An update from your councillors
Your Lib Dem councillors on Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) and West Sussex County Council (WSCC) have been busy again this month.
Annual council budgets: what you get for your council tax
With big rises in council tax, national insurance and energy bills this year, many households will really struggle to make ends meet. That's why Lib Dem councillors have been trying hard to persuade the Conservative MSDC and WSCC administrations to improve key services while balancing tight budgets.
Kirsty Lord led efforts at WSCC to divert much-needed resources to frontline services. The Lib Dems think the Council needs to spend more money on elderly residents and their carers, children's mental health, pothole repairs, climate change, and safe cycle and walking routes. Sadly, the Conservatives rejected our proposals.
At MSDC's budget meeting our group leader, Alison Bennett, and colleagues focused on our town centres. We tried to allocate a £100,000 town improvement fund for Burgess Hill. The deal that the Conservatives reached years ago to redevelop the Martlets shopping centre is an ongoing fiasco. Our suggestion would have used money given to MSDC by the developer. We also tried to ensure a badly-needed accessible 'Changing Places' toilet would be provided for the Orchards shopping centre in Haywards Heath. Whilst both our amendments were rejected by the Conservatives, we did secure a public commitment from the Conservatives to get a Changing Places toilet installed in Haywards Heath town centre.
You can read the local paper's article about this here.
What's happening with the District Plan and Conservative proposals for 7,000 more homes in the area?
You may remember that earlier this year our councillors succeeded in ensuring a pause to the Review of MSDC's District Plan. The Conservatives had intended to add a further 7,000 homes to its existing plan, with the bulk of them being allocated to our area. As we suggested, MSDC wrote to the government to ask for it to look again at the District's housing target numbers. We understand that MSDC has not received a reply to its letter.
Improvements to Belmont Park/London Road Recreation Ground, Hassocks
MSDC's proposed improvements to the recreation ground are very welcome indeed and long overdue. It should become a great asset for Hassocks and in particular for the residents at Saxon Mills and other residents living west of the railway line. Cllr Sue Hatton attended a February consultation event on the plans (see picture). There will be another opportunity to comment on the proposals in the near future. For more information see midsussex.gov.uk/leisure-sport/parks. Meanwhile, Cllr Alex Sparasci pushed MSDC to ensure that repairs were quickly made to the pavilion used by Jack and Jill Playgroup after Storm Eunice damaged the roof.
Ukraine
Kirsty and Alison spoke at their respective councils about Ukraine and our country's response to the refugee crisis. It is clear that the government needs to do more to help desperate people fleeing the war. Kirsty and colleagues at the County Council have asked if there are any contracts with Russian-owned companies and any Russian pension fund assets and, if so, whether they are being reviewed.
If you'd like to donate money but are uncertain where to direct it to, DEC has a Ukraine appeal with funds going to humanitarian relief. The government is matching funds up to £20m: https://www.dec.org.uk/ Or you can donate directly to the Red Cross: https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal or Age International https://www.ageinternational.org.uk/donation/ukraine-appeal/
who already had teams on the ground in Ukraine.
You can watch Alison's council statement on Facebook here.
Thank you
Please get in touch if you have any questions, or would like to get involved locally with the Liberal Democrats - you would be most welcome!