UPDATES FROM THE LEADER
 Councillor Peter Williams Leader of Burgess Hill Town Council |
Peter will be using these pages to provide regular updates on projects, issues and topical matters of interest to Burgess Hill residents. He can be contacted using the details published on the ‘Town Councillors’ page. |
It’s a Cracker of a Christmas! – Leader Update 11
With Christmas just a few weeks away, Burgess Hill will be buzzing with Christmas-themed events, starting on Friday 22nd November, when members of our Youth Council will be judging the ‘Best Dressed Window Competition’. This is a great way of involving our local shops and businesses in a Christmas challenge and by the look of things, they have pulled out all the stops this year. The winner will be notified on the day and will be invited to join the Mayor, on-stage, at the ‘It’s Christmas!’ show on Saturday 23rd November.
Every year, we illuminate our town with Christmas lights and at 5pm on Saturday the Mayor, Councillor Janice Henwood, will be joined by the winners of the Mayor’s Christmas Card Competition, to press the switch that will power-up the lights.
Prior to that, there will be programme of entertainers on stage, various walkabout performers in the town centre and a rousing march through the town by Burgess Hill Marching Youth. There will also be a number of stalls in Church Walk, featuring food, craft items, local businesses and much more. The Youth Council will also be there with a stall selling planted bulbs, tree decorations and Christmas cards, all in aid of their chosen charity, the Burgess Hill Pantry.
At the same time as all this is happening, Mid Sussex District Council will have their synthetic skating rink open in the ‘Martlets Marquee’ each Saturday, Sunday, Thursday and Friday from 23rd November to 8th December. MSDC are running one-hour sessions at various times, all free of charge but you will need to book in advance. Follow this link:www.midsussex.gov.uk/about-us/press-releases-and-publications/get-your-skates-on-for-the-festive-season/
Throughout the town, in the run-up to Christmas, you will find Christmas fairs, markets and shows in every corner of our community, ranging from an Art Exhibition at St.John’s Church to fairs at Kings Weald, Cherry Tree and Cyprus Hall, to name but a few. The Town Council and Burgess Hill Community Crafters Market has jointly organised a Festive Market on Saturday 7th December in Church Walk and The Kiln, with stalls selling festive goodies, seasonal gifts, mulled wine, food and lots more. The ever-popular Rock Choir will be performing from 11.00 – 11.45am, followed by the Sussex Harmonisers at 12 noon and 1.00pm. Be assured, Burgess Hill will be dancing in the street, including Councillors!
Now, where is Father Christmas/Santa? He should be around somewhere, surely? Well, I am pleased to say he can be found in his Grotto in the former Gadget shop in the Market Place, every Saturday from 23rd November to 14th December. When he’s not there he will be scurrying (but not seen, of course!) to and from other places in town or leaving his elves to demonstrate how to make toys.
Finally, we must not forget the shows and performances that are taking place in the next few weeks: for example, Burgess Hill Symphony Orchestra at St.John’s Church on 23rd November, Burgess Hill Marching Youth Concert, also at St.John’s on 30th November, Burgess Hill Choral Society at St.Andrew’s Church on 7th December and the ‘Snow Queen’ at Cyprus Hall on 14th December.
Have a look at: www.burgesshill.gov.uk/leisure-tourism/whats-on/ or call in to the Help Point for more information on these events and many others.
I will update this ‘Update’ in a couple of weeks’ time. Meanwhile, enjoy yourselves!
Thank you, Burgess Hill – Leader Update 10
It was an absolute privilege to march, as the Town Council Leader, with the services and youth organisations in the Remembrance Parade on Sunday 10th November. As we progressed down Church Road and into Church Walk, I was humbled by the incredible number of residents that had turned out to pay tribute to the 258 Burgess Hill lives lost in conflicts over the past 110 years. Parents, grandparents and carers came to see their youngsters in uniform and pay their own respects, others came because they knew, or were relatives of, some of the names on our memorials and some just wanted to say ‘We are grateful’’. Reed more…
Brookleigh Planning Applications – Leader Update 9
In my capacity as Leader of the Town Council, I receive regular updates from Homes England on the progress of the Brookleigh development, otherwise known as the ‘Northern Arc’. The latest was received on 18th October and is in the form of a ‘Planning Update’ booklet, which I want to share with our residents. Read more…
Autumn half-term events 2024 – Leader Update 8
It has become almost a tradition for Burgess Hill Town Council to put on a range of events for the benefit of residents, in particular our young people and their parents and carers. This year is no exception and a record-breaking 50 events have been planned between April 2024 and March 2025. Most of these are free to attend, a move that has been well-received.
The Council’s Community Team are now busy finalising the activities for the forthcoming half-term week (Monday October 28th – Friday November 1st). This includes the ever-popular Halloween Trail that has engaged a large number of shops in some spooky fun! Read more …
Why ARE stores and banks closing in Burgess Hill? – Leader Update 7
In recent months and weeks, Burgess Hill has been subjected to an unprecedented number of store and bank closures or ‘closing down’ intentions, giving rise to the impression that our town has driven them away. Various reasons have been put forward; lack of footfall, no reason to come to town or ‘why hasn’t the Council done more to stop them? Read more…
Update on the Updates – Leader Update 6
There have been a few changes since this series of Leader Updates started and I propose to make
‘Updates on the Updates’ a regular feature. Hopefully, most will be good news but you never know what is round the corner. Read more...
The saga of The Old Post Office, Station Road – Leader Update 5
Since Royal Mail vacated their old and outdated post office in Station Road nearly 20 years ago, the building they left behind has had a rather chequered history.
In 2008, a planning application was received by Mid Sussex District Council to construct 14 flats plus commercial units across the whole site, which included the old sorting office building at the rear and the parking area next to it. The application was approved but no progress was made and permission lapsed in 2011.
Read more…
Market Place Shopping Centre – Leader Update 4
The building that is the Market Place Shopping Centre is approaching 35 years since construction started and it is beginning to show its age, at least in those areas that are unseen by the public. Recent events in 2024 have highlighted the problems the Centre Management face, whilst at the same time trying to keep the building open for shoppers to enjoy.
Read more…
Risk Assessments – Leader Update 3
There has recently been much misinformation about the use of risk assessments and whether they can be overridden if they are an inconvenience the public. This is an opportunity to clarify what a risk assessments are and the purpose of them.
Read more…
Network Rail’s new ‘D-poster’ site in Keymer Road – Leader Update 2
In the Spring of 2024, there was much activity by Network Rail’s contractors to clear away the old wooden poster board site, perched on the embankment near the bridge in Keymer Road, opposite the railway station. It was in a state of disrepair, with rotten timbers making it unsafe for traditional pasted posters to be affixed to the boards. Besides, this was a labour-intensive operation, time consuming and using lots of paper in the process.
Read more…
Wivelsfield Station finally has funding for long-overdue modifications – Leader Update 1
On 24th May 2024, the Department for Trasport announced that Network Rail would be receiving a total of £350 million from the abandoned HS2 northern leg funding reallocation, to be used to progress the ‘Accessible for All’ national project.
Read more…