Friends clear up

 The Friends of Broadfield Park group started to clear ground on Saturday to make the area an even better place to visit.

Council’s Contact Centre celebrates

Crawley Borough Council’s Contact Centre has been awarded the prestigious Customer Service Excellence Standard (CSES). Read more here…

Lowest Council Tax increase in Sussex for fourth year running

Residents will benefit from the lowest Council Tax rise in Sussex after councillors agreed an increase of 0.97 per cent at the meeting of the Full Council last night. Read more here …

Have your say on crime and ASB

Come along and discuss crime and anti-social behaviour in Crawley at the Civic Hall at 7pm on Thursday March 11. Read more here…

Come and meet your neighbourhood councillors

Pound Hill and Maidenbower residents will have a chance to meet their ward councillors at two events in March. Read more here…

Get your nominations in

The search is on for new members of Crawley Young Persons’ Council. Read more here…

Crawley Council to help honour Pte John Brackpool

Crawley Borough Council will have Private John Brackpool’s name etched into a war memorial following a request from his mother. Read more here…

Friends of Broadfield Park get to work

The Friends of Broadfield Park will be holding a work day on Saturday February 27 – unless the weather thwarts them again. Read more here…

Cash savings and croissants

 Come and join us at a free breakfast networking event on Friday February 19 from 8.15-10.30am at K2 Crawley to find out how your business can make those all important cash savings by adopting sustainable business practices. Read more here…

Council services in your neighbourhood

 Crawley Borough Council’s mobile advice unit is based in Langley Green and Bewbush until March. Read more here…

Have your say on community safety

Residents have another two weeks to air their views about crime and disorder in Crawley by completing an online questionnaire. Read more here…

Langley Patterns

Artwork adorning the revamped Langley Green Parade was all suggested by residents and Langley Green Primary School pupils to represent themselves and their cultures.

The patterns, which were chosen from carpet designs, drawings, textiles and household decorations, give a glimpse of the customs, traditions, heritage and lives of the people of the neighbourhood. Read More here…

Beware of cold callers

Crawley Council is warning residents to be on their guard after reports of cold callers offering cavity wall insulation on behalf of the authority and Warm Front. Read more here…

BUS ROUTE TO CREMATORIUM COULD BE LOST

BEREAVED residents unable to drive could soon have no public transport to the crematorium unless more people use the service. Read more here…

Menu of music has something for everyone

From your nearest samba band classes to finding out where you can join a recorder orchestra…it’s all listed in a new easy-to-read leaflet. Read more here…

The hot date you won’t want this Valentine’s

COUPLES who may be romancing by candlelight this Valentine’s Day are being urged by firefighters to make sure it’s just their passion that gets ignited! Read more here…

Pavement resurfacing in Crawley starts in a fortnight

A £26,500 pavement resurfacing scheme in Sycamore Close in Langley Green, Crawley, will start from Monday February 15.

Henry Smith, Leader of West Sussex County Council, said: “The scheme will involve removing the pavement slabs and replacing them with a black surface. Read more here…

REPAIRS CONTRACTORS APPOINTED

TWO new repairs contracts will save the council more than two and a half million pounds.

Crawley Borough Council’s renewed contract with Mears and a brand new contract with MITIE is set to save more than £280,000 every year for 10 years. Read more here…

COUNCIL TAX INCREASE SET TO BE LOWEST IN SUSSEX

TOWN residents are set to benefit from the lowest council tax rise in Sussex if councillors accept an increase of less than one per cent.

The rise will mean an increase of three pence a week, or about £1.60 a year, for a band C property. Read more here…

Langley Patterns

Artwork adorning the revamped Langley Green Parade was all suggested by residents and Langley Green Primary School pupils to represent themselves and their cultures.

The patterns, which were chosen from carpet designs, drawings, textiles and household decorations, give a glimpse of the customs, traditions, heritage and lives of the people of the neighbourhood. Read more here…

Look out for sits vac scams, warns West Sussex Trading Standards

JOB seekers are being warned by West Sussex County Council Trading Standards Service to look out for sits vac scams – bogus work ads that are designed to rip-off unwary people seeking employment.

Bruce Treloar, Principal Trading Standards Officer, said: “On a number of recruitment websites aimed at attracting multiple applicants, the consumer is required to respond to premium rate telephone numbers. Read more here…

FORCES JOIN TO CHECK WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS

BUSINESSES across the town will be inspected this month to make sure they are hitting health and safety standards.

Crawley Borough Council has joined forces with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to promote and encourage safe working practices. Read more here…

County Council Leader calls for more Government funds to tackle potholes

The Leader of West Sussex County Council Henry Smith has called on the Government to provide more funds for road maintenance.

The recent severe weather has caused considerable damage to the county’s roads including a dramatic increase in the number of potholes. Read more here…

Help to build greener homes

Sustainability is the buzz word in the construction industry so Sussex Building Control is inviting developers, architects and builders to a seminar about greener homes.

To help local businesses work with the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes Code, Sussex Building Control is hosting ‘Cracking the Code’. Read more here…

WELLBEING WORKPLACE WORKOUT

IN A bid to reduce the number of sick days taken by the town’s workers Crawley Borough Council is set to give local businesses a wellbeing workout.

After teaming up with West Sussex NHS, the council will offer its advice and support to local companies to help them set up wellbeing programmes for their workforce. Read more here…

State of the Borough Debate

More than 100 people came to Crawley’s Fourth State of the Borough debate on Tuesday January 26.

The debate, which was held in The Studio at The Hawth, began with a short presentation by Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Borough Council, on the council’s priorities, the key issues facing the town, what is being done to address them and the progress made to date. Read more here…

Lifeline free for a month

Crawley Borough Council is offering its emergency alarm system, Lifeline, free for a month to all new customers.

Lifeline is a personal alarm system that links customers to people they can rely on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s for people who have a disability, a medical condition or are retired and may need assistance in an emergency. Read more here…

Give us your views on combating crime

AN online poll is being held by West Sussex County Council Community Safety Unit to find out how anti-social behaviour is affecting residents.

The Unit leads on a number of countywide crime tackling priorities and supports the work of partner agencies, including the seven Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in West Sussex. Read more here…

STILL HOPE FOR NEW COUNCIL HOMES

A BID for cash to build new council houses has been turned down by the Homes and Communities Agency – but there’s still hope yet.

Crawley Borough Council’s bid to the HCA for £1,040,000 from a dedicated Challenge Fund to help pay for the building of 16 new council homes was submitted in October 2009. Read more here…

New Car Park For Crawley Town Centre

A new weekend and Bank Holiday car park for shoppers at Crawley is set to open.

Seventy spaces at West Sussex County Council’s Centenary House office complex will be available. Read more here…

Council Leader’s Message To New Gatwick Owners

West Sussex County Council Leader Henry Smith says the new owners of Gatwick must work closely with the local community over its future plans for the international airport.

Henry Smith was speaking today (December 4th) as the sale of the airport from BAA to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) was completed. Read more here…

‘Tales from Hoffman’ at Crawley Library

Author Paul Hoffman will visit Crawley Library to discuss his new book and career, including his work with film star Jude Law and director Francis Ford Coppola.

Paul will be at the Library in Southgate Road (RH10 6HG), on Wednesday February 3 at 6pm, where he will read from his new fantasy fiction book for all ages, ‘The Left Hand of God’. Read more here…

From Your Song to Our Song – Jenny joins West Sussex Music Service

West Sussex Music Service has welcomed a new brass teacher who has played on stage with Elton John and worked for the ‘Orquestra do Algarve’.

Jenny Smith is teaching brass as well as conducting several wind bands at Worthing Music Centre, after an exciting and fulfilling music career. Read more here…

West Sussex Adults’ Services rated as ‘Performing Well’

West Sussex County Council’s Adults’ Services have been applauded in a national inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

The inspection took place at the end of last year and was the first major inspection of West Sussex adults’ social care since 2004. Read more here…

State of the Borough Debate

Crawley’s Fourth State of the Borough debate takes place on Tuesday January 26th.

The meeting will be held in The Studio at The Hawth and will open with a short presentation by Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Borough Council, on the council’s priorities, the key issues facing the town, what is being done to address them and the progress made to date. Read more here…

Crawley in Britain in Bloom final

Crawley has been chosen to represent the very best in community horticulture as the town prepares to participate in the 2010 Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Britain in Bloom Finals.

The town is one of 67 finalists from across the UK competing in 13 categories. Crawley is in the large town/small city (population of 35,000-100,000) category with Derry City, Fareham, Bedford and Whitehaven. Read more here…

Recycling to be collected at weekend

Crawley Council hopes to collect recycling from those worst affected by the severe weather and Christmas and New Year break tomorrow and Sunday (January 16 and 17).

The affected areas – Southgate, Furnace Green, Tilgate, Broadfield and part of Bewbush – usually have their recycling collected in week one on a Wednesday or a Thursday. Please read more…

Gifted and Talented Programme

Wednesday December 16 saw the official launch of the Crawley School Sport Partnership Gifted and Talented Programme for 2009-10 supported by Freedom Leisure at K2 Crawley.

The launch was held to coincide with the first session of the Talented Athlete Programme (TAP), the pinnacle of the Gifted and Talented Programme for Key Stage Four students (aged 14-16). Read more here…

£2.35 MILLION TO TACKLE POTHOLES

West Sussex County Council is to pump £2.35 million into tackling potholes caused by the recent severe weather conditions.

The money will be used to fund more pothole patrols, which have already been seeking out and fixing potholes since the beginning of December. Read more here…

Pavement improvements in Crawley start

Two pavement improvement schemes in Crawley are starting.

Totalling more than £52,000, the scheme in Swallow Road, Langley Green has started (Thursday January 14th) and the Ambleside Close, Ifield, scheme will start from Monday January 25th. Read more here…

Waste less food in 2010

Save some money this year by learning to love your leftovers says the Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

West Sussex County Council is working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), to try and get residents reusing and not throwing away food. Read more here…

Traffic lights improvements in Crawley starts this week

Work to upgrade traffic lights at the London Road and Martyrs Avenue junction in Crawley, is due to start Wednesday January 20. Read more here…

1950’s PLAY DAY

THE TOWN’S first ever Adventure Playground opened 55 years ago and was a huge success – now Crawley Borough Council needs your help to recreate a fun-filled 1950s play day.

Based in West Green Playing fields, Crawley’s first adventure playground opened in 1954 and regularly saw up to a hundred children building huts, dug-outs and bonfires using materials and tools donated by local businesses. Read more here…

Success of firefighters’ home safety checks

HOME fire safety checks carried out by West Sussex County Council Fire and Rescue Service have proved a huge success in reducing the amount of home fires over the last five years. Read more here…

West Sussex switched on to cutting down electronic waste

WEST Sussex residents are switched on when it comes to reducing the amount of WEEE – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – going to landfill.

In 2009, they recycled an average of 11.22kg (about 24lbs) of WEEE per person at West Sussex County Council’s network of Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS). This is almost twice as much as the national average and an increase of two pounds compared with the previous year. Read more here…

News from The Worshipful The Mayor Brenda Burgess

HAPPY NEW YEAR and what a start!!!

Thank fully my diary has been and still is very quiet. I have my first engagement on Saturday, although if this snow remains I can see the Mayoral car being stuck in the snow, which has accumulated in the close where I live. Trust me to live right down the end of a close! Read more here… 

£7,000 up for grabs – have you entered the Innovation Awards?

There’s still time to enter the fourth annual Social Enterprise Innovation Award – with prizes of £7,000 up for grabs.

The award scheme supports social enterprises and entrepreneurs in West Sussex. It’s run by the West Sussex Social Enterprise Network (WSSEN) together with West Sussex County Council. Read more here…

Brush up your IT skills at local Library

Free IT drop-in sessions to help people apply for jobs and return to work are currently running again after previous sessions proved popular.

The scheme, hosted at Libraries around the county, runs under the ‘Keep West Sussex Working’ initiative, which aims to help the county’s residents and businesses through the recession. Read more here…

STAFF AND COUNCILLORS OFFER SUPPORT TO RESIDENTS

COMMUNITY spirited Crawley Council staff and councillors set out to help vulnerable residents during the extended severe weather yesterday.

A group of around 12 people, including the Mayor Brenda Burgess, visited as many town residents as they could to check elderly and vulnerable locals were okay. Read more here…

Scrappage scheme for boilers

Crawley Borough Council is letting residents know how they can apply for the Government’s boiler scrappage scheme.

The scheme, organised by the Energy Saving Trust, will help households cut their energy bills, reduce CO2 emissions and support thousands of jobs. Read more here…

Lowest Increase Since Council Tax Began Expected In West Sussex

A 2.5 per cent increase in council tax for 2010/2011 – the lowest since the system of funding local services started in 1993 – is expected to be recommended to West Sussex County Council at its budget meeting next month. Read more here…

Creative solutions to severe weather

Crawley Council will be collecting rubbish and excess recycling today from central points around the town. Read more here…

Crawley Committee to discuss Fastway experiment

A PROPOSAL to let taxis and cyclists use parts of Crawley’s Fastway bus lane network for an experimental 18 months will be discussed at the next meeting of West Crawley County Local Committee.

The proposal covers the dual carriageway length of London Road (A23) and any contraflow lengths mainly in the High Street where cycles but not taxis would be permitted. Read more here…

Council staff help out during severe weather

AS THE freezing conditions continue Housing staff at Crawley Borough Council have been ensuring the most vulnerable tenants are safe.

Morning calls to sheltered housing tenants revealed some were running low on bread and milk so council staff took a trip to Asda to stock up on long life milk and loafs of bread. Read more here…

County Library Service plans 21st century changes

West Sussex is set to have more modern and customer friendly Libraries under proposals to be put to the Council’s Community Services Select Committee at the end of next week (January 15).

Already the West Sussex Library Service has been bucking national trends in recent years by increasing its lending, and the easy access it provides across a range of services. Now the County Council is looking to take the service forward into a truly 21st century Library and information service which will also offer people more chances to get in touch with other County Council services. Read more here…

Sharp rise in chimney fires sparks warning from firefighters

USERS of open fires and wood burners are being warned about the dangers of chimney fires by West Sussex County Council Fire and Rescue Service.

The warning follows a sharp rise in the number of chimney fires attended by firefighters across the county over the last few days. Read more here…

Campaign highlights alternatives to binge drinking

A CAMPAIGN to reduce high-risk binge drinking among 16-24 year olds has been launched in West Sussex. Called Your Choice, it aims to show young adults there are more rewarding alternatives to getting drunk.

The campaign was developed with young adults and includes a website – www.TheresAlwaysAnAlternative.co.uk – that has information about safe drinking, plus details of activities in West Sussex that give much greater value for money than binge drinking. Read more here…

County Council calls on Government again to fund the new Crawley Fire Station

WEST Sussex County Council Leader Henry Smith is backing a Crawley Borough Council motion to seek government funding to enable the building of a new fire station in the town to go-ahead as soon as possible.

He has written to John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, urging the Government to make West Sussex a special case for additional capital grant so the Fire Station can be built. Read more here…

‘Tis the season to follow our Top 10 safety tips’ say West Sussex firefighters

A TOP 10 of festive fire safety tips has been drawn up by West Sussex County Council Fire and Rescue Service as part of a nationwide Christmas campaign, which EastEnders actress Jill Halfpenny is spearheading.

Called ‘Don’t Drown In Toxic Smoke’, the campaign highlights how toxic smoke can affect the human body. A sleeping couple are shown being overcome by the drowning sensation of toxic smoke when a fire breaks out in their home at night. Read more here…

REGENERATION HITS FINAL PHASE

BIG CHANGES are set for Bewbush after work started on the impressive new Bewbush Centre.

The Mayor, Brenda Burgess, and Councillor Lenny Walker, Lead Member on the Bewbush regeneration project, joined councillors, council officers and children from Bewbush Primary school on Thursday to celebrate the start of work. Read more here…

Leisure satisfaction up again

People in Crawley are more satisfied with their leisure facilities than nearly anywhere else in the country, according to a major Sport England survey.

Only six local authorities in the country have higher satisfaction rates than Crawley. The town has 79.3 per cent of adults very or fairly satisfied with the sports provision in Crawley, up 1.4 per cent on last year. The national average is 69.2 per cent. Read more here…

It’s a FireBreak triumph for lucky 13

THIRTEEN young people attended a graduation ceremony with a difference – it was held at Crawley Fire Station to mark their successful completion of a 10-week FireBreak course.

They demonstrated to family and friends a range of new skills gained on the course, which is led by local firefighters. Read more here…

A good deal with the ‘Green Deal’

West Sussex County Council has been chosen as a pilot for the Conservative Party’s ‘Green Deal’ scheme, should they win next year’s General Election.

The ‘Green Deal’ would be piloted by 14 local councils and the Mayor of London and would give households the chance to have home energy efficiency improvements of up to £6,500 with no upfront costs. Read more here…

Move from 10 percent to new 2010 campaign

Residents who took part in the West Sussex 10% Challenge have saved tonnes of carbon dioxide and thousands of litres of water between them.

The Challenge, which encouraged residents to reduce energy by 10 percent, has now come to an end. Read more here…

CABs helping to ‘Keep West Sussex Working’ with cash from councils

Funding from West Sussex councils means the Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) will continue to provide extra debt support and advice for the county’s residents.

The CABs received an additional £100,000 for debt counselling from West Sussex County Council earlier this year under ‘Keep West Sussex Working’, the initiative to help the county’s residents and businesses through the recession. Read more here…

West Sussex is looking after the countryside

Looking after the environment is a walk in the park in West Sussex – the County Council has scored one of the top marks in an annual national survey.

West Sussex County Council is required to report to a new a Government body on all nature conservation sites and regionally important geological sites. Read more here…

Top prize for Travelwise

The West Sussex Safer Routes to School & Travelwise team can walk tall after scooping top prizes at national award ceremonies.

The County Council’s Staff Travel Plan won the ‘Commuter Friendly Workplace of the Year’ award at the ACT Travelwise awards ceremony last week in Newcastle.

Highly commended accolades went to the Council’s Walk To School campaign in the Marketing category, and to Team Leader Ian Patrick in the School Travel Planner nominations. Read more here…

More than 1,000 businesses registered for London 2012

More than 1,000 West Sussex businesses have signed up to compete for London 2012 business contracts.

They have registered on CompeteFor, the website where London 2012 Games-related contract opportunities are published.

Of those signed up, more than half have completed the full registration process and are ready to bid for contracts. Read more here…

£670,000 savings earmarked at council

Crawley Borough Councillors have recommended savings of £670,000 for 2010/11 after asking residents what their priorities are.

Councillors on the Budget Advisory Group (BAG) met for the final time on Thursday evening (December 3) to put forward their recommendations on savings and growth options for the next financial year. Read more here…

1,000 day countdown to the Paralympics

A nationwide talent search for Paralympic athletes has been launched to tie in with the 1,000 day countdown to the 2012 Paralympics.

Thursday December 3 marks 1,000 days to go to the start of the London 2012 Paralympics.

UK Sport, in partnership with ParalympicsGB, has launched a nationwide talent search for Paralympic athletes for sporting programmes in 2010. Read more here…