North Horsham Parish Council has been given some wildflower seeds to sow at the parish owned Open Space at Earles Meadow as part of the West Sussex County Council Pollinator Action Plan. The plan aims to help reduce the threat to our bees and other pollinators that are vital to our crops, gardens and countryside, as well as improving awareness and increasing the number of pollinator habitats in West Sussex.

The seeds include Strong Creeping Red Fescue, Chewings Fescue, Slender Creeping Red Fescue, Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass, Browntop Bent, Clover, Oxeye Daisy, Foxglove, Corn Poppies and Corn Marigolds along with several other species.

The Earles Meadow Conservation Group has kindly offered to plant the seeds on behalf of the Council and to give the Parish Council an update as they germinate and progress. Photographs of the sowing and hopefully the final display will be submitted to West Sussex County Council to demonstrate that North Horsham parish is playing its part in this initiative.

Wild flowers are planted for all to enjoy, so please don’t pick them, instead leave them for others to enjoy and for them to play their vital part in bringing the benefits that natural pollinators have on our environment.

More details about this initiative and West Sussex County Council’s Pollinator Action Plan can be found at https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/media/12616/pollinator_action_plan.pdf

If you see incidents of anti-social behaviour or begging on trains please report it.

Southern Railway has a page on their website about reporting vandalism, fare evasion and anti-social behaviour.
https://www.southernrailway.com/help-and-support/journey-problems/eyewitness
Govia Thameslink has a similar page on their website. https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/help-and-support/journey-problems/eyewitness
Both trains have a regular service announcement explaining how to report incidents and posters displaying the telephone numbers to contact.

Guidance given by the British Transport Police is to report any issues or incidents on the train or at a railway station as soon as possible on 0800 405040 or text 61016. If someone is in danger then call 999 immediately. Those numbers can also be used to seek crime prevention advice or to make the Police aware of issues affecting your local station or your journey on the rail network.

The train companies and British Transport Police rely on people reporting incidents in order to tackle issues and enable officers to target the areas where there is the most need. The most effective action to reduce instances of anti-social behaviour or begging is to report any incident as soon as possible so that whoever witnesses it can give as much information to the train company or Police as possible. The more people report incidents and give descriptions, times, trains etc., the more likely the Police are to catch the perpetrators.

Affordable housing in North Horsham – how can we help?
The Parish Council is acutely aware of the lack of realistic, affordable housing in North Horsham and over the last few months a group of parish councillors and residents have been investigating how affordable housing could be provided through the formation of a Community Land Trust. A Community Land Trust is a legal entity in its own right and it makes its own decisions. Its’ board is usually populated by local people and it can hold an asset locked for community use in perpetuity. A Community Land Trust can buy or acquire land to build affordable houses or convert an existing building to provide affordable accommodation at rents which are realistically affordable to its community.
Please let us know if you are interested in helping to form a Community Land Trust for North Horsham.
There is more information about Community Land Trusts on the Parish Council website, or you can contact the Clerk. Responses to this request will be considered by the Parish Council and only if there is sufficient support will it move forward.