Archive for September 13th, 2010

Share ideas for a better Broadfield

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Share ideas for a better Broadfield

Crawley Council is calling on Broadfield residents to give up an hour of their time to have a say on their neighbourhood.

The Broadfield community meeting will give locals the opportunity to share ideas about improving the area, speak to councillors, hear from the neighbourhood police team and ask questions.

The meeting aims to establish a strong Broadfield Forum made up of residents who are willing to get involved and help make positive changes to the area.

Broadfield community meeting will be held on Tuesday 28th September at Broadfield Youth and Community Centre at 7.30pm.

For more information contact John Dale on 01293 438412 or email:  john.dale@crawley.gov.uk

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Management Changes Will Save More Than £1 Million

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Management Changes Will Save More Than £1 Million

A series of senior management changes at West Sussex County Council, which a report says are designed to ‘aggressively reduce costs whilst ensuring stability,’ were approved today (Monday).

The changes will save £1.038 million in a full year and involve a net reduction of eight full time executive posts or 30 per cent of the senior management structure.

It follows a report to the Governance Committee from the County Council’s interim chief executive officer Kieran Stigant.

As well as saving money, the report says a new-look structure is also designed to make sure the County Council is best placed to maintain its focus on service delivery while coping with the growing financial pressure as the Government continues its drive to reduce the national deficit.

County Council Leader Louise Goldsmith said: “The autumn spending statement is going to create major new challenges.

“I am confident that this new operationally focused structure will not only continue driving down costs, but ensure we have a team in place who will find innovative new ways of delivering services.

“There is a pressing need to reduce the national deficit and we know that local government will have to play its part.

“The new management structure is also designed with the Big Society firmly in mind, because we want to work with and encourage much wider community involvement in the delivery of services.

“It also recognises the increased role the County Council will be playing in public health as part of the Government’s changes to the NHS.”

The overall effect of the changes is a reduction of eight senior management posts out of the 27 funded by the County Council.

The management changes are due to take effect from November 1.

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It’s electrifying – Launch of the County Council’s first electric car

Monday, September 13th, 2010

It’s electrifying – Launch of the County Council’s first electric car


Louise Goldsmith, Leader of West Sussex County Council, will have an electrifying experience on Monday September 13. She will be at the launch of the County Council’s first electric car.

Louise will be test driving the Citroen C1 EV’IE, at 1pm outside County Hall, Chichester, as part of TravelWise and European Mobility Week, (September 16 to September 22).

The car, which cost £17,000 is one of the cheapest on the market and may be eligible for a Government grant of £5,000 which comes into force in January 2011, reducing this price still further. The EV’IE will be available for staff to use for short business trips and it is hoped that with the significantly reduced running costs, combined with regular business usage, the EV’IE will be self-funding after a few years.

The EV’IE gives significant environmental and economic benefits:

• There are no petrol or diesel costs. This car costs around 2p a mile in fuel.

• EV’IEs are zero emissions.

• EV’IE owners do not pay tax.

• Insurance costs are low.

Louise said: “The EV’IE is a sign of our ongoing commitment to improving corporate sustainability, and we hope to encourage businesses and residents alike to reduce their mileage while also making the environment cleaner by reducing emissions.

“The TravelWise and European Mobility Week also aims to raise awareness of the impact our travel choices have on the environment, our finances and general wellbeing.”

During the week, the TravelWise team is also asking West Sussex residents to pledge to replace at least one car journey with a more sustainable one, such as walking, cycling or using public transport.

Pledges can be made online until Tuesday September 21, by visiting www.westsussex.gov.uk/travelwise, where you can have the chance to win a £150 gift voucher to spend in the shop of your choice. You can also enter the prize draw if you usually use sustainable modes to travel.

The County Council is also working with Southern Electric and other local authorities to develop a network of electric public recharging points across the south coast.

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Swimming referral boosts health and wellbeing

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Swimming referral boosts health and wellbeing

Many residents have been referred onto Crawley Borough Council’s swimming referral programme by their GPs.

The scheme, which will eventually take 1,000 residents, offers swimming at no cost to help combat health problems.

More than 30 people have been referred by their health professionals, got in the K2 Crawley pool and started their swimming programme, with many more to follow.

The participants were given blood pressure, weight and lung capacity checks before receiving their voucher books, each containing 20 free swim vouchers and the offer of lessons to improve their health and wellbeing and increase their sport and physical activity participation.

The initiative, which sits alongside the current Weight Off Workshop and Active Life Referral programmes, targets people who would gain significant health and wellbeing benefits from swimming and do not currently swim.

The card of 20 free swims will encourage participants to get into the habit of going swimming, with the aim of two swims a week for a ten-week period.

The scheme will also provide a 30-minute private lesson for people who may not have been swimming for many years and who need to build their confidence or a six-hour course (one hour per week) for people who are unable to swim or very weak swimmers.

Following completion of the swimming programme participants will be assessed to monitor their improvement in health and asked to complete a questionnaire and return to Crawley Wellbeing. Participants must be at least 16 years of age.

Councillor Lenny Walker, Cabinet member for Leisure and Cultural Services,

said: “We have a fantastic swimming pool at K2 Crawley and it provides great opportunities for everyone but I believe we could help to improve the health of those who need it most.

“It’s great to see the first people getting the benefits of this scheme and using the pool to increase their health and wellbeing.

“Swimming is the most popular physical activity for adults and the most popular choice of activity for those who wish to start to exercise.

“The programme is also a good example of partnership working between the council, NHS West Sussex, Freedom Leisure, GPs, the Amateur Swimming Association and Crawley Wellbeing.”

For more information call the Crawley Wellbeing team on 01293 585350.

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More energy saving cash available

Monday, September 13th, 2010

More energy saving cash available

Town businesses are being offered more cash to help them save energy and money.

The £86,000 UTILISE Action Grant fund was launched in May this year and a further round of funding is now available to businesses and third sector organisations.

Capital grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available for projects like insulation, energy saving lighting and renewable energy systems.

UTILISE grants are available to businesses and organisations across West Sussex and the new round of funding follows last month’s announcement that seven local businesses were awarded a total of £28,000 for eco projects.

Free UTILISE Utility Management Workshops are also being held in Worthing, Horsham and Arun in the coming months, helping businesses identify energy saving opportunities.

The last round saw an additional £10,000 awarded to businesses that attended the workshops. Bookings are now being taken and more information can be found at www.westsussexsbp.org.uk.

Crawley businesses looking to improve their green credentials should contact the council’s Green Business Programme for advice at gbp@crawley.gov.uk.

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Crawley wins gold again

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Crawley wins gold again!

Crawley is the best-kept town in the south east for the second year running after picking up another gold at the South and South East in Bloom Awards.

The town scooped the gold and category winner prizes for the large town/small city category at the awards on Friday (September 10).

Crawley faced stiff competition from the likes of Basingstoke, Gosport, Havant and Rushmoor. The town also achieved a stack of other awards for its high quality parks and open spaces and the amazing work of community groups.

Crawley won a discretionary award for community projects, Sussex Life magazine awarded the town for having the highest scoring entry in Sussex, the town was recognised as having increased the number of overall neighbourhood entries and we were also awarded plants from Ferring Nurseries. Tony Massimo was awarded a discretionary award for his outstanding contribution with his allotment at Malthouse Road, Southgate.

Judges’ comments included:

. The judges were made most welcome, visiting some exceptional

community projects and school initiatives, as well as some outstanding parks and conservation areas

. It was a privilege to meet such a dedicated and committed team of

staff, which reflected the rapport between the community groups that we met throughout our visit

. Let’s FACE it! is an outstanding project, with commitment from the

community in enhancing and improving the local environment.

South and South East in Bloom recognises excellence in local councils who work with the community to make their parks and streetscene clean, green and colourful, all year round.

And these prestigious awards provide the town with a massive boost before the Britain in Bloom Awards ceremony on September 29, when Crawley goes up against Derry City, Fareham, Bedford and Whitehaven in the large town/small city category.

Councillor Lenny Walker, Cabinet member for Leisure and Culture, said: “This result is another fantastic reward for the community groups, residents, council staff and everyone involved in making Crawley look its best. This year has seen more colour and better community involvement than ever before

- fingers crossed for even better news on the 29th!”

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