UPDATES FROM THE LEADER
 Councillor Peter Williams Leader of Burgess Hill Town Council |
Peter will be using these pages to provide regular updates on projects, issues and topical matters of interest to Burgess Hill residents. He can be contacted using the details published on the ‘Town Councillors’ page. |
Sussex Police, a force to contend with – Leader Update 13
Some questions for you; who remembers the ‘bobby on the beat’ in his or her helmeted uniform, quietly patrolling a prescribed patch and talking to the local folk? Or the Panda cars with their blue and white livery and some with a rotating blue beacon on the roof? Those were the days when crime was relatively slow moving; a time when a policeman could cycle to an incident or drive his Morris 1000 (or other types) across the town with blue light flashing.
50 years on and crime now moves at lightning speed and covers many new areas, such as online fraud (scams), hate crime, anti-social behaviour, online harassment and bullying, drugs and ’county lines’ drug trafficking. The list goes on. To counter this, our police forces have to be fast-moving, relying heavily on intelligence from public, social media, covert sources, surveillance cameras and undercover officers.
I was privileged recently to be invited to a meeting, on 31st October, with Jo Shiner, Chief Constable of Sussex Police, as part of a representation of the three Mid Sussex towns (Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Haywards Heath). This was an invaluable opportunity to gain insight into the work carried out by our local police force, which highlighted the fact that Mid Sussex is a ‘low crime’ area compared to others.
Rosie Ross, the Chief Superintendent, presented the latest software developments for monitoring call centre performance, which has led to significant improvements in response times. Rosie also showed the meeting how GPS tracking can pinpoint the location of each officer, enabling rapid deployments in the event of an incident. It was noted that the main ‘clusters’ of officers on that day were in Brighton and along the coastal parts of the county.
Some of facts I have gleaned since that meeting at the Lewes HQ are of concern. Whilst a large part of the reported crimes in Sussex are ‘less visible’, more than 16%
of them are against women and girls. Mental health issues continue to grow in the community and this takes up a lot of police time, particularly with the high suicide rate at Beachy Head. This suggests serious shortcomings in our Social and Mental Health Services when police have to be diverted from their core duties to attend such incidents.
As for Burgess Hill, we still have a rather tatty-looking police station, though not manned in the same way as years ago. It is a base for specialist teams, the detail of which I am unable to disclose but it is open to the public at certain times of the week:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10.00am to 2.00pm.
As at 1st October 2024, the Sussex Police staff numbers were:
3,363 Officers 81 Special constables
2,179 Staff 231 Volunteers
590 Detectives 76 Cadets
257 PCSO’s (Police Community Support Officers)
Going forward, our police force has considerably improved its efficiency and now answers 90% of 999 calls in 10 seconds and 101 calls in 2-3 minutes. As part of its training programme, cadets will spend some time on neighbourhood policing, gaining experience in dealing with the public face-to-face. It is a fact that Sussex Police is the 7th worst funded police force in the country and yet, with strong leadership, they are working hard to maintain Mid Sussex as a ‘low crime’ area. Long may it continue.
END
Update on ‘It’s Christmas’ – Leader Update 12
One of the things that this Council has no control over is Mother Nature, who has deemed it necessary to send a storm (called Bert!) our way over this weekend. With heavy rain and strong winds up to 55mph forecast, our Community Team have been busy making alternative arrangements for the ‘It’s Christmas’ event.
Gazebos, stages and strong winds do not mix, neither do performers and singers in costumes! The safety of our community and the events we hold is our top priority, thus the changes we have made are with that safety in mind.
Here are the changes: Reed more…
It’s a Cracker of a Christmas! – Leader Update 11
With Christmas just a few weeks away, Burgess Hill will be buzzing with Christmas-themed events, starting on Friday 22nd November, when members of our Youth Council will be judging the ‘Best Dressed Window Competition’. This is a great way of involving our local shops and businesses in a Christmas challenge and by the look of things, they have pulled out all the stops this year. The winner will be notified on the day and will be invited to join the Mayor, on-stage, at the ‘It’s Christmas!’ show on Saturday 23rd November. Read more…
Thank you, Burgess Hill – Leader Update 10
It was an absolute privilege to march, as the Town Council Leader, with the services and youth organisations in the Remembrance Parade on Sunday 10th November. As we progressed down Church Road and into Church Walk, I was humbled by the incredible number of residents that had turned out to pay tribute to the 258 Burgess Hill lives lost in conflicts over the past 110 years. Parents, grandparents and carers came to see their youngsters in uniform and pay their own respects, others came because they knew, or were relatives of, some of the names on our memorials and some just wanted to say ‘We are grateful’’. Reed more…
Brookleigh Planning Applications – Leader Update 9
In my capacity as Leader of the Town Council, I receive regular updates from Homes England on the progress of the Brookleigh development, otherwise known as the ‘Northern Arc’. The latest was received on 18th October and is in the form of a ‘Planning Update’ booklet, which I want to share with our residents. Read more…
Autumn half-term events 2024 – Leader Update 8
It has become almost a tradition for Burgess Hill Town Council to put on a range of events for the benefit of residents, in particular our young people and their parents and carers. This year is no exception and a record-breaking 50 events have been planned between April 2024 and March 2025. Most of these are free to attend, a move that has been well-received.
The Council’s Community Team are now busy finalising the activities for the forthcoming half-term week (Monday October 28th – Friday November 1st). This includes the ever-popular Halloween Trail that has engaged a large number of shops in some spooky fun! Read more …
Why ARE stores and banks closing in Burgess Hill? – Leader Update 7
In recent months and weeks, Burgess Hill has been subjected to an unprecedented number of store and bank closures or ‘closing down’ intentions, giving rise to the impression that our town has driven them away. Various reasons have been put forward; lack of footfall, no reason to come to town or ‘why hasn’t the Council done more to stop them? Read more…
Update on the Updates – Leader Update 6
There have been a few changes since this series of Leader Updates started and I propose to make
‘Updates on the Updates’ a regular feature. Hopefully, most will be good news but you never know what is round the corner. Read more...
The saga of The Old Post Office, Station Road – Leader Update 5
Since Royal Mail vacated their old and outdated post office in Station Road nearly 20 years ago, the building they left behind has had a rather chequered history.
In 2008, a planning application was received by Mid Sussex District Council to construct 14 flats plus commercial units across the whole site, which included the old sorting office building at the rear and the parking area next to it. The application was approved but no progress was made and permission lapsed in 2011.
Read more…
Market Place Shopping Centre – Leader Update 4
The building that is the Market Place Shopping Centre is approaching 35 years since construction started and it is beginning to show its age, at least in those areas that are unseen by the public. Recent events in 2024 have highlighted the problems the Centre Management face, whilst at the same time trying to keep the building open for shoppers to enjoy.
Read more…
Risk Assessments – Leader Update 3
There has recently been much misinformation about the use of risk assessments and whether they can be overridden if they are an inconvenience the public. This is an opportunity to clarify what a risk assessments are and the purpose of them.
Read more…
Network Rail’s new ‘D-poster’ site in Keymer Road – Leader Update 2
In the Spring of 2024, there was much activity by Network Rail’s contractors to clear away the old wooden poster board site, perched on the embankment near the bridge in Keymer Road, opposite the railway station. It was in a state of disrepair, with rotten timbers making it unsafe for traditional pasted posters to be affixed to the boards. Besides, this was a labour-intensive operation, time consuming and using lots of paper in the process.
Read more…
Wivelsfield Station finally has funding for long-overdue modifications – Leader Update 1
On 24th May 2024, the Department for Trasport announced that Network Rail would be receiving a total of £350 million from the abandoned HS2 northern leg funding reallocation, to be used to progress the ‘Accessible for All’ national project.
Read more…