Major resurfacing and maintenance work planned for the A24

A £1 million scheme to resurface large sections of the A24 between Horsham and Findon is due to start on Monday August 9.

The West Sussex County Council project will also involve various road maintenance works including tree cutting, crash barrier repairs, bus stop improvements, hedge trimming, renewed road markings and sign improvements.

The work will take up to five weeks, weather permitting.

The road will be resurfaced in sections with work being carried out overnight from 8pm to 5am.

The material selected for the resurfacing is designed to be hard wearing and provide good quality skid resistance for high speed roads with heavy traffic. Anti-skid surfacing will also be refreshed where needed.

During the night work there will be localised road closures with signed diversions.

Lionel Barnard, West Sussex County Council Deputy Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways and Transport, said: “We realise there will be some disruption for motorists but we hope that by carrying out the work at night there will be minimal inconvenience to road users.

“Also by scheduling in the road maintenance work at the same time as the resurfacing we can avoid further disruption by getting everything completed in one go.”

The work will be carried out by teams made up of staff from West Sussex County Council and its contractor May Gurney.

Signs are already in place at both ends of the A24 giving details about the proposed works. More signs will be put in place for each section of the road before resurfacing takes place.

Young people’s watchdog to take second look at Youth Service proposals

A COUNTY Hall watchdog will meet to discuss for a second time the review of West Sussex County Council’s Youth Service.

The County Council’s Children and Young People’s Services Select Committee will meet at County Hall, Chichester, on Thursday July 29, starting at 1.30pm. A webcast of the meeting will be able to be viewed live at http://www.westsussex.public-i.tv/site/

The Select Committee first discussed the Youth Services review at a meeting earlier this month. County Councillors had been asked to:

• Consider the results of a recent consultation.

• Consider options and proposals to implement £2 million in savings.

• Give their comments on the options and proposals to the Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Pete Bradbury, who will take the final decision.

However, the Select Committee called for more detailed information and voted to hold a further meeting before giving its views.

Additional evidence has been supplied to the Select Committee and it will be asked on Thursday to support the new direction of the Youth Service, which will achieve £2m savings.

It will also be asked what further involvement it would wish to have as the Youth Service takes a new direction.

Select Committee Chairman Nola Hendon said: “We called for a second meeting because we wanted to take a balanced decision when it comes to commenting on the future of an excellent service.”

Adults’ and Children Executive Director to retire after 13 years

West Sussex County Council Executive Director of Adults’ and Children services John Dixon is retiring at the end of the year, after 13 years in charge.

John’s career at West Sussex County Council began in 1997 when he was appointed Director of Social Services. In recent years he has been Director of Adults’ Social Services and then Executive Director for Adults’ and Children as well as Deputy Chief Executive.

He started his social work career as a residential worker in a therapeutic community for drug addicts, the Cranstoun Project, in Surrey. He then qualified as a probation officer and worked in Surrey for seven years before moving to Surrey County Council’s Social Services and heading up their County Youth Offender Team.

John was Head of Commissioning and Deputy Director at Surrey Social Services before coming to West Sussex County Council.

He said: “There have been many changes over the years in social services nationally and within West Sussex. I’ve worked with a fantastic team and will miss my colleagues in the Council and in partner organisations, and the residents who’ve benefited from our service over the years.”

Cabinet Member for Adults’ Services Peter Catchpole said: “John has provided outstanding leadership and he will be sorely missed. He leads a strong team, proven by our good reputation nationally for social services.”

Lead Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Peter Griffiths said: “There have been many challenges and changes over the years for social services. John and his team have tackled all these with great dedication and we have a service residents can be proud of.”

A highlight of John’s career was when he was appointed President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) in 2008. The organisation represents directors of adult social services in local authorities in England and works closely with the Government on national issues.

John said: “West Sussex has benefited greatly from being represented in the national arena. One of our biggest achievements has been the introduction of self-directed support, that the County Council helped to pilot and is now being rolled out nationally.

“I believe the personalisation approach we have helped to pioneer in West Sussex will continue to shape national thinking and I am pleased that it is being strongly supported by the new government.”

The County Council will look at the best way to replace John’s position over the next two months.