Update on Village Audit
The Society has held meetings with our county councillor, Sarah Osborne, our district councillor, Paul Mellor, and has had discussions with members of the parish council. It is pleasing that many of the issues raised in our Village Audit have subsequently been acknowledged or addressed by the authorities concerned. In particular East Sussex County Council, which has responsibility for most of the safety (i.e road) related issues, produced a detailed response outlining actions they were taking, which can be seen here. The paragraph numbers refer to the itemised list of issues and particularly the photographs at the end of the Village Audit document that can be found here.
Many issues remain to be addressed, particularly the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders using the Ditchling to Keymer road, but we are grateful for the efforts so far.
Beacon Road Litter Pick
Once or twice a year the opportunity arises to clear litter from the upper reaches of the Beacon Road. On Saturday, 21 October, the Sussex Nomads Cycling Club had arranged for the road to be closed for three hours from 07.30 to allow them to hold a hill climb time trial.
As some ninety cyclists set off at timed intervals to race to the top, eight volunteers from the Ditchling Society, suitably clothed in hi-viz jackets and wet-weather gear, set about clearing litter from the sides of the road. Keen cyclists can climb at quite a pace and, although not racing, can descend even faster. Both litter pickers and cyclists had received safety briefings and all went smoothly.
Bags of assorted hubcaps, drink cans, and plastic of every variety were filled and brought to the car park at the foot of the Beacon. The prize trophy was a four-metre-long scaffolding pole that required three people to rescue it. Our thanks go to the Sussex Nomads for inviting us to take advantage of the Beacon closure, and to Lewes District Council for arranging to collect the assembled litter bags the following week.
Ditchling ‘Parish Priority Statement’
The South Downs National Park Authority is reviewing parts of its Local Plan and has asked for input from local communities. You can see the SDNPA’s request and the parish council’s draft response here. You have until 18 November to make your views known using the parish council’s survey, available here. The survey is both short and anonymous.
‘Eton New Town’
By now, many of you will be aware of reports that evidence from Lewes District Council’s planning team will go before the council’s Cabinet meeting later this month stating that the East Chiltington site is ‘not deliverable or developable’. In effect, this is a recommendation that it should not be included in the new Local Plan.
A lot of people have campaigned to stop the proposed development and this is a notable achievement but, as with many issues, we cannot assume it is the end of the story.