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.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! – Leader Update 34

It has been a ‘good news’ month for Burgess Hill, with a surprise along the way!

Martlets Shopping Centre – on 10th December, Mid Sussex District Council sent out this brief press release:

‘Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) has signed a conditional agreement to form a partnership with owners of the Martlets Shopping Centre in Burgess Hill, NewRiver Reit plc (NRR).

The agreement means that if key conditions are satisfied, the redevelopment will commence during the summer of 2026.

This agreement has been achieved in the face of tough commercial conditions in the construction and retail markets’.

Whilst there are lots of conditions still to be met, at least this is a positive public statement of intent and we shall look forward to hearing more about the partnership and a start date for demolition to commence. Let us hope we will also see new bricks being laid before too many years pass by.

Youth Council – also on 10th December, our Youth Council met in the Council Chamber to elect a new Youth Mayor and Deputy Mayor. 10 local schools were represented by a record 11 candidates for these roles and after each one gave a presentation, voting took place in an actual voting booth. After all the votes were counted and verified, the Youth Mayor was elected from Sheddingdean Primary School and the Deputy Mayor from Southway Primary School.

Christmas Market – if you were in town last week, you could not miss our Christmas Market in Church Walk. This was the first time that Burgess Hill Town Council had attempted a ‘continental-style’ market using wooden chalets instead of gazebos and it was, in effect, very much an experiment. We had 16 chalets delivered by road on Wednesday 10th December and by 2pm on Thursday they were all lit up, fully stocked with gifts and foods and ready to do business!

Two of the chalets were linked together to form a Christmas photo booth, where Santa stopped by on three of the four days. On the Saturday, he spent his time in Santa’s Grotto in the Market Place Shopping Centre. Throughout the event, we had live entertainment and at the weekend children were treated to face-painting in the Help Point, an ‘ice’ skating rink and a snow globe, all of which gave rise to squeals of laughter and smiley faces. Parents enjoyed it too!

We have had overwhelming support for this initiative, from residents, traders and entertainers, with very positive feedback and suggestions. The event was co-ordinated by our Head of Projects, Ramize Easter, who worked tirelessly to bring it all together. Will we do another Christmas Market next year? Watch this space!

The Telegraph ‘Best place to live in England 2025’ – on 14th December, the Telegraph announced the winners of this annual survey. In first place is Fleet, in Hampshire, with second place going to Bramhall West, near Stockport.

In third place is………BURGESS HILL! Yes, surprise, surprise…Burgess Hill! Cited by the Telegraph as being a ‘picturesque village nestled near Brighton on the edge of the South Downs National Park’, we are definitely not a village any more! Putting that aside, Burgess Hill is a great place to live, with good employment, a main line railway and easy road access to motorways and other nearby towns.

Although the survey said we had ‘limited shopping’, there are positive signs that many of our closed shops are ‘under offer’ and their new tenants will be revealed next year.

What really makes Burgess Hill ‘a best place to live’? It is you, our residents. You have shown over the years that we have a strong community spirit and that is an asset worth nurturing.

Have a very Happy Christmas and an equally Happy New Year.

END