Newsletter November 2013
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80 Horsham Society Newsletter November 2013 Chichester’s Street Art Festival : continued from previous page Unfortunately one of the art works may have to be removed HORSHAM because it was only realised after it was completed that the Newsletter building in question was Listed. SOCIETY Left: Stik: ‘Figures’ So, the question is: would world class street art be welcome November 2013 North Pallant. in Horsham, or would we be too stuffy and unadventurous? We want to encourage tourists so this may be one way to achieve it. Perhaps we could then publish a Horsham Society guide to local street art. What do you think? and which might be suitable sites? Society objects to Council’s strategy Leaflet drop he deadline for commenting on the Horsham Council’s draft preferred strategy o seriously do we take the threat of Twhich includes a new development of 2,500 houses and a business park north of Sa 2,500 home orphan settlement the A264 closed on 11th October. abutting the A264 north of Horsham we took the unusual step of producing The Society’s response objecting to key elements of the draft strategy can be read in our own leaflet. full on our website. As well as rehearsing the arguments against the North Horsham proposals outlined in the last Newsletter we have put forward a simple alternative. 2,500 copies were delivered by hand Right: DsCrete: ‘Owl’ predominantly to homes in the northern Baffins Lane car park. We believe a better strategy would be to concentrate aggressively on identifying and part of the town to alert householders developing all the brownfield sites in the District and bringing forward a new town to the proposals and encourage them to in the south. Together with the other proposals in the draft strategy these would meet register their comments before the the need in terms of housing numbers and build out trajectory with the planned consultation closed on 11th October. Hitnes: ‘Fox and Birds’, North Street. homes at Billingshurst and Southwater being followed by brownfield sites with the new town nearer the end of the planning period. Particular thanks to two of our Horsham town would contribute through the development of brownfield sites within members, Tony Standing and Francis By the way the existing built-up boundary such as the non-operational part of the station goods Vernon, who volunteered to distribute HORSHAM yard and associated industrial land, Searle’s Yard, Novartis and the Hurst Road some of the leaflets. SOCIETY Directory public estate. New members We have urged HDC to scrap its preferred strategy and start the process again. We The Horsham Society is a registered charity (No.268949) and is an his month we are very pleased to welcome a surge of new shall have to see if councillors have the courage to accept that it is fundamentally independent body supported by members’ subscriptions Tmembers: Mrs Hussey, Forestfield; Mr and Mrs Oliver, flawed and will never gain public support. Mill Farm Road; Mrs Scott, Lakeside; Mr and Mrs Vernon, PRESIDENT Dr Annabelle Hughes Mallow Close; Mr Gill, Gatesford Drive; Mr and Mrs VICE-PRESIDENTS Chresta, Gatesford Drive; Mr Plimmer, Bignor Close; Mrs Rt Hon Francis Maude MP, Nigel Friswell, John Steele, Roy Worskett, Sutton, Avebury Close; Mrs Budd, Byron Close; Mr Council secrecy over development proposals Mrs Peggy Gledhill MBE Greenfield, Skylark View; Mrs Bishop, Earles Meadow and planning application has been submitted for the redevelopment of a site including CHAIRMAN David Moore Mrs Young, Shepherds Way. ALifestyle Ford, the bowling club and the car park adjacent to Albion Way. The 2 HON TREASURER HON SECRETARY proposal includes a new 4,779 m store for Waitrose and three non-food units totalling Sarah Powell Rod Cuming 6,726 m 2. Recent news suggests that John Lewis at Home may take one or more of 3 White Horse Road The Sound of Music these. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Horsham RH12 4UL AODS next production will be the ever popular The Roy Bayliss Tel: 01403 268444 Whilst we welcome in principle a larger Waitrose store and a John Lewis there are Paul Fletcher [email protected] HSound of Music at The Capitol from 12 - 16th Nigel Friswell November. Tickets are available from the theatre box office, serious problems with the application. It does not comply with the Town Plan and Peggy Gledhill MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY telephone 01403 750220 or online at thecapitolhorsham.com most worrying is that at a very late stage the developer has substantially increased Michael Hall Mrs Pat Gale the non-food retail space. The result is that the proposed parking provision is wholly John Steele 46 Bedford Road Horsham RH13 5BJ inadequate and would almost certainly knock on the head the two hours free parking DISTRIBUTION ORGANISER Tel: 01403 253946 Delivering print solutions to which is essential if shoppers are to use town centre shops as well. We have objected Kathy Gleeson [email protected] companies throughout the UK to the application and you can see what we have said on the HDC website or ours. Inside The Executive Committee meets at 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of each But that is not all. HDC owns a ransom strip across the main access to the site and e reproduce an article on William month in the Manor Room behind the Causeway Barn. Members are therefore has a direct financial stake in the development. There is nothing wrong with WAlbery, champion of our welcome to attend as observers but it would be appreciated if the Secretary The Printed Word that. Previous council leaders showed considerable foresight for which we should all Museum, written in 1955. Apart from could be informed beforehand. be grateful. The problem is that we fear that despite its faults the application may be its intrinsic interest it provides an interesting reminder of the writing style SUBSCRIPTION RATES Unit 2 recommended for approval. The Council would in essence be giving itself planning Annual Membership: £10 per household Graylands Estate consent. For this reason we believe the financial position should be publicly of sixty years ago. David Moore’s Family Life Membership: £150 per household article on the Unitarians reminds us Postage is added to the above rates at £5 per annum Langhurstwood Road acknowledged. Following our FOI request HDC has confirmed there is a legal for out-of-town members Horsham agreement but refuses to disclose it. that Horsham’s Unitarian Church was West Sussex home to our first museum, and we www.horshamsociety.org All major credit cards accepted RH12 4QD We do not think this is acceptable. Secrecy breeds suspicion. That is not good for report that we have nominated today’s Newsletter correspondence should be sent to the Editor: John Steele, 01403 255650 [email protected] democracy and suggests the Council has something to hide. We have appealed and if Horsham Museum as an asset of 2 Old Denne Gardens, Horsham, RH12 1JA (Tel: 01403 272814, email: www.printedword.co.uk necessary will refer the case to the Information Commissioner. community value. [email protected]). Other communications concerning the Society should go to the Hon Secretary. The Newsletter is published monthly except August and opinions in it, whether the Editor’s or © Individual contributors 2013. No material may be reproduced, copied or stored in a retrieval system without the prior consent of the relevant contributor, which should be contributors’, are not necessarily those of the Society. sought via the Editor. OUR CONCERN IS THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE TOWN 74 Horsham Society Newsletter November 2013 Horsham Society Newsletter November 2013 79 From the committee Letters and emails Dispersal Notice Costin has taken up the issue with help Society publications Isla Blair I was a tenant of the Gaoler’s house in Carfax from 1997 to from Will Jones, HDC Arboricultural 2003 and the main original supporting wooden beam that e have become quite blasé about Officer. he committee has been reviewing our t’s surprising how much interest the article on Isla Blair in runs from the second floor to the basement was infested with Wnewspaper articles singing the Tpublications and disposing of some Ithe July Newsletter generated. Barbara Gunn (née death watch beetle. We (the then three tenants) were landed praises of Horsham as one of the best Sainsburys has agreed to lightly raise that are many years out of date. Hooper), who now lives in Downham Market, contacted Pat with quite an expensive bill to deal with the problem, thanks areas to live, with a very low crime rate. the crown to lift the branches off the Gale to let her know what she knew about Isla and her family. to a full repairing lease. We did try to argue that the death ground level, provide a low aesthetically Copies of John Bray’s excellent book of watch beetle was there long before any of us had signed the Generally this is the case so you might pleasing fence and to place some drawings are still available at £10 to When I was in Norfolk recently, I took the opportunity to leases. have been surprised to hear of a anti-personnel planting under the tree. members. There are also a few copies left visit Barbara and her husband John. I learnt a lot about Isla Carol Byrne different side to the town when the This is excellent news and we will at only £5 each of A Journey Through Blair as well as some interesting things about Barbara’s life Swindon Road, Horsham police recently issued a Dispersal watch progress with interest. Horsham’s Changes which chronicles the in Horsham.