West Sussex Fire and Rescue have made 1152 Safe and Well visits over the last quarter. This helps to keep vulnerable residents safe and well so if you know any in your community who would like a visit please contact them and they will make an appointment to visit
While with WSF&R we have recently at the meeting for Fire & Rescue had the figures for core measures for the Service. They have achieved 28 successfully which is up from 26 on the previous quarter. These are out of 30 Core measures.
It is looking at the moment as though County Councils and rural Unitary authorities are facing the biggest shortfalls in funding over the next 5years. At the moment the total is expected to be about £54bn across the network.
Much of the extra expense is due to the rising costs in Adult and Childrens Services, home to School Transport and of course the ever rising costs of highways and issues that all households face.
You may have seen in a recent Press release that the County Council has submitted an expression of interest in the Governments devolution Plans. Of course County talks with the other Boroughs and Districts in the County and there’s a long way to go yet so if things happen I will update in future notes.
If you enjoy animations can I direct you to the YouTube one on recycling. These are short and informative regarding what you can and cannot recycle so some will be interested. While on this subject you know it is now Autumn/Winter timetables at our recycling centres if you need to book a slot. For local information Billingshurst is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, closed Thursday, Friday and open Saturday, Sunday. The hours of opening are 9am to 4pm.
Midhurst times are Monday 9am to 4pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday open again Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 4pm. I hope that helps.
A question was asked about the number of Ukraine personnel that are in accommodation in the Chichester District part of County and the answer at the time is 165. I don’t have any more information except that there doesn’t seem to be any problems at the moment.
I’m afraid winter is just around the corner and I am sure most of the Parishes have their winter plans in place to cope with adverse conditions that may occur. Obviously things change according to the conditions but hopefully most eventualities are covered.
Finally, parents can register for Primary & Junior School places for September 2025 now.
Keep safe and well. As ever, please contact me if you think I can help with a County issue it’s 07979 152898 or janet.duncton@westsussex.gov.uk
Janet Duncton,
County Councillor Petworth division, WSCC representative on South Downs National Park