The Nature Recovery Award has been set up by the Sussex Wildlife Trust in partnership with the Council’s Wilder Horsham District project. The fund is available to support landowners and community groups wishing to put in place practical schemes to expand and improve networks for wildlife across the Horsham District landscape.  Applicants can apply for funding for a project of up to £5000. 

Applications should be submitted midnight on Sunday 23 May 

Read more about the Award: https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/get-involved/community-projects/wilder-horsham/nature-recovery-award

Horsham Town Community Partnership (HTCP) have planned a celebration Walk to mark the end of lockdown as is to begin at 10.00am on Saturday 11th September 2021.

The Walk will start and finish at New House Farm, in Old Crawley Road, where the owner is allowing cars to park there. The farm is very conveniently on the route of the 13-mile circular Walk around the town. HTCP will be walking the route in a clockwise direction. More details are to follow. 

It is not expected that everyone will walk the total length and to help, a free mini bus will wait at agreed points to transport walkers back to the car park.

COVID: the walk is subject to any Government advice and restrictions that may apply at the time.

The Riverside Walk is open all year round and a great many residents have been using it for their allowed exercise during lockdown. Maps and information can be seen on HTCP website: www.horsham.community/riverside-walk/

Relate North and South West Sussex continue to provide counselling for all relationships.  All counselling is currently by telephone or via Zoom. Their service supports couples, families, individuals, and young people from the age of fourteen. Relate also provides psychosexual therapy for people who might be experiencing sexual problems in their relationship.

Their counselling service is offered in the districts of Horsham and Chichester, as well as Crawley, East Grinstead, and the villages surrounding these towns.

It is nearly a year since the pandemic began and they are aware that social distancing and the necessary lockdowns have had an impact on relationships.  Job losses and living with long-term uncertainty have also impacted on well-being. They are also aware that uncertainty regarding education and employment have increased anxiety and stress amongst young people. Relate counsellors provide a supportive environment to help people through the difficulties they may be facing.

Relate offer a subsidy scheme, based on income. Please contact their Reception Team on 07423 147915 for more information.

Website: https://www.relate.org.uk/sussex

News release from West Sussex County Council – 17 March 2021

Work starts soon on major Horsham highway improvement project

As part of West Sussex County Council’s ongoing commitment to improving traffic capacity on the highway, major improvement work starts soon at the A24 Robin Hood roundabout junction in Horsham.
The project will start on 6 April, subject to factors such as severe weather. In the first stage there will be lane closures on the A24 so that street lighting and traffic signal ducts can be installed, followed by night-time closures between the Great Daux and Farthings Hill roundabouts: this is so temporary traffic management measures can be introduced.
Details on this and future stages will be available on the project page at http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/a24-robin-hood-junction . Residents and other road users can also subscribe to regular email updates by emailing robinhoodroundabout@landbuild.co.uk
A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused during the works but please bear in mind this project will lead to long-term improvements.
“We are liaising with the project team working on Legal and General’s nearby Land North of Horsham project to try to minimise the impact on traffic in the area as much as possible.”
The Robin Hood junction improvements include:
• widening the A24 northbound, from two lanes to three
• widening the A24 southbound, from two lanes to four
• widening the exit from Warnham Road on to the roundabout
• traffic signal control on the A24 approaches and on the Warnham Road, with traffic signal control on the roundabout
• provision of a signalised ‘Toucan’ crossing across the Northbound exit of the A24 (towards A24 Great Daux)
• improved footway and cycleway connection, Warnham Road to Robin Hood Lane and the Public Right of Way.
Benefits of the scheme include:
• providing increased road capacity at the junction to allow for increased traffic due to local developments and through traffic;
• the provision of traffic lights with sensors, which adjust signal timings according to queuing levels to help ease congestion – these will be on signalled approaches (not Robin Hood Lane) and will help manage flows in the peak and off-peak periods;
• new crossing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists linking Warnham Park and the Public Right of Way with Warnham Road via new Toucan crossings.
The project is scheduled to be completed in mid-Autumn 2021.

With the children spending a lot more time at home over the past year, parents may have exhausted all possible forms of entertainment and be struggling for ideas to keep them amused over the Easter holidays.

But fear not, as West Sussex Libraries has a wealth of activities planned to help children have fun (and learn) at the same time.

Over the holiday, the library service will be providing kids (and their families) with a new and exciting blend of virtual and face-to-face activities which will be available online each Tuesday and Thursday covering the following themes:

• Growing – Tuesday 6 April
• Fun with food – Thursday 8 April
• Fit & Strong – Tuesday 13 April
• Cooking and ingredients – Thursday 15 April

There are competitions and challenges based on some favourite stories about food and growing, as well as ‘science in your kitchen’ experiments to try at home.

For anyone not online, local libraries will have all the activities available bagged up and ready to collect from the door.

“Primarily, these are fun activities for all the family to enjoy – the key aim of our Library Service. But they will also help children learn more about the importance of food for their growing minds and bodies.”

UK Harvest, the Chichester based food rescue charity, will also be supporting the holiday programme.

More information on locations will be posted on the UK Harvest website www.ukharvest.org.uk or on the library social media accounts closer to the time via Facebook: www.facebook.com/WestSussexLibraries and Twitter: @WSCCLibraries.

The holiday activities are open to all whether or not you are a member, but joining the library is free for everyone.

For more information on the Easter holidays programme at West Sussex Libraries, visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/holidayactivity for more details.