Charity&Community News

Charity & Community news from across the counties

Dear Sussex Local. I much enjoyed your article on Sussex Cattle. My Great-Great Grandfather was also an enthusiast of this breed and had a prize winning herd at Hugget's Furnace Farm, Mayfield. Unfortunately, unlike the Leconfield herd, his was sold in 1902. There is one thing on which Kier Hartley must have misheard or been let down by his word processer. Oxen were not shod with clay shoes. I don't think they would last very long. Oxen were shod with iron shoes called 'cues'. These were like half a horseshoe but smaller, two for each foot because of the cloven hoof. Also called Queues because two together resembled this shape. Oxen were not easy to shoe and had to be thrown and restrained. P.S. Hugget's Furnace was an iron works which gave rise to the couplet, 'Old Master Hugget and his man John. They did cast the first can-on.' But that was some centuries earlier. Norman Allcorn, Findon. We contacted Keir, who replies “It was great to hear from Norman, and to learn more about this interesting breed. I was given the information about the shoes during research. But my thanks for providing this extra information which I did not have at the time of writing the article”. Editor The South Downs National Park has received a flat cash settlement from the Government of £10.486m in every year since 2019/2020 and this amount will remain the same until 24/25 –the same cash funding over a period of six years at a time of rapidly rising costs for all services. Inflation continues to erode this sum, meaning we continue to have to make cuts in delivery as well as seeking alternative funding. Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel & South Downs, has been reappointed City Minister and Economic Secretary to the Treasury in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Government reshuffle. The MP will be responsible for a wide ranging brief including regulation in the finance sector, access to cash and introducing legislation to make the UK a more competitive place to invest. West Sussex County Council reports that for the year to April 2022 its renewable energy systems generated more than 16,000 MWh of clean electricity for the grid, which is enough to power more than 5,500 average UK homes. This prevented 3,700 tonnes of CO2te being released into the atmosphere compared to generating the same amount of electricity from fossil fuels. By selling much of the electricity to the grid and making use of its batteries at Westhampnett solar farm, the County Council earned more than £2.5 million after running costs. This is helping to offset, but not completely cover, the increase in the authority’s own energy bill. West Sussex County Council are warning consumers to be wary of online scams during the busy Christmas buying period. Tips are available from www.getsafeonline.org/buyingonline Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner reports that, following the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) pledge that police officers will attend all home burglaries, Sussex Chief Constable made this commitment two years ago . Ms Bourne will be probing further into the Force's response to tackling burglary, robbery and acquisitive crime. People with Down syndrome who are 30 years old or above, and have a GP based in West Sussex, are being invited to come forward for a healthy brain assessment. During the assessment they will be asked to carry out some fun activities, like puzzles and tasks, when their memory is at its best to help identify if there are any changes as they get older. For older aged adults with a learning disability the team is offering a dementia assessment. People interested can find more information on the website: www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/service-westsussex-community-learning-disability-teams Charity 4Sight Vision Support is getting ready for Christmas with its annual Christmas Concert and Grand Draw, as well as providing its supporters with card and gift ideas. Proceeds will help the charity in its work supporting blind and sight impaired residents of all ages throughout West Sussex. Their events are in the What’s On section, and for further information and to purchase draw tickets call 01243 828555 or visit their website at www.4sight.org.uk. Community stories are printed free of charge. Please email us your stories via: info@sussexlocal.net

Council commits £550k to cost of living crisis Horsham District Council has announced a further £250,000 of funding to help residents battle the cost of living crisis. This new proposed funding is in addition to £300,000 emergency support funding which was approved by the Council in June this year. A five-point cost of living action plan was announced in October to include the following measures: • Entering a partnership agreement with Citizens

Advice to provide two new advisors to support residents through the cost of living crisis, costing approximately £160,000 over a two year fixed period. • Funding the Low Income Family Tracker for a two year period costing approximately £40,000 in total, which will help the advisors target those people who are not claiming all of the financial support that they are entitled to. • Providing an additional £25,000 one-off funding to Horsham Matters to support their foodbank provision in 2022/23. • Establishing a new corporate project to create an accessible directory of support services to better access the support that people may need. • Creating a flexible fund of £25,000 to support in year interventions identified through partnership work with community groups and voluntary sector organisations. The Council has been working with key local partners including Citizens Advice, Age UK and Horsham Matters to understand the impact of the cost of living crisis on our District’s residents and to identify how the Council can work better together to help. Leader of the Council Cllr Jonathan Chowen said: “It is our primary focus to do whatever we can within our powers to take action and ease the current financial burden for many of our local residents.” To find out if you are eligible to access additional sources of funding to help with the current cost of living crisis visit the Government website: www.gov.uk/check-benefits-financial-support

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Drop in sessions help access services A series of community drop-in sessions have been introduced across the Horsham District to help residents who are struggling and need help accessing key services to help them stay independent and healthy. The sessions bring together a range of community partners to support residents’ access to relevant benefits and hardship support and also provide money management advice. The drop-in sessions have been organised by Horsham District Council’s Community Services team in partnership with West Sussex County Council Partnerships and Communities team. The sessions started in early August and will run until at least March 2023. Horsham District Council has also been successful as part of a consortium of local authorities in securing funding from the Government’s Sustainable Warmth funding competition, to offer fully funded measures which will improve the energy efficiency of local eligible homes. This is a programme called Warmer Homes. Funding under the Warmer Homes programme is available March 2023, for the following energy efficiency measures: • Insulation • Solar PV panels • Air source heat pumps Warmer Homes funding is offered on a firstcome, first-served basis and applications should take no longer than five minutes. You can check eligibility and apply online by visiting www.warmerhomes.org.uk/programme and click ‘apply now’ or call on 0800 038 5737 (freephone). Visit the Warmer Homes website for more information: www.warmerhomes.org.uk We print community stories free of charge. Please send your stories to info@sussexlocal.net Add your events directly on www.sussexlocal.net