January 2005

Date	Press release title
21 December 07	Police Available to Hear Your Concerns
31 December 07	Talk to Pension Experts
31 December 07	Mid Sussex (South) Access Group comes to Help Point
4 January 08	Age Concern comes to The Help Point
15 January 08	Investing in the Future of Burgess Hill
25 January 08	The Future Development of Burgess Hill
25 January 08	Police Available to Hear Your Concerns.
30 January 08	Burgess Hill Post Office Closures Shock

A scheme has been set up whereby local people are invited to drop in to Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point, 96 Church Walk, to discuss any worries they may have with a community police officer.

Police Community Support Officer, Brian Patfield, will be available at a drop-in surgery session at the Help Point on Wednesday 2 January 2008 between 10 00 – 1200 hours. His colleague, Katie Buckler will hold a surgery on Wednesday 16 January 2008 between 13.00 – 15.00 hours. Residents of Burgess Hill are invited to turn up on the day to discuss any issues or worries that they may have.

Andrew Barrett-Miles, Chairman of the Town Council, said: "We are delighted to offer this valuable service to people. This is an initiative designed to make it easier for people to speak openly to the police in an informal setting. Many people may find the thought of airing any problems or difficulties at the police station very daunting. Hopefully, anyone who would like to chat about their concerns will feel comfortable coming to the Help Point."

Local people can find expert advice on pension issues at Burgess Hill Town Council ’s Help Point, 96 Church Walk. The next advice session takes place on Monday 14 January 2008.

State pension advisers have helped people with their number worries for some time. No appointment is necessary for the advice surgery – simply call in. The service is available at the Help Point on the second Monday of each month from 0900 – 1600 hours.

Mid Sussex (South) Access Group, which works to promote disability awareness and access in Mid Sussex, holds twice monthly advice surgeries at the Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill. The service is available on the 1^st and 3^rd Friday mornings of the month from 09.30 – 11.30am . The next surgery will be held on Friday 4 January and as it operates on a “drop-in” basis there is no need to make an appointment.

The surgery provides service providers with advice on how to make their services more accessible to everyone in the community. It also provides people with the opportunity to discuss problems of access to shops, other buildings, and services such as local transport. So, if you would like information on access issues as a carer, as a disabled person or as a service provider please come to the Help Point to speak to a representative from the Mid Sussex (South) Access Group.

To obtain further information about the sessions, callers can contact the Town Council Help Point on 01444 247726.

Age Concern offers older people the chance to talk face-to-face to an adviser in Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point. The organisation also runs a county-wide telephone information and advice service, as well as its Fairfield Road day centre.

A trained adviser provides free and confidential information and advice on the 2^nd and 4^th Friday of each month from 9.30am-11.30am at the Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill. In January the advice sessions will be held on the 11^th and 25^th of the month. The service is open to anyone aged 50 or over, or to a family member or carer looking after someone over 50. The sessions operates on either a ‘drop-in’ or appointment basis, and will deal with issues such as welfare benefits, housing options, care at home, family and personal issues and leisure activities.

To obtain further information about the sessions contact the Town Council Help Point on 01444 247726. To make an appointment contact Age Concern West Sussex Information & Advice helpline on 0800 019 1310. This freephone number operates from 10am to 4pm , Monday to Friday, where advisers are on hand to help with a wide range of issues relevant to older people.

Burgess Hill Town Council’s Finance and General Purposes Committee are recommending an increase of 4.4% (Band D property) on the previous year, a budget precept of £726,526. The key element of the increase is to allow the Town Council to provide sufficient resources and staff time to be ready to play its part in the critical issues facing the town with the extensive pressures to take additional housing. The Town Council is fully committed to ensuring that the town achieves the level of infrastructure and developer funding that is needed to overcome existing deficiencies and to achieve a sustainable solution for the future; the Council have established a Master Planning Budget of £34,527 to enable them to get professional and technical advice to support this work.

The Town Council is, however, fully aware of the need to operate efficiently and a review of the way the Council is structured and conducts its business has been undertaken, since the elections in May 2007. It has been possible to identify savings without having any adverse impact on the wide range of services currently provided. This means it can both keep the increase in the Council Tax close to the level of inflation and yet ensure that sufficient funds are available to meet the challenges ahead.

Commenting on the draft budget, Suzanne Cosgrave , Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, said “The Town Council is very conscious that we should be playing a full role in influencing the planning process for the future development of the town. It is essential that we have the resources in place to achieve the best outcome for Burgess Hill. We have allocated 3.6% of our budget to create a Master Planning budget of over £34,000 to enable us to have an authoritative say in the town’s future, while keeping our budget linked to an inflationary increase. The Town Council will use the funds to take professional planning advice throughout this process and to dedicate staff time to deal with the wide range of issues and challenges we are facing. The cost of the Town Council’s services is very modest at £63.58 for a Band D property. This year’s increase represents an extra 5p per week – a modest sum from each household being invested to shape Burgess Hill’s future.”

Following the publication of the Core Strategy by Mid Sussex District Council, which identifies the broad locations for future housing including Burgess Hill, arrangements have been made for seven additional dates for residents to view and discuss the options. Burgess Hill Councillors will be available to hear residents’ views at an exhibition stand in Market Place Shopping Centre every Saturday throughout the consultation period from 10-00 to 13-00 hours on the following dates:

The aim is to ensure that as many residents as possible are involved in the consultation process and have a say in how the town is developed in the future.

All Burgess Hill Councillors, from town, district and county councils and all political parties, recognise that this is a vital consultation as the Core Strategy will shape the future of Burgess Hill for the next 20 years and beyond.

In commenting on the way forward for the town Andrew Barrett-Miles, Chairman of Burgess Hill Town Council said, “The housing pressures on Burgess Hill are immense and we need to ensure that the town is developed in the way that residents want. It is through the consultation process that you can make your views known, that is why we have arranged seven additional opportunities for you to do so. Your views from this consultation will be a vital input into the creation of a Town-wide Masterplan, which we are developing with Mid Sussex District Council. This document, which is a key part of the Core Strategy, should enable Burgess Hill to overcome its infrastructure deficit and create the blueprint for a sustainable and vibrant town for the 21^st century. Your views are vitally important in how we develop the town for our children and grandchildren so please come and talk to us”.

A scheme has been set up whereby local people are invited to drop in to Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point, 96 Church Walk, to discuss any worries they may have with a community police officer.

Police Community Support Officer, Brian Patfield, will be available at a drop-in surgery session at the Help Point on Wednesday 6 February 2008 between 10 00 – 1200 hours. His colleague, Katie Buckler will hold a surgery on Wednesday 20 February 2008 between 13.00 – 15.00 hours. Residents of Burgess Hill are invited to turn up on the day to discuss any issues or worries that they may have.

Burgess Hill Town Council are shocked and disappointed at the decision by Post Office Ltd to close both the London Road and Lower Church Road Post Offices in Burgess Hill.

Chairman, Andrew Barrett-Miles said, “this matter was discussed by the Town Council at its meeting on 26 November 2007 and we wrote to Post Office Ltd to say that we believed that the decision by the Post Office to recommend the closure of the two sub post offices in Burgess Hill was flawed. It did not take into account the proposed growth of Burgess Hill in the future. The Post Office’s attention was drawn to the Mid Sussex District Council’s draft Core Strategy, the Planning Inspector’s recent decision on the Small Scale Housing Sites and recent planning applications which identified some 5,000 additional dwellings for the town. On this basis the need was for an expanded Post Office service, not a reduced one.

“In addition, we felt that the proposed travelling distance policy was also flawed. The distance from the extremities of the hinterland in Burgess Hill to the London Road Post Office is more than a mile. When this facility closes it will be nearly two miles to the nearest Post Office. No account has been taken of the wider catchment area of users, particularly for the London Road Post Office.

“Both of the Sub Post Offices have good access for people with mobility problems to park nearby. That is not the case with the main Church Walk Post office. When the two Sub Post Offices are closed what plans will there be to improve disabled parking at Church Walk?

“The Branch Access Report produced by the Post Office contained no usage data and despite a request for information on how a decision could be made without performance evidence being provided nothing has been forthcoming.”

Not only did the Town Council respond but all the Ward Councillors in Dunstall and Leylands made submissions supporting the Post Offices. Councillor Suzanne Cosgrave, Dunstall Ward said, “We just cannot see how this decision could have been made in the light of all the information made available to the Post Office and the strength of local opinion. Nicholas Soames MP made strong pleas and was fully supportive of the Council’s objections.”