January 2009 www.westsussex.gov.uk Issue No. 36 Let’s keep West

Could you become a Sussex working foster carer? We’re fighting the See page 3 recession with a number of initiatives to help YOU – the residents of West Sussex, make your money go further. In this issue of West Sussex Connections we highlight ways that you can save money, and beat the credit crunch. We also show how the Enjoy our coast and County Council is making countryside this winter changes to the way it works See page 5 which directly benefit residents and businesses.

Have you got what it takes to be a social worker? See page 6

County Council Leader Henry Smith said: “As the recession deepens, we are working very hard to help residents to weather the Going green across the storm. This is being done in a Teenager David Veitch from Horsham not only signed up for half price bus fares but also won himself a prize in one of the regular county variety of ways, from paying competitions to promote the 3 in 1 card. See page 10 for more details of See page 13 firms quicker that supply us this money-saving scheme for young people, which also offers with services to supporting discounts at loads of shops and venues, and is a proof of age. people who are stressed because they cannot get a The initiatives to support local businesses, on individuals most at ● Giving £100,000 job, to giving money to keep West Sussex along with the newly- need. worth of financial Citizens Advice Bureaux to working, announced formed West Sussex ● Working closely with support to Citizens' enable them to by Henry include: Economic Skills and employers to continue Advice Bureaux so they ● help more Cutting the time it Enterprise Board, whose to improve the skills can help more people people.” takes to pay invoices from remit is to improve the levels and employability who need debt Look for the small and medium sized economic well-being of the of young people. counselling. ‘MONEY businesses to improve county. ● Collaborating with ● Signposting how ● ADVICE ’ logo cash flow and keep them Supporting the West JobCentre Plus to match residents can claim any Helping our children and next to stories that could solvent. Sussex Credit Union and up companies forced to benefits to which they families ● help you. Working with districts Community Banking Part- downsize with those are entitled. See page 14 and borough councils to nership to focus resources seeking new employees. continued on back page Buy With Confidence from these local traders - see page 2 2 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830 BUILDING SERVICES Cash grants

BWC is a list of approved traders vetted by our General Domestic Building, Repairs & Maintenance Trading Standards Service up for grabs! From planning to completion we can help you with: and is designed to protect Extensions, roofing, loft conversions, Don’t miss the deadline Steve Lane, of the conservatories and much more both consumers and businesses against unfair for applying to your Trust, said: “We need to practices. If you would like County Local raise more than to become a BWC Committee (CLC) for a £400,000 a year to trader, call community cash grant. ensure the service we Many of our CLCs still offer parents. The grant 01243 642124 have cash available for local from North Horsham or go to our website under Trading Standards. organisations that make a County Local significant contribution to Committee was their neighbourhoods. welcome recognition for But the deadline for the work we do here.” applying is the end of Here’s some more March. examples of how our One of the groups that CLCs have helped have been helped is the groups over the last BEST CHOICE Dame Vera Lynn Trust for financial year: 01903 773699 Children with Cerebral ● Adur - £5,000 Palsy (01403 780444). towards smoke alarms PROPERTY MAINTENANCE 07961 410377 ● UPVC Fascias The valuable work of for vulnerable residents ✓ ✓ Fully insured Internal/External Decs ● Flat Roofing the Trust, which was set up and £1,000 to Shekinah ✓ ✓ Loft Insulation Bathroom Renovations ● Chimney Repairs by the ‘Forces Sweetheart’ Nikki Box with son Jayden Colgan who attend the Playgroup, Shoreham ✓Ceramic Tiling ✓Fascias and Guttering ● Tile & Slate Dame Vera Lynn Trust School for Parents. Repairs (re-roofs) singer in 2001, was Baptist Church, towards ● Driveways & Decorating & recognised by North a play area. Patios ● ● Drop Kerbs Tiling Services Horsham County Local North ● Committee with a £450 Chichester - £1,000 to Block Paving • Interior/Exterior • Fully Insured ● Concrete • No job too big or small grant. Rogate Youth Club for Slabbing • Tidy, friendly, The Trust runs a IT equipment. cost effective service School for Parents at ● East Crawley - • Free quotations Ingfield Manor, Five Oaks, near Horsham, which is £2,500 to the Jubilee Academy of Performing a free support service. Arts for musical instruments. Its work is best summed up by Dame Vera, ● Central Mid Sussex - £2,500 towards 01903 205005 who says: “For a family to be suddenly and developing a ‘one stop shop’ for Cuckfield and unexpectedly faced with the news that their surrounding villages and £2,000 for a walk-in 07971 471332 child is affected by cerebral palsy is a life-altering chiller room to support the planned Farm Shop experience. at Oathall Community College. B.PACY “Early intervention is crucial. The free-to-all To apply, go SPECIALIST IN service we supply at our School for Parents is a to www.talk PLASTERING & MOULDINGS lifeline to our families and probably the first such withus.west • Brickwork • Extensions specialist support that they will receive. sussex.gov.uk CARE SERVICES • Alterations • Driveways “Our Trust will support them through the and go to the • Advice and guidance • Quick turnround early years and help to ensure that their child Community 01903 213996 achieves their maximum potential and becomes a Initiative 07739 745655 more integrated member of society.” Fund link. [email protected] Arun-Chichester-Crawley-Mid Sussex-Horsham-Worthing Oakcroft Driveways Ltd. Handyperson: For those little jobs around the home: where you need Block Paving, Paths, someone you can trust; that can take from 15 minutes to about two Patios and Driveways hours; and will make it safer, more secure, light, warm and homely. www.oakcroftdriveways.co.uk Tel: 01444 474690 - Mid Sussex & Crawley (MSCr) Littlehampton Buy with Tel: 01903 788440 - Arun & Worthing (A&W) Tel: 01243 539988 – Chichester (C) 01903 714831 Trades Register: Larger jobs Larger or specialist works (eg AF Harmes Plastering around the home and garden to help disabled adaptations) Plasterer, you live independently, where you 01444 415475 MSCr and H; Confidence Damp Proofing and need a contactor you can trust. 01903 788440 A&W and The slump in house sales means people may choose to improve rather than move. Tel 01444 474690 MSCr and Household maintenance But whether it’s an electrician, a plumber or a carpenter you need, finding and choosing the right Horsham (H). 01243 539988 C Burgess Hill trader to carry out the work can be a nightmare. Choosing a trader at random from a newspaper can HOUSEHOLD SERVICES 01444 236846 be a risky exercise as some people have found to their cost. This is where the Buy With Confidence (BWC) scheme run by MOTORING SERVICES West Sussex County Council: West Sussex Trading Standards can help. The scheme has a list of Switchboard: 01243 777100 around 200 approved traders. 24-hour Info: 0845 7581232 Before a business is allowed to use the Buy With Confidence Logo Editorial: 01243 753595 or: they have to: Non-toxic, [email protected] low odour LYNXLYNX ✓ Demonstrate to Trading Standards Officers that they operate in AUTO CENTRE Advertising: 01243 777431 Removes grease a fair and honest way. [email protected] and carbon DISCOUNTED TYRES • ALLOY WHEELS • EXHAUSTS ✓ All staff who visit consumers homes must provide a criminal West Sussex Connections is delivered C.R.B. checked • BATTERIES • MOTs • REPAIRS & SERVICES record certificate. by Royal Mail to around 350,000 For your free quotation call Unit 4, Burns Way, Holmbush Potteries, Faygate, Nr Horsham RH12 4ST ✓ The Trading Standards team will also undertake background homes, is printed on 01903 506601 www.lynxautocentre.com environmentally-friendly checks on the owners of the business. paper and can be recycled. 01293 851891 ✓ In the unlikely event that you have a dispute with a BWC which OTHER SERVICES you cannot resolve, Trading Standards will mediate between you Terms and Conditions and the trader The accuracy or content of any adver- The You don’t have to be planning major house renovations to take tisement is not warranted by this AANCHORNCHOR Council nor does this Council endorse advantage of the scheme. Many of the companies are listed as ‘small or guarantee any of the products or M EMORIAL GaGGaragearaagege DDoorsoors LLtdtd job-friendly’ which means they will take on work that may cost less services advertised. The views STONE CENTRE LTD for supply, than £75 to complete. expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the Council. Over 100 beautifully carved installation Visit www. To find a list of approved BWC traders in your area call 01243 memorials on show in an and repairs haresofsussex 642124 or visit www.buywithconfidence.info (if you are a good AUDIO appropriate garden setting call Colin If you are blind or partially sighted you .co.uk trader and want to join, we are very interested to hear from you as 30 year Insurance well!) can listen to an audio version of West Sussex Connections. Backed Guarantee 01903 851212 See a cold calling scam in operation and find out how using a www.memorialstonecentre.co.uk To subscribe to this free service 07860 440709 Buy With Confidence trader helps you get a fair price. Go to our call 01243 777408, or email the name Shripney Road, Bognor Regis www.anchorgaragedoors.co.uk oro call us... website and look under ‘More News’ and then on our West Sussex and address of the recipient to HaresHares of RustinRustingtongton 0019031903 772772222222 video, then choose ‘Caught On Camera - Dave the dodgy roofer.’ [email protected] 01243 867005 Station Road, RustingtonRustington BN16 3BH More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 3

Foster carers receive generous allowances to cover expenses such as: ● Food ● Clothing ● Heating and lighting The joyof ● Nappies ● Pocket and dinner money There are also additional allowances for the child’s birth- day, Christmas and holidays. We pay a weekly house- hold fee which increases as fostering you develop your knowledge, There are few things more rewarding than seeing Family Placement skills and experience. a child enjoying life and looking forward to the fu- Social Worker and We also offer excellent ture - especially when that child has had a difficult excellent training, in-house training, leading to start. come from a vari- nationally recognised NVQ That’s why becoming a foster carer could be ety of different qualifications if you want to one of the most enriching things you’ll ever do. backgrounds, eth- further your career in child- You’ll have helped a child feel safe, secure, nicity, ages and ex- care. wanted and settled. You’ll have helped to rebuild perience. their lives and fulfil their potential. But the one thing they have in common is the You’ll have helped change a young life for the patience, resilience, space, time, and energy to better. meet the needs of children in their care. We’re always seeking new foster carers. Here, two couples speak to West Sussex Con- Our foster carers, who are supported by a nections about the joy of fostering.

You’re somehow not birth and six years. “But they soon benefit from surprised when Helen and Their reason for becoming foster being in secure and happy surround- Peter Trower say: “We love carers is quite straightforward. ings,” said Helen. children!” Said Helen: “We had a close and Peter added: “It shows how we After all, the living room in their happy family and we wanted to share can make a difference to a child who Burgess Hill home strongly resembles this with children who weren’t so is going through a very difficult time.” a toymaker’s answer to Willy Wonka’s fortunate and would benefit from Both wholeheartedly encourage chocolate factory - convincing such an environment.” people to seriously consider foster- evidence of the importance children Peter, a former police officer who ing. play in their lives. still works for Sussex Police, said: “You’re not only helping a child, They have two adopted children “We can offer the children stability, you are also enriching your own of their own - a son, 21, who is in the routine, attention and lots of love - family,” said Helen. Royal Marines, and a daughter, 18, something the children may not have who lives at home. had.” You can attend a Fostering Helen is also a child minder and Seeing how the youngsters in Information Evening at during the day looks after four their care gradually change is one of Billingshurst Children & youngsters at varying times. the most rewarding aspects of foster- Family Centre on 27 January On top of this, Helen and Peter ing, they say. from 7-9pm. have been foster carers for thirteen “When they come to us, they can Call 01403 246484 to book years. In that time they have looked be very subdued. They’re wondering a place or for more info. Helen and Peter after seventeen children between what is happening to them.

It was the birth of their Advertisement first child eight years ago that led to Stewart and Tracy Judd becoming foster carers. As Tracy said: “We suddenly discovered we like parenting.” Since then, Stewart and Tracy have had two more children, aged six and one. But their ‘family’ doesn’t end there. For the past six years, Stewart and Tracy - who live in the Horsham area - have been foster carers. In that time, they have given a home to more than a dozen children. The couple originally started out as short-term foster carers. “We would look after children can be taxing. However, there’s no children - both boys and girls - But as Tracy commented: questioning the satisfaction of for anything between two and “That’s going to apply to any fostering, they say. six weeks,” said Stewart. family with children.” “To anyone who likes However, they are currently Or as Stewart said: “When children and is considering the foster carers of two you get home from work, fostering, our message is quite teenagers - who have been with there’s not much time for peace simple - do it. You will find it them for five years! and quiet - you find there’s totally enhances your family,” Said Tracy: “They were always something to do.” said Tracy. children when they joined us, There are many different ways to Long Term/Permanent - helping but now they are approaching foster: a child to grow up in a safe, warm, adulthood. Their stay has Emergency - giving a child some- and supportive environment and to developed into a long-term where safe to stay overnight, for a keep in touch with their family. commitment, but it is one we weekend or up to two weeks. Short Breaks - looking after Respite - looking after a child to children with disabilities to give have all benefited from.” provide a break for another foster their parents a break. Stewart said: “We like having carer or a parent. Parent and Baby Placements - a big family and the two Short Term - caring for a child, teenagers have become like a or children, and helping them you not only help keep a baby safe, brother and sister to our own return to their birth family or but also support the parent or parents with developing their skills children. move to a long-term foster to look after the child. “There’s no doubt about it - placement or an adoptive family. they enjoy having more young people around them and we For more information about becoming a firmly believe it is helping them foster carer, you can: Complete a fostering enquiry form on our website - to become rounded individuals www.westsussex.gov.uk/fostering as a result of having two more Call the Fostering Information Helpline on free-phone: people living with us as a family.” Both Stewart and Tracy do 0800 121 6508 not deny looking after five Email: [email protected] 4 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830 On Call 24/7 Lifting the stress load At any time of the day or night an Approved Mental Many people suffering from stress, anxiety and depression find it difficult to stay at work or to find a Health Professional job if they are unemployed. Often they don’t receive the help they need until they have already lost (AMHP) is on call to help their job or have been unemployed for a long period of time. people who require an It is with this in mind that a pioneering new employment support project has been set up in West Sussex at urgent assessment of their three doctor’s surgeries in the Bognor area. Under the scheme a trained employment adviser attends mental health. This new County Council Maywood, Bognor Health Centre and Bersted Green surgeries. service provides high quality Adviser Kirsty Sandbrook is on hand to talk to people referred from their GP assessments and support for who may be suffering from stress, anxiety or other mental health issues. She is people with mental health able to give them vital information and advice which can help them either difficulties who are facing a stay in their job or make the necessary steps to find employment. crisis. “The aim is to give people the right information and guidance at AMHPs provide an the earliest possible opportunity,” said Irene Loft, Steps to Work independent non-medical view Partnership’s Project Manager. “Often people suffering from of a person's care needs. stress and depression go on for a long time and have very deep They will always act in the rooted problems before they receive professional advice of this person's best interests by kind. The information the project provides helps people keep considering the most appropri- their working lives healthy.” ate care and support required. The County Council’s Steps to Work Partnership consists If necessary they will make arrangements for a person to be of six voluntary organisations which help adults with disabilities formally assessed under the to access learning, training and work support. One of the Mental Health Act where there partners, Impact Workability West Sussex, is running the are fears for the health or safety employment support project. They help people with physical of the person and/or the safety and mental health needs and support employers to develop of others, such as carers. They positive working relationships with their employees. can co-ordinate action to deal To find out more about Impact Workability’s employment with a whole range of problems project in Bognor call 01903 730044, or the Steps to Work including a crisis where urgent partnership call Irene Loft on 01403 258720 or visit hospital admission is needed. www.stepstowork.org.uk Currently the AMHPs are all professionally qualified social workers, although other staff including nurses, psychologists Everyone needs a break… and occupational therapists may provide this role in the future. The service was set up as a More than 270 carers have applied It is designed to ensure there is emergency happens. To be eligible for the scheme carers result of legislative changes that to register with the new back-up and support for carers who are Olive, 85, from Lancing, cares for her must complete an emergency plan and be came into force in 2008. The Emergency Respite Service since it unable to care for someone partner, who has Parkinson’s Disease. She providing regular and substantial care to service works closely with GPs was launched in May 2008. because of an emergency situation. used the Emergency Respite Service an adult who is frail, living with an illness, and with staff based in The free service was set up by the So far the scheme has received a when she had to go to a funeral. She said: has a disability, sensory community mental health “The service meant I could be away all impairment or dementia. County Council in partnership with the very positive response. Carers and services. For more info visit day without any anxiety. It gave me peace three West Sussex Crossroads Schemes, families are relieved they are now able More info on our website or call www.westsussex.gov.uk/ of mind and that is what is so essential. who deliver the service. to have something in place in case an Crossroads on 01403 243924. mentalhealth

Looking for childcare Are you considering Advertisement or ever considered a career in Childcare? working in childcare?

West Sussex County Council’s Early Childhood Service West Sussex Children’s Information are hosting the following career in childcare events: Service offers free, up-to-date and Southgate Children and Family Centre, Crawley impartial information on: Barrington Road, Southgate, Crawley, RH10 6DG on Saturday 7 February 2009 10am - 2pm I Registered childcare (direct from Ofsted) Petworth Children and Family Centre I Free nursery education South Grove, Petworth, GU28 0EE on Wednesday 25 February 2009 5pm - 8pm I Help with childcare costs Durrington Children and Family Centre I Other types of childcare provision Salvington Road, Durrington, Worthing, BN13 2JD on Saturday 21 March 2009 10am - 1.30pm I Services for children and families This is an opportunity to find out about qualifications, training, bursaries, volunteering and finding a job in childcare. Children’s Information Service If you are new to working with children or are considering starting a career, these events can help you get started. 01243 777807 Please feel free to drop in. There is no need to book. (Your calls may be recorded) For further information please contact Lorraine Kelly When ringing please quote Ref: C00112 through the Children’s Information Service on [email protected] 01243 777807

* www.childcarelink.gov.uk www.childcarelink.gov.uk* *(Not all our registered providers include *(Not all our registered providers include their details on the website) their details on the website) More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 5 A fun way to learn A few miles south of Chichester is one of the largest unspoilt It’s no hogwash areas of the Sussex coastline. With its stunning landscape and a wealth of wildlife, Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve is a sanctuary to protect birds, fauna and their environment. - Buchan’s got Its mudflats, marshes, lagoons, reedbeds and shingle beaches are a living classroom and pupils of all ages can explore and learn about the ever-changing natural world first hand. The Harbour has a fully equipped classroom and Visitors Centre, a dog wash! and guided trips are available all through the year for school and college students. The subjects most frequently studied are ecology, coastal geography, rural science, seaside history and travel and tourism. Education Officer Debra Barnes tries to make all educational programmes fun, and a recent project saw the team talk to year six children whilst dressed up as many different ‘Pagham Harbour characters,’ such as the warden, a walker or a wildfowler, in order to teach them why the Harbour is so important. Debra said: “At Pagham we try to make all educational events engaging, and to challenge the children in a new and innovative way.” The Harbour received a lottery grant that has meant an outdoor Discovery Area can be developed for schools to explore and learn It’s a dog’s life at about native wildlife. With this money, two ponds have been Buchan Park, Crawley, and so get less muddy. rejuvenated for pond dipping in the summer. There are also plans to where a new dip has Now for the first time in improve the nature trail and extend it into a small woodland. been created. 20 years, Great-Crested Sessions are available all year and can be adapted to suit different The park is about two Grebes have produced some miles away from the town chicks, as a direct result of needs. For further information about the range of educational centre and provides a com- not being disturbed by opportunities visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/paghamharbour, or to pletely different atmosphere water-loving dogs! arrange a pre-visit, contact Debra on 01243 641508 or email to that of busy town life. Other improvements at the [email protected] The dog dip area was park include: opened so they and the local ● A surfaced path which wildlife can live in harmony. adds another loop for Simon Rowledge, Buchan walkers going around the Countryside Ranger, said: back of a pond and up to “On average, 100 dogs pass the meadow through here a day, with ● New fishing platforms more at weekends”. put in on another pond Following comments ● Sculptures have been from dog owners a layer of created for family enjoyment stones were put in the and discussion water in front of the dip so For more info visit dogs do not disturb the silt www.westsussex.gov.uk/ buchanpark Advertisement Keep warm and well this winter

The credit crunch is hitting hard yet energy prices seem to keep on rising. West Sussex Fuel Poverty Coordinator Rebecca Jones is available with tips to help people reduce energy costs. Rebecca works on behalf of the West Sussex Healthy Homes Partnership, made up of the County Council, district and borough councils, and other organisations. Fuel poverty occurs when a household needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its income to maintain heating. There are many causes including low household income, inefficient or expensive heating systems and poor insulation or expensive fuels. Rebecca has a number of tips to help people keep warm, save on heating bills and make their home more energy efficient: Insulate your home or improve the heating. There are many offers and grants available from energy suppliers, local councils and the Government for heating and insulation. Contact the Energy Savings Trust free on 0800 512 012 for impartial, local advice or your local council. Eat for warmth. Regular hot meals and drinks provide warmth and energy, but remember to boil just the water you need as electric kettles are among the most energy-hungry appliances in the home. Cook efficiently. Keep lids on pans to cook more quickly and to reduce condensation and mould growth. Let any damp air out briefly for the same reasons. Worried about your bills? Call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99, or visit www.homeheat helpline.org for free, practical advice. It can help with queries about bill payments, lower tariffs as well as free services from your energy supplier for those of pen- sionable age or with a disability or long term illness. Keep your home at the right healthy temperature. Between 18 and 21º C /65 and 72º F. Use electric and gas heaters sparingly. They are expensive to run and can be a trip hazard. It is often cheaper to run central heating instead. For further help: ● The Pension Service 0845 606 0265 (text phone 0845 60 60 285) to identify benefits for over 60s ● Winter Fuel Payment helpline 0845 915 1515 (text phone 0845 601 5613) ● Consumer Direct - 08454 04 05 06 for advice funded by the Government on any issue with your gas or electricity supplier www.consumerdirect.gov.uk ● Age Concern West Sussex - Information and Advice, countywide 0800 019 1310 www.acwestsussex.org 6 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830 Rise to this challenge?

The County Council has launched a population, particularly in rural communi- campaign to find very special people ties . There are pockets of affluence and who want to make social work their others where there is deprivation and career. poverty but in all areas some people need Recently the role and work of social our help through difficult times in their lives” workers has come under intense media “Working within West Sussex is scrutiny. challenging, exciting, very proactive and John Dixon, Executive Director, Adults there’s a lot of people with different needs & Children’s Services, said: “Social work can be tough. Not everybody could cope with the demands. But for those who can rise to the challenge of supporting vulnerable people and helping to make a difference it can be hugely rewarding.” The County Council offers excellent support and training to staff who want to become social workers, both for adults and children. If you think you have the skills and ability or are already qualified and looking to return then please visit our website at www.nolimitsatwestsussex.co.uk It features videos of current social and backgrounds which makes for a very workers talking about their job, what it’s like fulfilling and rewarding role.” working for the County Council and the The County Council supports social challenges they face. worker training and offers a number of Social worker Debbie Smallbones, schemes including graduate and post- Could you take on pictured, said “The County Council has graduate trainee schemes and is developing been excellent in supporting me in my a newly qualified social worker scheme. the challenging but career development and they allowed me to The website also features job do an introductory certificate to social work opportunities. deeply rewarding job to give me a taste of what it would be like.” For further information visit the website “People think that it’s a soft option, but or call 01243 642140 and quote SW1. of social worker? we have a lot of challenges with a dispersed Or see advert on page 7 opposite. VOICE YOUR SUSPICIONS A ‘Do You Know This Voice?’ web link to and tell Crimestoppers if they can identify been forged elsewhere in the UK and have All calls are recorded and our Control reduce hoax 999 calls has been launched the voice. proved to be successful in helping to reduce hoax Operators are trained to challenge anyone they by our Fire and Rescue Service with “We can receive as many as 500 hoax calls a calls,” said Lindsay Freegard, Command and suspect is making a hoax call. colleagues in East Sussex. year. They put lives at risk because they tie-up Mobilising Centre Manager. “We can now text a mobile phone hoax They’ve teamed up with the Argus newspaper, resources and increase risk of delays when Our Fire and Rescue Service is also putting caller and warn them that a second hoax call will and now have an audio link on their website of attending real emergencies. the heat on people who use their mobile phones result in their server cutting them off.” real hoax calls. People listen to the recordings “Similar links with local newspapers have to make hoax calls.

Advertisement A FALSE ECONOMY? Our Trading Standards Service closely monitor the field of consumer debt to try and prevent bad practices which could lead to West Sussex residents being ripped off when they are at their most vulnerable. You can help by letting us know if you have been misled by a debt management company. Call Trading Standards 08454 040506. Below we explode some popular myths about ‘free debt advice’. Debt Advice - True or False? “Anyone can set up as a debt advisor or debt “If I search the internet, I’ll find loads of management company” organisations offering free debt advice.” LearnLearn ttoo ddriverive llikeike tthehe eexpertsxperts FALSE! (fortunately!) onon tthehe YYoungoung DDrivers’rivers’ SSkillskills CCourseourse FALSE! Almost all of them will be profit-making Debt advisors, managers and organisations. The initial phone call may be free, counsellors who deal with credit Aged between 17-25? You could benefit and improve your driving skills and but if you accept their offer to negotiate with your related debts have to be licensed by the Office of awareness through this on-road course with Advanced Driving Instructors - run by creditors to arrange an affordable payment, they Fair Trading (OFT). You can check that a trader West Sussex County Council in partnership with ‘Skid-Control’ on the skid pan at will take a commission from those payments. has an appropriate license with the OFT by phone Goodwood Motor Circuit. Sometimes as much as 20% of your monthly or online. payments will go to the ‘debt advisor’ - not your In addition to this, you will be offered the opportunity to drive a Ferrari! Useful Contacts: creditors. Only some Credit Unions, the Citizen’s Office of Fair Trading: www.oft.gov.uk or Advice Bureaux, National Debtline and certain The course, which is heavily subsidised by West Sussex County Council, costs just 0845 722 4499 other charities offer genuine free debt advice. £60.00 or £120.00 when including the Ferrari drive. Citizens Advice Bureaux: Visit www.citizens Our Gift Vouchers which are valid for a year, make a great present, especially when choosing the “But if I ‘Google’, for instance, ‘citizens advice advice.org.uk for the location of your nearest exciting Ferrari drive option. This will give you the opportunity to drive 3 laps (approx. 7 miles) of bureau’, the results I get will be genuine free Goodwood Motor Circuit at the wheel of this prestigious car! Bureau. debt advisors linked to the Bureau.” West Sussex Credit Union: www.westsussex For information call 08452 600 650 or visit www.westsussex.gov.uk FALSE! Debt advice/management companies pay creditunion.co.uk search engines to display their details as National Debtline: www.nationaldebtline.co.uk “sponsored links” when a consumer enters or phone 0808 808 4000 certain key words. Some such companies use Visit Trading Standards from our website www.westsusssex.gov.uk Sussex Safer Roads internet names incredibly close to the correct spelling of the organisation you are looking for (eg For a list of approved Buy With Confidence ‘citisens’ advice). The good news is recent legisla- Traders visit www.buywithconfidence.info www.sussexsaferroads.gov.uk tion may allow such companies to be prosecuted. More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 7

Carl Doyle, centre, is pictured with, left,

Jeremy Noble, Lorraine Ward, Paul Dale Advertisement and Winsome Reid who all volunteer at the Bognor Regis family drop-in centre, at the launch in Worthing. Advertisement Make Covers your first choice for timber, building materials, mouldings, sheet materials, joinery, doors and windows, fencing, decking, plumbing, ironmongery, hardware, D.I.Y. supplies, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and much more! When it comes to quality timber and building materials, trust Covers to stock all you need with a choice of over 23,000 items. A NEW BEGINNING Come to Covers today, where sound practical advice from our experienced A volunteer at one of the county’s six drop-in centres for Carl said: “With ‘Every Day A New Beginning’, we want to show staff awaits you! the family and friends of people who misuse drugs and people they are not alone, that there are others out there who are alcohol talks movingly about his own experiences in a facing similar difficult issues and that confidential support is available Your local depots: Quarry Lane, Chichester PO19 8PE 13-minute DVD, Every Day A New Beginning. from sympathetic and non-judgemental volunteers.” tel: 01243 785141 Carl Doyle recalls how drugs and drink misuse led to him being Station Yard, Bognor Regis PO21 1BT Timber & Builders Merchants in and out of prison before he sought help. He is now a qualified The other centres are in: tel: 01243 863100 Visit www.covers.biz for more product ranges substance misuse worker and an administrator with the West Advertisement Sussex Drugs and Alcohol Action Team’s Family and Friends Crawley - The Orchard, Gleneagles Court, Brighton Network (FFN), which runs the drop-in centres. Road, Southgate (12.30pm to 2pm, Mondays). The 13-minute movie has been made by the FFN with Company Horsham - Park Barn, opposite The Capitol behind Paradiso, a not-for-profit production company. New Park House, North Street (5.30 to 7pm, the first It highlights the work of the FFN’s centres, such as the one and third Tuesday of every month). where Carl works in The Hub Community Centre, on the corner of Littlehampton - The Dairy, Church Street (1pm- Queensway and Canada Grove, Bognor Regis, which is open 2.30pm, the first Friday of each month). between 12.30pm and 2pm on Thursdays. Southwick - The Corner House, opposite South- wick Community Centre and Barn Theatre (7.30pm to 9pm, first Thursday of every month). Worthing - The Place, next to the Yoga Centre, 24 ENERGY Marine Place (5.30 to 7pm, Tuesdays). EFFICIENCY Have Your Say! Do you want to have your say about what matters to you FOR YOU most in West Sussex? Then become a member of our Save money twice new residents’ e-panel. Advertisement over by getting a home energy monitor at a bargain price! The County Council is offer- ing 100 Current Cost Smart Electricity Monitors for a reduced price of £30 (normal retail price around £45), plus postage and packaging, to the first 100 Connections readers who respond. A home energy monitor will help you to find out exactly how much electricity your household is using and the cost of it, so you can implement ways to cut your fuel costs. The beauty of Current Cost is that it shows you how much energy you’re using right now. And it also shows how much it’s This is an online panel of people that will be called on for costing you every day and every month. their views on a range of subjects, and is one of a number of According to The Energy Saving Trust, people who have these initiatives to ensure the County Council gets to hear what you monitors find their energy use drops between 5% and 15% in the have to say. first year of using them, which means £25 to £75 off a £500 bill! You can choose to get involved in the things that matter to The energy monitor will help you to think of ways to reduce you when you sign on and create your personal profile. how much energy you are using, for instance by switching off Any West Sussex resident of any age can be a member, you electrical products like TVs that are constantly left on standby. just need to have access to a computer. For more information about the monitor, or to buy one online go If you or anyone you know are interested in having their say too, then go to the website or e-mail our Insight team at to: www.westsussex.gov.uk/energymonitor or phone 01243 [email protected], or call Chris Tuke on 777100 quoting the promotion code: HEMWSC09. 01243 777201. From Social Workers to Senior Practitioners and Team Managers, we have a variety of opportunities for you in both our Adults and Childrens' Teams. To hear the This little book gets around! experience of our current staff and The latest edition of the West Sussex Community Transport Directory is out how to apply please visit www.nolimitsatwestsussex.co.uk now to make your journey easier around the county. Most of the services are run by volunteers. Some offer minibuses and cars that operate on set routes on a regular basis, or can be hired out for a specific occasion. There are some that also cater for people with disabilities. People who have medical appointments but no transport, can also get services to help them. The directory is available from Libraries, Help Points, GP and dental surgeries, and hospitals across the county. You can get a copy of the 13th edition by calling 01243 642105. An online format is available at www.westsussex.gov.uk/communitytransport www.nolimitsatwestsussex.co.uk 8 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830 Safer,Safer, HealthierHealthier andand CheaperCheaper

Purse strings have never been pulled more tightly for parents. The recession means many are struggling to make ends meet. One way they could save money is by encouraging their children to walk or cycle to school. Not only does this save petrol and wear and tear on the car it also helps youngsters stay fitter and healthier. To help children and their parents to leave their car at home the County Council has a Safer Routes to School Team. The team helps schools in the county develop schemes that will encourage children to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to school. Research shows that some children get more exercise walking or cycling to school than in two hours of PE lessons a week. They also learn to be more independent and confident and acquire valuable road safety skills. The Safer Routes Team works with schools to draw up a travel plan. The County Council may be KEEPING THE ROADS able to help if the plan identifies the need for a new route such as a foot or cycle path. For example, at Eastergate Primary School, the County Council spent £21,000 building a new foot- bridge and improving paths. The footbridge allowed ‘SWEET’THIS WINTER children to get to school on foot and by bike without Gritters are at the ready to deal with plummeting the need to go along the busy A29. temperatures this winter. At Downview Primary School in Felpham, improve- MAPPING ments were made to footpaths leading to the school With its highways service provider, May Gurney, the and additional dog bins were provided along the route. THE County Council can call on gritters for each of the 30 main This was because dog fouling was mentioned as one of RAINFALL routes across West Sussex that are included in the winter the main reasons for not using the footpath with young We are using high-tech maintenance plan. children. There are also plans for a School Safety Zone. mapping technology to In some parts of the county, gritters will be keeping the This will involve a mix of 20mph advisory speed limits during pick-up and drop-off times, as well as help reduce the risk of roads ‘sweet’ by continuing to trial an environmentally road markings near the school gate to warn drivers to be more cautious. highway flooding. friendly rock salt which is coated with molasses. Alison Stanley, School Travel Adviser, said: “Many parents have been surprised how much money There are more than The product is a derivative of the sugar production they have saved in petrol costs by not using their car to ferry their children to and from school.” process - liquid molasses. It can be added to rock salt to For more info on the team see our website. 122,000 gullies in West Sussex. All are emptied at least improve winter maintenance because it spreads better than once a year, but the aim of the pure rock salt, and is more effective in dealing with ice. mapping scheme is to pinpoint We currently salt 1600 km of road, which is about those that might need more 42% of our road network compared to a national average regular attention to keep them of 38%. Advertisement free of silt and other blockages, as well as those which could be emptied less frequently. MORE It will also identify areas where parked cars have hampered gully emptying MINI-MOVIES machines in the past and a A clutch of new videos have been posted on our website return visit is necessary to showcasing services provided by the county council. carry out the work. How to become a lollipop person, bushcraft courses at Buchan The system is also being Country Park in Crawley, and used to compile information our Sitting Service are just about the capacity of the pipe a few of the new entries. work that takes the water from The photo on the left shows a still from the the road gullies. This will make ‘Drive Safely and Stay sure they have a large enough Alive’ film. diameter to cope with severe There are now about rain such as the scale that led 25 movies that can be to severe flooding in viewed on our Tewkesbury and Hull. website by following the More News link on the home page and scroll down to West Sussex Videos, as well as on the ITV website CPE www.yournews.itvlocal.com and You Tube. for Adur A team to cut traffic congestion and make sure Lorry Loads those who really need parking spaces get them, is coming to the Adur area in the spring. of Advice The Civil Parking Advisory lorry routes are now on our website, as part of a Enforcement (CPE) team drive to keep freight moving smoothly. is helping to ensure town The routes are designed to prevent HGVs using roads that are centres are easily too narrow or unsafe. accessible to everyone, The advisory routes cover dual and modern single carriage- ways which can accommodate lorries better than residential areas *The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership looks at all injury accidents, both residents and visitors vulnerable road user casualties and the local community to the area. or country lanes such as those found in some of the most rural when considering sites for camera installation. Set The teams are already areas of the county. percentages of vehicles must be exceeding the speed A leaflet, which can be downloaded from the website, also limit and all other cost-effective road engineering set up in the Worthing, options also have to have been considered. Excluding Horsham and Mid Sussex provides a map of the routes. exceptional sites. Full criteria available from the SSRP. districts. Alternatively phone 01243 642105. More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 9

It’s a brand new year and even though the weather might be cold and wet, here are plenty of opportunities to get out of the house and have some fun in West Sussex!

7: Watercolour work- around the campfire and 20: The Northern Lights: January: shop - Boat on a Lake: lantern-lit return walk. A two- March: talk with visual effects by Dr All month: Artist Eileen 31: Solar Boat Trip: Bird Findon Village Hall, High Street; mile walk to explore woodland 1: Sullivan (...and John Mason; suitable for children Agar (1899-1991) exhi- Watching, departs from 10am-4.30pm; Joe Dowden at night. £3 per person. Family Gilbert!): West Dean Col- aged 6+; The South Downs Plan- bition: Pallant House Gallery, Itchenor at 12pm. Tickets are 01903 237096, or 07887 Ticket £10 (2 adults, 2 children); lege; Talk on the life and music etarium and Science Centre, Sir Chichester; Finishes 15 March; £6.50/£3 for a 1½ hour trip on 998499, or www.westsussex.gov.uk/ Arthur Sullivan composed out- Patrick Moore Building, Chich- 01243 774557, or visit the Solar Heritage. A guide will [email protected] buchanpark or 01293 side of his impressive partner- ester; 01243 774400. www.pallant.org.uk help you identify the birds that 542088. ship with W.S. Gilbert; tickets £8; spend the winter in Chichester 8: Wedding Fair: Fontwell www.westdean.org.uk 21: Magnificat - Bach, 17: Family Big Garden Harbour; Book tickets on Racecourse; 10.30am-4pm; 21: Charity Pancake Gloria - Vivaldi, Mass in Birdwatch: 11am - 1pm. 01243 513275. www.stylisheventsfayres.com Olympics: Littlehampton 4 - 7: Abigail's Party per- C - Beethoven: Arundel Learn how to be a bird High Street; children and adult formed by Wick Theatre Com- Cathedral, 7.30pm; 07885 detective, a master chef and a 31: Sleepout for charity - 10: Royal Town Planning teams welcome; entry is free, pany, Barn Theatre, Southwick; 139208, or www.arunchoral- restaurant-owner for feathered Worthing Churches Homeless Institute Urban Design: registration open until 13 Febru- 01273 597094 or www.wick society.co.uk customers. Children’s tickets £3, Projects; various locations; The Art of Making Successful ary; 01903 732063, or theatre.co.uk 21: Chequer Mead Spring adults go free. Search for 01903 227829, or Places - Rob Cowan; Ardington www.littlehampton-tc.gov.uk Craft Fair: Chequer Mead “Buchan” on our website. www.wchp.org.uk Hotel, Worthing; 9am-4.30pm; 7: Mozart Requiem by Community Arts Centre, De la Weald Choir of Crawley: 17: Concert by “Chanc- Warr Road, East Grinstead; Call St Mary’s Church, Wakehurst Hannah on 01342 325577. tonbury Chorus”, includ- Drive, Southgate; 7.30pm- ing songs such as Mozart’s 9.30pm; www.wealdchoir.co.uk 24: Shep Woolley & ‘Solemn Vespers’ and Handel’s or 01293 515287. Friends, Comedy & ‘Dixit Dominus’; St Andrew’s Music Animals: Riverside Church, Steyning, 7.30pm. 7-8: The Imperial Classi- Caravan Centre, Shripney Road, 01273 452069. cal Ballet Awards 2009: Bognor Regis, 7.30pm; 01243 The Hawth Theatre, Crawley, 860621. Roy Lancaster, ‘The 17: West Sussex; 020 7377 1577, Adventurous Gardener’ or www.istd.org 28:“A Champagne Cele- lecture: West Dean Estate; bration of The Spirit of visit www.westdean.org.uk 9: Clowns Parade: Bognor Song” fundraising event, with Regis seafront to London Road, Lou Beckerman, Jim Smith (gui- 18: Beginner of the Year starts at Butlins entrance 2pm. tar) and Mike Edwards (didgeri- freestyle/disco and 01243 825535, or doo); Nick Herbert MP giving a Street/Hip-Hop dance www.bognorregis.gov.uk talk; 7.30pm at Danny, New Way competition sponsored by Lane, Hurstpierpoint. Black tie Goldstar; New starter costume 11: Protect Your Local optional. Tickets available from for the winner; Worthing Planet by Rebecca reMEmber at £15 to include Leisure Centre, Shaftesbury Av- Grove: St Paul’s Church Hall, champagne; enue, Durrington; www.just Churchside, Chichester; evening www.remembercfs.org.uk dancepromotions.co.uk of singing, music, poetry and readings; 7.30pm; refreshments 29: A Baroque Festival of Matinee Musicale, 18: (including a glass of wine) will be ‘Gloria’ Settings with Dame Concert of much-loved available. Tickets £6.00; Emma Kirkby; Lancing College music: Christ Church, Old tickets from £25; Call Angela 22: Jacquelyn Fugelle (so- www.unachichester.org Chapel; 7.30pm; 01273 890598 Market Avenue, Chichester; February: Sliwinski on 01243 777488 for prano) and Terence All- or www.sussexchorus.org 01243 527425 or www.musi- more details. bright (piano), songs 4: The Sussex Organ So- 12: ‘Scrub Bashing’: Enjoy Baroque Ensemble consundays.co.uk and arias concert: Christ 29: ciety presents concerts by conservation and countryside at with Jean and Ian Graham-Jones; 17: Bird Box and Feeder Church, Old Market Avenue, electronic organist and key- Wolstonbury Hill; meet at slip Christ Church, Old Market Av- 20: Life drawing and Bonanza: making bird cakes Chichester; 01243 527425 or painting ten-week board players; Queen Street road from A23 to Plough Inn at enue, Chichester; 01243 Hall, Worthing; 01903 715764; and fat balls and building nest www.musiconsundays.co.uk Pyecombe, Hassocks for 10am; course: 10am to 12pm; tuition boxes for the Reserve and 527425 or and models £75; Sidney Walter tickets (£5) can be bought on bring lunch, work shoes and www.musiconsundays.co.uk the door. for you to take home. Chil- waterproofs if necessary; Ian Centre, Sussex Road, Worthing; dren must be supervised by 01903 232746. Pack, 07710 814665. 31: A Fashion Show - 7: Wildfowl and Wader an adult. Booking essential Private Collection: Che- on 01243 641508. £5 per Amphibian Amble: 22: Horse racing; Fontwell Walk: a two-hour amble along 13: quer Mead Community Arts child for materials. 10.30am- Buchan Country Park, Craw- Park Racecourse; tickets from the Reserve’s West Side to Centre, De la Warr Road, East 12.30pm at Pagham Har- ley; 7pm-8.30pm; An evening £15; 01243 543335; Church Norton, in search of mi- Grinstead; 7.30pm; discounted bour’s Visitor Centre, Selsey walk and pond dip, searching www.fontwellpark.co.uk grant and over-wintering wild- clothing available on the night; fowl and waders, as numbers Road, Sidlesham. for newts, frogs and toads Tickets £10. Call 01342 23: Bognor Regis Com- steadily build up in the Harbour; emerging from hibernation; 302000. 10.15am for a 10.30am start; 17-18: Buchan £3 per person, Family Ticket munication Club: Every- Bushcraft, 10am-3.30pm; Advertisement one is welcome, including those meet at Pagham Harbour’s Visi- £10 (2 adults, 2 children); tor Centre, Selsey Road, Sidle- A hands-on day for www.westsussex.gov.uk/ with hearing difficulties; Fridays unaccompanied 8-14 year- Bespoke from 7pm; Laburnum Centre, sham; book on 01243 641508. buchanpark or 01293 olds learning to make use of 542088 Picture Framing Lyon Street, Bognor Regis; at reasonable prices with 7: Coffee morning with a natural resources and individual service. 07794 655368. discovering wildlife. £12 per variety of stalls:Village 14 March-19 April: Lamb- child per day, includes lunch ing Time at Coombes: CM FRAMING 25: Bird Watching at Hall, Sea Road, East Preston; Ray and refreshments; Booking See new-born lambs and 0791 9897 231 Fishbourne: 2pm. Bring Leggett 01903 770788, or Large selection of pictures for sale [email protected] essential; calves and take a tractor ride The Pools, Shoreham Road binoculars. No dogs. Meet by www.westsussex.gov.uk/ Fishbourne Mill Pond, Mill Lane, up to them!; Church Farm, Nr Henfield BN5 9SE 7: Calligraphy work- buchanpark or 01293 Lancing; call Jenny Passmore off A259 on corner with the 542088 Bull’s Head pub. Roadside park- shops with Lingfield Scribes; on 01273 452028; FishbourneFishbourne Lingfield Community Centre. www.coombes.co.uk ing is available. 01243 512301 18-22: Half-term week- 25: Evaluation of Public RRomanoman PPalacealace or visit Other dates for workshops day workshops: Amberley Art Seminar: Southwick 15: Helen Hooker and aandnd GarGardensdens www.conservancy.co.uk available - 28 February, 7 & 23 March; 01883 382313. Working Museum; for accompa- Community Centre, Southwick; Karen Kingsley perform VisitorsVisitors can viewview spectacularspectacular nied 5-12 year olds; 01798 12.30pm - 5pm; More details 1st1st century mosaicsmosaics andand handlehandle 30: Boundstone College the music of Van Eyck, Telemann artefactsartefacts on a Behind the Scenes Tour. The 831370, www.amberley from Angela Sliwinski on 01243 Bands: Pavilion Theatre, Wor- We cannot accept and Lennox Berkeley in an after- audioaudio visualvisual presentationpresentation uses computer-computer- responsibility for events museum.co.uk 777488. thing; 7.30pm-9.30pm; adults £6, noon concert; West Dean Col- generatedgenerated images. Café,Café, picnicpicnic area anandd we publicise. free parking.parking. Open weekends in January concessions £5; Ian Tout, lege; tickets £10; Please phone venues 20: Night Hike, 6pm-8.30pm; and dailyyy from January 31st.st. [email protected] beforehand to check www.westdean.org.uk www.www.sussexpast.co.ukt Wildlife of the night, hot drinks SalthillSalthill RdRd,, FishbourneFishbourne,, CChichesterhichester sussex.sch.uk information. PO19PO19 3QR3QR Tel: 01243 785857858599 10 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830 SAVE MONEY Where the art is HERE! Have you got it yet? If you’re aged between five and 19 then you can apply for the free 3in1 card which gives you cheaper bus fares, discounts, and a proof of age. You can download an application form at www.your3in1.co.uk or The majority of our county’s secondary call 01243 777330 for schools have now been awarded specialist more info about the status. scheme. There are 10 specialisms to choose from - arts, The fab discounts business and enterprise, engineering, humanities, on offer include language, maths and computing, music, science, money off books, sports, and technology. clothes and Currently, seven schools in West Sussex have accessories, hair and arts status. beauty, hobbies, lessons, music, places Boundstone Community College in Lancing was to visit, restaurants and the first to gain it in 2002, followed by Chichester sport and fitness. High School for Girls, pictured here, which also Are you a business who would like to offer a discount and has a science specialism. reach thousands of young West Sussex residents? You can join Oathall Community College in Haywards Heath was the likes of Herbert Sports, Cartridge World, Hawth Theatre at also awarded both arts and science status last year. Crawley, Jessops, Nandos and Pizza Express. Your discount will The most recent to get arts specialist status are be featured on the dedicated 3in1 website and be viewed by the Chatsmore Catholic High School, Goring-by-Sea; Oak 23,000 plus members of the scheme. Your business will also be Grove College, Worthing; Oriel High School, Crawley; and featured in a twice-yearly magazine called Your Mag which is posted to every cardholder. More young people are joining all Westergate Community School. the time. There is NO CHARGE to offer a discount - and it These schools received a government funding boost could lead to increased business - a bonus in these credit crunch of £100,000 each, plus an additional yearly grant which is days! Call 01243 777431. calculated according to how many students there are. ● Westergate Community School’s main focus is on visual and performing arts. They will be using their money to create a performing arts centre. Keep it real Mum. ● Oriel High School is focusing on music, arts and media studies and is aiming to build a

Advertisement theatre in the future. Real nappies are cool! ● Oak Grove College is the county’s first special school to get specialist status. It has a particular focus on promoting the personal and social development of students with special educational needs through a wide-ranging curriculum embracing visual and performing arts. ● Chatsmore Catholic High School is enhancing creative and performing arts and the study of media, pursuing new technologies to deliver the arts and the wider curriculum. They hope Go on, try them to create a new building, designed as a performance and exhibition area. out. It’s the really The schools are committed to a programme of work which will involve professionals from cool thing to do! the arts industries, including links with Chichester Festival Theatre and work with local artists. HAVE A Contact us on: 01243 642106 TASTEFUL for a FREE NEW YEAR Cotton Nappy Check out the award-winning Taste West Sussex magazine and make 2009 the year you embrace the wonderful world of local food and drink. Starter Pack The magazine is the best local foodie read and contains lots of interesting features about SCHOOL local food producers and TERM DATES businesses. Spring Term: The next issue of this Starts Monday 5 January 2009 magazine will be out in early and finishes on Friday 3 April. Half Term: Monday 16 to March. Friday 20 February inclusive. If you would like to Easter holidays: Monday 6 - subscribe to Taste magazine Friday 17 April please call 01243 756842. Summer Term: ● If you are a business and Starts Monday 20 April and want to know more about finishes on Wednesday 22 July. Half Term: Monday 25 to advertising opportunities call the above number.

D.9729 Friday 29 May inclusive. More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 11 STATE OF THE ART LIBRARY NOW OPEN!

Staff at our new multi- million pound Crawley Library are now welcoming TOP TEN DVDs customers into the state of If you need some cheap entertain- the art complex. ment on these depressing winter The mammoth task of nights, our Libraries hire out the moving into the new building latest DVDs for a whole week at a took place before a grand time, not just an overnight loan, so opening in December. you can watch when it suits you. There are thousands of Libraries order copies of current films books, CDs, DVDs and audio books and children’s titles, as well as foreign films, to borrow, including 20,000 new books - you can see some documentaries, music videos, history of them being jacketed in the picture opposite. features, and many others. Facilities at the new complex are second to none - The latest movies will cost you a mere they include 50 new computer terminals, and ‘Headspace’ £3 for a one-week loan, while all an area designed with help from local teenagers, with other DVDs are £2 for a week. fiction, graphic novels, information and seating space to If you plan ahead, you can chill out. Nearby is a new range of video games to hire request titles to for X-Box, Wii, DS and PS2. be reserved. There is a Children’s Library with space for activities You can do this and regular baby-rhyme and storytime sessions, a Help in the Library Jacketing books for the new library Point, a ‘video wall’ for presentations on the history of or via our Crawley, and a coffee house. website. The new Library in Southgate Avenue is free to join, is three times bigger than the old one, and is part of a £15m development which includes offices and a new Register A GOOD Office - see story below. The new library building FREE READ! Our Libraries have a wide range of magazines and newspapers for anyone to come in and read for free. There are 195 different magazines and newspapers available, from ‘Ace Tennis’, to ‘Your Car’, held in stock, with back copies available. More than 400 residents from across the county took part in a survey stating what magazine and newspaper titles they would like to see in Libraries. The result is that there is now something for everyone - from children’s classic comics, to history and educational magazines, music and sport publications. So, if you fancy a flick through your favourite publication this winter, and want to save those pennies - visit your local Library!

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office call 01293 651752. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 9.30 to it kills around 1000. 4.30pm. It’s caused by a virus called the human ● papillomavirus or HPV. The HPV vaccine A new brochure with everything you need to know about ceremonies protects against two strains of the virus, in West Sussex is now available. To get a copy call 01243 642122. You which are responsible for more than 70% can also view an interactive virtual tour and find out about all wedding of cases. It will save hundreds of women’s lives a year. fayres in the area on our website. The vaccine has passed the rigorous safety standards required for it to be used in the UK and other European countries. Social Enterprise Awards scheme HPV is sexually transmitted, so the vaccine is most effective when given before girls A top prize of £5,000 is up for grabs in the been introduced this year. The awards must are sexually active. An annual vaccination annual award scheme supporting be used to develop the ideas into a programme for girls aged 12 to 13 (school year 8) is starting this autumn. social enterprises and entrepreneurs business with clear social objectives. The programme consists of three injections in West Sussex. The 2007 award winner was given over a period of six months. Social enterprises are businesses Frame of Mind, a picture framing Over the next three years, the vaccine will that work to deliver lasting social and company in Bognor Regis that also be offered to other girls aged 13 to 18,* environmental change. provides training for adults with starting this year with girls aged 17 to 18. Now in its third year, the West mental health issues. Arm your daughter against cervical cancer. Sussex Social Enterprise Innovation They used the award to expand the Your daughter’s school or local NHS Award, run by the West Sussex Social framing business with the purchase of will provide more information before the Enterprise Network (WSSEN) together new equipment to increase the product vaccination is due. with the County Council, aims to encourage range and provide further training opportunities. For more information about the HPV more social enterprises in the county. The competition deadline is Friday 30 January. vaccine visit www.nhs.uk/HPV or call the To enter, individuals and organisations must helpline on 0845 602 3303.** submit proposals for innovative ideas to deliver For further information on the award visit products or services that will benefit the the WSSEN website at www.wssen.org.uk, community and/or the environment. telephone 01243 777606, or e-mail

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Sad, isn’ t it?

Sadder still, most of it could be eaten. This wasted food is a waste of money and a major contributor to climate change. To help throw less food away, a lot of fruit can be kept in the fridge so it lasts longer.

For more ways to reduce your food waste, visit lovefoodhatewaste.com More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 13 Get ‘Engauged’! Loveyour A succesful initiative, Engauge, is helping schools to monitor how efficient they are in all aspects of sustainability, including energy and water saving, local produce, citizenship and travel. Engauge assesses schools and produces a unique flower- leftovers shaped chart that provides an at-a-glance picture of how a school is performing in eight sustainable categories. Crafty cooks can beat the credit crunch by being Already 116 of our schools are using Engauge to find leftover lovers by clicking on to innovative ways to involve children in projects. Bury CE First www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes School children used the pumpkins they've grown from seed Love Food Hate Waste is the nationwide campaign to help in their gardening club in a cookery lesson, while children at you save money by reducing the amount of good and edible food going to landfill. Slinfold CE Primary School are monitoring use of energy and It is being spearheaded in West water in a club called the Green Dragons. Sussex by Better Tomorrows, a not for At the Weald School, Year 8 students help organise an profit community interest company set annual Senior Citizens’ Tea Party for 200 guests from local up to run waste prevention initiatives in clubs and old peoples’ homes. Students prepare sandwiches the county. and cook cakes and scones for the tea, using local produce When it comes to wasting food in where possible. the UK, the figures are staggering. The scheme promotes initiatives already in place, such For example: as Eco Schools, Healthy Schools, TravelWise and Safer ■ The average UK family wastes Routes to Schools. £400 a year. For more information visit the Engauge pages on the West ■ One-third of the food we buy Sussex Grid for Learning, linked from our website. ends up in the bin. ■ Food waste produces 18 million tons of CO2. ■ £4 billion of Let’s Go Green wasted People across West Sussex tackle climate change in their food is who are already involved in own village or town. The caused by the ‘Greening Campaign’ Greening Campaign will help you cooking more than is needed. are urging more do this and guide you through an ■ £6 billion of wasted food is left to go communities to sign up innovative programme designed off. and save money. to encourage people to join in The website has dozens of money- The Greening Campaign is and to change their behaviour. saving, eco-friendly recipes for supported by the County It is already running in many starters, main meals and puddings Council and many of the communities across West Sussex - all made from leftovers, as well county’s District and Borough and the South East and the Councils. Greening Campaign has as dozens of tips to make the most We are encouraging experienced people who can of your food, and your money. communities to set up groups to support you to take action. Your work out how much energy ■ Organising a ‘sustainable village can have a launch event, your community has saved by green’ event which looked at which will help make your group taking this action. growing your own vegetables, visible in your town and make With a New Year comes buying local food and how to set houses that are taking action new resolutions, and existing up a community vegetable visible too by using a branded members of the campaign are garden scheme. Advertisement challenge card, giving households encouraging people to make ■ Holding a ‘recycled Christ- Buy the bin that saving energy their top priority a list of easy ways to save energy mas’ event to swap unwanted and money. The Greening in 2009. presents, shred Christmas trees Campaign will also help you One community already involved and collect cards for recycling. in the campaign is Harting, near This campaign shows how makes your Green Chichester, who are pictured. communities working together FROM businesses can be effective towards tackling ONLY Some of the activities the climate change. beat the village organised included: For more information on ■ garden more credit crunch Working with a local school the Greening Campaign visit £10 With the recession to raise funds for solar panels www.greeningcampaign.co.uk beginning to bite there has PLUS FREE never been a better time Advertisement DELIVERY beautiful for businesses to go green and save money in the Recycling paper and cardboard saves trees! process. Most Newspapers are now made with at least For the last 10 years the 75% recycled paper West Sussex Sustainable TO ORDER YOUR BIN CALL 0845 077 0757 quoting 55CO1 Business Partnership has been or visit us online at www.recyclenow.com/compost helping businesses by providing free advice and support to help them cut their energy, water Compost Compost KOMP and waste bills. It does this by Converter Converter (250ltr) (220ltr) (330ltr) running training events and £10.00 £13.00 £26.00 providing Environmental Reviews of business premises, Manufacturer’s Manufacturer’s Manufacturer’s SRP £40.00 SRP £50.00 SRP £66.00 all at no cost to the business. Height 90cm Height 100cm Height 105cm For example, through a QUANTITY QUANTITY QUANTITY recent programme of energy audits, participating businesses NAME ADDRESS saved an average of £1,000 each on their energy bills and RUBBISH RESOURCE POSTCODE DAYTIME TELEPHONE the Partnership provided

I enclose a cheque/postal order for £ payable to DHL – Home Composting grants to help the businesses

Or please debit my Mastercard/Visa/Delta/Switch/Maestro account £ CODE 55CO1 implement the changes recommended by the audit. Start Date Expiry Date Issue Number The partnership keeps an THINK BEFORE Card Number up to date list of local recyclers Please return to: WRAP (West Sussex) Campaign, Freepost LS6334, Leeds LS14 1YY covering the county to help From time to time WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and West Sussex County Council may send you FREE useful info, newsletters and tips & advice to help make composting easy and fun. Please tick this box if you do not wish to receive businesses with that first step YOU THROW these items If you prefer us to keep you informed by email please provide your email address below: of finding out who is out there EMAIL: ...... and what is possible. Offer limited to 2 bins per household and to West Sussex County Council residents only. Expect delivery within 28 days. If you wish to cancel your order before To find out more visit the the bin is delivered or if the bin has been delivered and you wish to return it, please phone the customer care line on 0800 107 3798 within 7 working days. Offer is subject to availability and closes March 2009, though stocks of some bins are limited and may run out sooner than offer end. WRAP works in partnership to partnership’s website at encourage and enable businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more things more often. This helps to minimise landfill, www.westsussexsbp.org.uk reduce carbon emissions and improve our environment. 14 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830

Our children and family centres are steadily increasing in numbers across West Sussex. There are currently 28 centres open across the county, and we are well on the way to the County Council’s target of opening 51 by 2010 which Keep it in will ensure there is a centre for each local community. Included in this figure are five mobile centres that will visit some of the most rural areas of West Sussex. The services each centre provides differ. All centres will provide drop-in groups for parents and children, with information on local services and advice to parents, while others offer a full childcare service. There will be the Family activities and workshops for the families to participate in, as well as help through links with Jobcentre Plus for parents wishing to return to employment and training. To find out where your nearest centre is, go to our website and type in ‘children and family centres’ and click on the first result. You can also view a short three-minute video we have made about the centres. Go to our newsroom on the website. Pictures show the opening of TheTree House Children and Family Centre, in Bersted, Bognor Regis

It’s Child’s Play! Parents - beat the spiralling you don’t want clogging up your cost of playthings and help your house. child’s learning and development Favourite toys include ‘story by joining your local toy library. sacks’ full of books and toys, Children can borrow toys for and a talking activity table free - and then hand them back that teaches children English when they would like to try and French words. something new. For more information about Massive The Toy Library, which costs toy libraries that are right across £2 for a family to join, is also the county, call the Children’s investment in perfect for borrowing big toys that Information Service on 01243 777807. Education Over £200 million is being invested to improve school buildings in West Sussex. The major boost will see six new secondary schools and several new primary schools. The list of projects includes an investment of around £118m in four new Academy schools, Tackling Bullying including the new Midhurst Rother College, which was created this month and will open in its Children and young people can find it hard to talk about problems or worries they new buildings in 2011/12. Other new Academy schools are planned for Lancing, Littlehampton have about bullying, particularly if they feel isolated from their peers. The effects of and Shoreham. continued bullying are recognised to be potentially damaging to a young person’s Another state-of-the-art secondary school is also being built to replace Bognor Regis emotional and physical Community College (£40m). In addition the County Council is significantly aiding the Governors of health. St Wilfrid’s Catholic Comprehensive School in Crawley with its £24m replacement school. Bullying can take place The new primary schools being created include a £5.5m replacement school for Birchwood both in and outside of Grove Primary in Burgess Hill and a new £11m primary school for Bognor Regis, which is being school and can be through created by the merger of Michael Ayers Junior and The Glade Infant schools. the internet, mobile A new £5m primary school will also be built at Bolnore in Mid Sussex. The foundation school phones and other devices. will be one of the first in the country to be run by parents. To help with the problem, the County Council launched a service for young people who are Election Fever experiencing some form of Election fever is running high in 2009, walks of life! Contact Youth Cabinet Co-ordina- bullying. The service with not only the European and County tor Pandora Ellis on 07764 793106 before the provides confidential and Elections 4 June, but the race is also on to January 16 deadline. individual support for the find new young person and also members of works with other the West professionals to identify Sussex Youth ways in which the bullying issues can be addressed. Cabinet. Anti-Bullying Caseworker Beccy Nicholls (pictured in the blue top) has been working for this The Youth service since it began and has cases across the county with children aged eight - 19. Some have Cabinet gives been referred directly from parents, and two young people have referred themselves. young people in A referral to the Caseworker indicates that the bullying has tried to be solved at a local level, the county a but a resolution has not been found. voice. With Beccy has also created a young people’s steering group in the south of the county to help look monthly meet- at bullying issues. The group gives advice and suggestions on how to help support each other and ings, the recommendations for people who are being bullied. Another group is due to be set up early this Cabinet dis- year in the Mid Sussex, Crawley and Horsham areas. cusses issues In addition, a new caseworker has recently been recruited to work with children in the five - 12 that affect everyday life in the county, including Voting takes place between February 1 and age bracket, and is closely linked to primary schools. transport, sex and relationships, education and 14. Voter cards will be distributed to schools, There is a hotline people can call if they want information and advice, which is called the Action improving school councils. youth groups and voluntary organisations. Against Bullying Support line. All calls are handled by trained staff members. To be a candidate in the Youth Elections, you Call 0845 075 1010. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 6pm on must be between 11 and 19 years old and keen For more information visit www.yourspacewest Saturdays, or visit our website. to represent your peers. We want people from all sussex.co.uk, or call Pandora. More information - 01243 753830 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk 15 Step Back Into Sussex Can you solve these?

Past Here’s some more Did you know that Britain’s first motorway was mystery photos for you planned to run through Sussex a century ago and to identify that have that there was a campaign against street lighting in been donated to our our county? Library & Archive services. These fascinating facts and hundreds more are cata- Photo 1 could possibly logued in a new book published by West Sussex Record be at a Worthing golf club. Office. Sussex Tales of the Unexpected: Five Centuries Photo 2 shows a grand of County Life by Kim Leslie has stories about local rural house with mullioned superstitions and the black arts, troubles in the workhouse windows with a family group and ‘aerial music’ performed by whistling pigeons. Kim said: “Life might have been slower, but it was on the lawn. rougher and tougher - and yet - before cars and builders Email connections@ arrived - it was ‘one paradise on earth’, according to local westsussex.gov.uk or call poet Hilaire Belloc, who sang the praises of Sussex like no other. This is the face of Sussex through 01243 753595 if you have a many moods, over many years.” suggested location. In hardback, lavishly illustrated with over 350 colour pictures, the book costs £25 and is available Or you can visit our 1 from all our libraries, West Sussex Record Office, Chichester and website and look under many bookshops throughout the county. For more details call More News for the Mystery 01243 753602, quoting STWSC09. Pictures pages - where you can also read the memories and suggestions of other SUSSEX THROUGH West Sussex residents. The images here are THE AGES from the Walter Gardiner A DVD of rare film footage has been released by Photography Collection. Screen Archive South East in association with our An extensive and stun- Record Office. ning exhibition of the The air-conditioned vaults at the Record Office hold over photos will be held at 7,500 cinefilms of the region. It offers a unique insight into the Worthing Library from life and work of the people of the South East from late 11 February. Victorian times to the present day, all through the camera The Collection is the lenses of local film-makers. largest acquired in the 2 Their cameras captured the spirit and feel of the times Library’s 112 year history. from the packed bank holiday beaches of Bognor Regis, to the Over 100,000 images include breathtaking, pin- volunteers in Victorian costume and special tranquil rural scenes of trug-making and sheep-shearing in the sharp images of Worthing and surrounding guest will be Derek Gardiner, Walter's downland countryside. towns and villages from the 1880s to 1945; grandson. There will also be a recreation of a Colour footage after the war includes a travelogue rural life including shepherds, sheep-washers Victorian photographer's portrait studio, featuring the beauty spots of West and East Sussex in 1946. and wood-cutters; and important post-war postcards, greetings cards and enlarged ‘Sussex on Film’ DVD costs £15 (plus £1.50 p&p) from the Record Office, Chichester, industrial pictures, showing technological inno- mounted photos for sale plus lots more! and West Sussex libraries. For more details phone 01243 753602 vations, commissioned by leading companies. See the library pages on our website, in or email [email protected], quoting SFWSC09. The launch day will feature Library staff and February, for more details. Advertisement RETIREMENT LIVING Security and independence We Can Sell Your Home! Guaranteed Purchase Plan

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COMING SOON Freephone - 0500 870454 Postcode ...... Tel ...... Arundel www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk Who are you enquiring on behalf of? Yourself Other 16 visit our website at www.westsussex.gov.uk More information - 01243 753830 Let’s keep West Sussex working Payback ...from front page ● Improving online information about opportunities to volunteers tender for local authority contracts. Henry added: Local government should never unnecessarily get in the way of people trying to live their lives, or the ability of firms to create wealth. But in these needed times of national crisis, it is even more important that we A community payback project taking part in the Sussex in Bloom involving young offenders taking part Competition. create an environment of support for hard-pressed in neighbourhood improvement “There are also smaller projects like residents and businesses alike. activities is seeking volunteers. gardening for people with special needs, He added it is vitally important that people know The project is run by West Sussex litter picking, painting community halls or where to go for help. Youth Offending Service’s Reparation huts and beach clearing,” said Paul. “Trading Standards are on hand to combat bad Team. No skills or experience is needed to BEFORE practices among debt management companies. They can Team Leader Paul Wood said: become a volunteer. also help people not to waste money on cowboy traders. “Reparation activities allow young “Full training is given and once trained people to become Their ‘Buy With Confidence’ scheme promotes traders increasingly aware of with guaranteed good reputations." the consequences of their offending Other ways to cut costs include: behaviour. It chal- Tips from our Fuel Poverty Adviser to help lenges the young you stay warm without spending a for- offender’s behaviour tune. See page 5. and attitudes and ● aims to stop their Info about our Adult and Community criminal activities.” Learning courses that help you save The young money - including recycling textiles and home people take part in a maintenance. See below for contact numbers. wide variety of ● Borrowing top DVD titles at our 36 libraries for a projects. AFTER bargain price! We also have more magazines for you to “One involved read - so save the cost of buying your favourite mag and them painting the outside of Zachary enthusiastic. read them in the library instead! See page 11. Merton Hospital in Rustington. All the it is up to you if you want to venture out “As a volunteer you’ll be playing an ● Save money by using up your leftovers! Love Food Hospital had to pay for was the paint, so on your own or accompany a Reparation important role by encouraging young Hate Waste campaign - see page 12 and 13. saving it a considerable amount of money. Co-ordinator. people to make amends and not re-offend, ● The 3in1 scheme for 5 - 19 year-olds which gives “Another saw us helping to provide “Commitment is also varied. It which will be of long term benefit to the community,” said Paul. cheaper bus fares and discounts. See page 10. wheelchair access at the Durrington depends on how much time you have to ● Portage School for children with spare. For further information contact him Finally, don’t forget our County Local Committees have on [email protected] or cash grants to give away to deserving local groups. See disabilities. “The only requirements are that you’re “Every year we help local authorities over 18 - there’s no upper age limit - and 01903 730188 page 2.