Angmering Village Life
News Archive
December 2022
Bin men will be working hard over Christmas and New Year with no change to refuse and recycling collections. That means if your normal bin day is Monday, you will still get your collections on Boxing Day and the New Year's Day Bank Holiday on 2nd January; similarly, no change to other bin and recycling days.
A serious house fire occurred last night (Friday 16 December) at Thorpe Cottage in the High Street. At 9.51pm, the Fire Service was called and eight appliances and an aerial ladder platform with their crews from both the West and East Sussex Fire and Rescue services attended the scene. Sussex Police and a paramedic also were on hand, and the area around the scene was closed to traffic.
..
A spokesman for WSF&RS said ""The fire in the roof of the property was extinguished at 1.51am. Firefighters remained at the scene overnight and we remain in attendance today to ensure the area is safe." It is understood that the occupants were unhurt as a result of the blaze.
Serious damage has been done to the property and with what appears likely to be the complete loss of the roof. It is not clear at this stage what damage has been done to the adjoining property, Ivy Cottage, especially in the chimney/roof area.
Thorpe Cottage is officially an 18thC Listed Building although, in 2006, a team from the Angmering Building Study Group, investigating the building from an archaeology and documented history angle, suggested that the building may well have originated from the earlier part of the 17thC.
Following the Planning Inspector's refusal of McCarthy Stone's June 2021 proposal for retirement apartments and a retail unit on the former Chandlers' Garage site in the village, the company has now come up with a new proposal that excludes a retail unit and, which they believe, would provide "An attractive building for the site with the design approach taking inspiration from the local vernacular".
The proposal is for (a) 40 purpose-built Retirement Living apartments to encourage independent living, with a mixture of one-and two-bedroom units available, (b) tailored shared facilities within the building, including a communal lounge and hotel style guest suite for visitors, (c) Associated landscaping and planting, including landscaped gardens, private patio areas and a roof terrace, and (d) 24 associated car parking spaces, including the provision of electric vehicle charging points and disabled bays.
They have now arranged a virtual exhibition to display their proposals to the wider community. The exhibition will be available online from Thursday 15 December 2022 until Thursday 12 January 2023, where feedback can be submitted. The virtual exhibition can be viewed at: https://mccarthystoneconsultation.co.uk/angmering/our-proposal/
McCarthy Stone hope to submit a planning application in the coming months, following a full review of the feedback it receives during this public consultation. Residents who have any further comments or require more information can contact the project team with any questions via a Freephone Information Line on 0800 298 7040, or by email at feedback@mccarthystoneconsultation.co.uk, or via the online proposal.
A spokesperson for West Sussex County Council yesterday (Tuesday 13 December) gave this update for the completion of the project:
“We are pleased to say that this £29.5million improvement scheme, which will reduce congestion and improve journey times on the A259 in Arun, will finish soon and is currently forecast to be early in the new year,”
Angmering Grange, the new residential, dementia and nursing home coming soon to the local area has sponsored the village Christmas tree. The new home on Roundstone Lane, sponsored the tree as part of the Angmering village Christmas switch-on event on 2nd December which was officiated by a local Town Crier.
Centre: Ray Arnold (General Manager of Angmering Grange)
together with Bognor Regis Town Crier (Jane Smith)
and Nikki Hamilton-Street
(Chair of Angmering Parish Council) and Kate, Natalie, Colin, David and Tracey,
members of the Angmering Grange team.
During the festive event, traders showcased their local offerings and members of the local community had the opportunity to buy Christmas gifts and share their Christmas memories and hang it on the Christmas tree. Kate Fitches, Customer Relationship Manager at Angmering Grange said: "We were delighted to be involved in this year's Christmas event and it was so lovely to see people sharing their Christmas memories and tributes on the tree. We're so grateful for the warm welcome we've received from the Angmering community so far and we're looking forward to continue working in partnership together with local charities and businesses."
Tracy Lees, Office Manager at Angmering Parish Council said: "The Parish Council are delighted to be working with Angmering Grange who have provided a beautiful centre piece for the Angmering Village this Christmas. We look forward to our ongoing relationship and working together in the coming years."
If you would like to share your Christmas memory on the tree you still can! Christmas memories and tributes can be added to the feature tree in the village until Saturday 24th December.
Oak Trees - Regarding the donation of three oak trees from ADC – the trees are now ready for collection. A discussion took place on where to plant them and it was decided that they should go south of the BMX track in Mayflower Park.
Blue Star Roundabout, Station Road/A259- An update was given on the area by the Blue Star Roundabout. The tree planting license has been granted and a 28 day consultation will now start regarding the placement of benches and planters.
Fred Rowley Award Name Board- A discussion took place which included the suggestion from Cllr. R Evans to put a QR code on the board explaining what the Fred Rowley Award was, all thought this was a very good idea. A vote was then taken and it was agreed to go with an A3 sized flat panel Perspex clear acrylic honors board.
Kissing Gate, Mayflower Park - Councillors talked through the options on the supporting paper and after discussion a decision was made to go with quote 3 which is a wooden gate as it was felt this would be more in keeping with the area. A quote will now need to be found for the ground work to be done, information will need to be brought to the December meeting. Action: Quotes to be obtained for ground work to be done prior to installation of the kissing gate.
The full Minutes can be read here
Dave and Sophie, who have owned of Meat in The Square, the butchers in the centre of the village for the last 11 years, have recently sold the business to Dean King. Dean has been working in the shop for the last month or so and has been a supplier to Meat in The Square for a number of years. Dean is also passionate about high quality, locally sourced produce, and Dave and Sophie believe he will bring boundless energy and much needed new ideas to the business.
Dave and Sophie add: "We will continue to work part time for him for the foreseeable future, and probably quite a lot up until Christmas, so you haven't seen the last of us quite yet! We wanted to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to you all, for your support, friendship and goodwill throughout the last 11 years. We look forward to seeing Meat In The Square thrive and know that with customers like you all, it will for many years to come."
Like us, I am sure villagers have appreciated the superb friendly service and quality produce Dave and Sophie have brought to the community, and will join us in thanking them and wishing them all the best for the future.
What a fabulous evening it was on Friday night in the village centre. It was buzzing with many hundreds of people and families coming along. I have been to many of these Christmas evenings over the years but this was arguably the best yet.
This year the Green was used for the first time and it became the hub of the event, joining up the shops on both sides of the Square. Previously, it has been a cold and dark area separating the activities. The mini-market also added another dimension to the evening and the choir had amplification equipment for the first time which meant we could actually hear what was being sung over the general buzz.
Not only was there great demand for the fun fair rides and sideshows, but also queues formed outside The Lamb, The Stone Room, and Big Fry for their offerings. Well done to APC for organising this year's event, and also for the delicious hot spicy non-alcoholic punch.
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
As usual, dozens of motorists ignored the road closed ahead signs obviously believing that this did not apply to them. They had to turn around and many hared off at speed down Station Road!