike! (closing date Mon 12th Oct)
To launch a new project called "Newhaven Uncovered" the Town Council is running a photo quiz. Can you identify some difficult to recognise parts of Newhaven? If you can you might win a £250 voucher for a new bike from Mr Cycles in Seaford. There will also be runners up prizes of family tickets for Paradise Park and the Fort. Come along to our office and pick up a form or download one here (pdf. 363 kb). Closing date for entries is 12th October.
Newhaven Uncovered is a project run by the Town Council to encourage you to look at the town in a different way. Like an archaeological dig, this project aims to reveal some forgotten treasures and to signpost you to finding out more about Newhaven's rich history.
Newhaven Uncovered will take you on self-guided walks in the town linked to a series of interpretation boards, organise guided walks and highlight other local walks and trails.
Look out for the Newhaven Uncovered Resident's Guide to be published and delivered to every household early in 2010. This new guide will contain practical information about the town together with a handy map and other features.
New ASDA proposed for Newhaven
An exhibition was held at the Hillcrest Community Centre on 4th and 5th September at which exciting proposals to create a new supermarket, 280 homes and a hotel on unused land at Eastside were on display.
A developer called Avalon LLP is working in partnership with Barratt Homes and ASDA on the project.
A 40,000 square foot ASDA is proposed, together with 14 new units for small to medium sized businesses, as well as a hotel and a pub. The store would create around 350 new jobs for the town. The houses would be one, two and three bedroom homes for local people situated behind the Brightwell Industrial Estate and would include a proportion of affordable housing.
If the project goes ahead, it would also mean that the first part of the long proposed new port access road would be built as part of the development.
Further details about the proposal can be found at www.regeneratingeastsidenewhaven.co.uk
PICTORIAL MEADOW IN THE DROVE
The roundabout by B & Q in The Drove has burst into colourful bloom this summer with a spectacular mix of wild meadow flowers. The roundabout was seeded with this mixture by East Sussex County Council in the spring as an experiment. The seeds were supplied by a company called Pictorial Meadows who have provided seeds for similar planting schemes, notably in Sheffield, where a number of run down, derelict pieces of land have been transformed into vibrantly colourful flowering fields.
We understand that this has been very popular in Sheffield – but what do local people here think? Do you like the roundabout? Would you like to see this sort of wild flower planting carried out in other areas of Newhaven? Please let us know what you think – click on the contact us link on the right.
