Goring News
Archive Jan/May 2001

Two successes for Police
Daniel Lewis, 21 of Feltham, Bognor Regis, formally of Durrington, appeared with his wife Emma at Wood Green Crown Court in North London. He has been found guilty of robbing Alldays in Goring and two old-peoples homes.
Andrew Carruthers, 22 of Chatham Road Worthing was charged with robberies at six places round Worthing. They may be able to prove more offenses. He will appear at Chichester Crown Court on 7 June.
There were 24 serious offences in this area including 6 murders in the last year, though in Highdown District which includes Goring, burglery and vehicle crime are both down.
(Worthing Herald)

Women Workers outnumber the Men
According to the Trades Union GMB there are 22,400 female workers (58%) in Worthing West constituency compared to 16,300 males. This is the second highest proportion in the towns listed. East Worthing constituency still has a larger numbner of male workers.
(Worthing Herald 31 May 01)

800 Runners in Worthing Fun Run
Over 800 people of all ages and athletic ability took part in the St Barnabas Fun Run from Spalsh Point to George V Avenue. We are proud of you all!
(Worthing Advertiser 30 May 01)

New Goring Groups and Society Page
People send us quite long essays on their local groups and socities; too long for the news section but important to their members and friends. These are now on a separate page.
If your group has a website page, then we will also put it there as a more permanent record. The stories are put up just as received without edit or comment.

Project Genie starts soon
Graffiti-busters are failing to keep pace with the explosion of wall-scrawling in Worthing. Worthing Borough Council spends more than £120,000 a year combating vandalism, with about £32,000 spent on graffiti. Project Genie is the code name for a zero-tolerance crack-down on graffiti and vandalism. Goring, Durrington, and Maybridge areas have a very bad reputation at the moment. The scheme includes the rapid removal of offensive graffiti, increased surveillance, and the provision of a youth shelter where young people can meet.

Greening of the Borough starts
Ambitious plans to make Worthing even more pleasant are put forward by Tim Dice, former leader of Worthing Council. Tree cover to increase from 25% to 32%, urban villages to foster local distinctiveness, town gateways, palm trees and more planting along the sea front. Sounds good to us.
(Argus in Worthing 15 May 01)

New Mayor takes office
Mayor of Worthing, Mrs Valerie Sutton, officially took office at a Mayor's Civic Service at Durrington on Sunday 20 May. She was accompanied by her consort, Alderman Stan Moore, a former mayor of Worthing.
(West Sussex Gazette 24 May 01)

Car on the Beach
It was low tide, and way out on the beach off the Yacht Club, was this car, police in attendance, bag of miscellaneous loot abandoned on the foreshore. It disappeared before the next high tide. Anyone know any details?
(12 May 01)

Concern at Yacht Club Toilets
Many people have complained about the 'cottaging' by men at the toilets near Worthing Yacht Club. This is an area with many children around but the police seem to be having difficulty dealing with the problem.
(14 May 01)

Doctor Crisis Grows
Several doctors took a day off from seeing all non-urgent patients last week - to catch up on their paperwork. And several practices have stopped taking new patients. Yes if you are dying or bleeding you get attention immediately, but the waiting lists for routine stuff are not at all amusing.

Trees trimmed in Ilex Avenue
WBC Parks Department are trimming about 20% from the tops of trees in the Ilex Avenue near Goring Hall Hospital. Good. WSCC Highways are not so organised. We asked for some minor surgery for Sea Lane, Goring but we now hear we are in the three-year inspection plan and we will just have to wait for the County Tree Officer to get round to us. They talk about the Greening of Goring, but apparently Highways cannot even look after the trees we do have.

Fast Food at FADS?
Rumour has it that McDonalds have made a bid for the FADS premises at Aldsworth Avenue for a drive-up hamburger bar. FADS seem to have been moving away from painting and decorating supplies for some time. Watch this space.

Plane lands on the beach
A plane suffered engine trouble and landed on the beach at Lancing on Bank Holiday Monday. This is the second Shoreham based aircraft down in a month, the first one removed the roof of a house. Neither caused injuries but it is certainly exciting for the locals
(Worthing Herald 10 May 01)

Worthing top for Profits
Worthing has retained its crown as the most profitable town in Britain, a survey claims today. The resort keeps its status for a third year despite suffering a poor tourist season last summer and major job losses at the Daewoo plant at Lyons Farm. The average profit margin of companies in the town fell from 25.74 per cent to 22.29 per cent, but both figures are way ahead of the national average.
(Argus 30 April 01)

GOVIA announce plans for better railways
GOVIA, the new franchiser for our South Central trains has announced plans through to 2006 for improved carriages, longer platforms to 12 coach length, and faster services. Nothing much before May 2002 but they are at least trying.

Beach Hut Insurance
Now you have paid your annual ground rent for the beach hut, how are you off for insurance? My broker has given me a good deal. I have given thius name to a dozen people now, they ouight to pay me commission: Towry Law Insurance Brokers, Towry Law House, 55 St Paul's Street, Leeds LS1 2TE - Tel: 0113-244-5911

Alien Big Cats in Sussex
Sussex is a top place for sightings of strange feline shaddows in the undergrowth or oversized moggies dashing across the road. 45 sightings have been reported in the last three years. ABCs are said to be leopard sized, black or brown, with long tails. If you see one please let us know.
(Argus 19 Apr 01)

Travellers were here over Easter
15 caravans parked in the Goring Gap from Tuesday morning 10 April, to Wednesday afternoon 18 April, despite the locked gates. It is not clear how they got in. Or when they will be back. We note that the padlock on the gate is getting bigger with each encursion!

Sea Alert at East Worthing
Two lifeboats, the coastguard helicopter, all searching the sea of Broadlands Park, when a canoe was seen floating with no one aboard. Eventually the owner came back having left it on the beach, and forgetting the rising tide.

WSCC Highway Fault Reports
http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ now has a stack of quick forms so you can tell them about problems with street lights, potholes, bollards, signs, paving, overhanging trees, fly tipping or other such problems on the counties 2000 miles of road.
(West Sussex Gazette 19 April 01)

May breaking out any day now
The ground is slowing drying out, and your favourite walk is now passable. The daffodils are the best they have been for years. The cricket pitches have been cut and rolled. At sea the calamari (baby octopuses) are back so Fred the Fisherman will be catching them and shipping them off to Spain for the next two months.
Not so good is that you now have to pay for the Alinora carpark, and horses are banned on the beach between 10 and 6. Also dogs on leads please between the yacht club and the jet ski ramp. (1 May 01)

Cabinet For Worthing
Worthing has moved a step closer to being run by a council leader with a six-strong cabinet. Six cabinet members would each be responsible for the environment, leisure and culture, economic development and marketing, resources, housing and planning and community development. The leader would be appointed by the full council of 36 members, who would also decide for what period the appointment would be.
(Worthing Herald 5 April 01)

Lifeboats and Coastguards kept busy
West Sussex Lifeboats were launched 121 times during 2000 and 12 people were rescued when their lives were in danger. Brighton saw 73 launches, 60% for boat engine failure. The numbers of lives lost off the UK has fallen dramatically, not least because faster lifeboats and helecopters can reach the problems before they become life-critical. A total of 6326 people were rescued, and a lifeboat was launched every 70 minutes
Solent Coastguards who look after our patch had a record year in 2000. 1298 incidents, 2261 people rescued or assisted, 210 missions by the helicopter, 465 launches of the Littlehampton inshore Blue Peter I. Lives lost down from 31 to 19 last year. The Coastguard is at http://www.mcga.gov.uk/
RNLI is at http://www.rnli.org.uk

April 1st Fun Run Results
211 runners and walkers completed the nearly-a-mile Splash Point to George V Avenue Fun Run on April 1st. The fastest was Louis Taub from Brighton in 5mins 16secs. The slower competitors took rather longer. Full results on http://www.goringroadrunners.co.uk

Ferring Fishing Competition
Sunday 8 April was a superb morning and over 20 fishermen arrived on Goring and Ferring beaches three hours before the tide to take part in the seasons first fishing competition. There was a lot of jest and hilarity at the sight of all these grown men 100 yards from the water's edge practicing their casts. Who won? We do not know. By the time they came to weigh in it was raining again, and we were indoors watching the National mudbath.

Hundreds fail to see Titanic
Many families drove for miles down to the Sussex coast to see the Full Sized Replica of the Titanic sail from Southampton to Beachy Head and then across to France. This was widely promoted on SouthernFM. Unfortunately it was a damp, dark, and drizzly day. No one saw anything. The general opinion was that the ship had sunk before it reached Goring. And apparently they did not check their calendars either.
(SouthernFM 1st April 01)

Letters go missing
If you haven't received important letters recently in this area, maybe they have been stolen. Six postal employees have just been arrested for this.
(30 Mar 01)

Newhaven to Dieppe Sea Cat restarts
The big Sea Cat carrying 700 passengers and 145 cars goes from Newhaven to Dieppe (and back!). It runs daily during the Summer and starts business today.
(30 March 01)

1000 runners in the Goring Gap
A very cold Mothering Sunday, but this did not stop 1000 runners doing their 20 miles along the roads of Goring, starting and finishing at the Goring Gap. We do not know who won, but we think they are all heros to have taken part.
(26 Mar 01)

Bulldozers on the Beach
Bulldozers have been clearing the boat ramps on the seafront ready for the yachts and jet-skis. The shingle has been placed along the top of the sea wall to stop people falling off the steep edge to the path.
(27 Mar 01)

Chatsmore School Basement Flooded
Torrential rain caused flooding in the Basement at Chatsmore School in Goring. Fire engines spent an hour pumping them out. You will note that this area is low lying and they are threatening to build 440 houses in this area. Will they get flooded too?
(Argus 21 Mar 01)

Graham Forshaw to retire
Graham Forshaw will not be standing for re-election in May as our WSCC Goring district councillor. We may not always agree with Graham but there is no doubt his contribution has been tremendous and he will be greatly missed. Our thanks to Graham for all his excellent work.
(West Sussex Gazette 15 Mar 01)

Warnes Hotel plan agreed
Plans to pull down the rest of the old Warnes Hotel and build 72 flats have been agreed. Pity the hotel, converted from houses in 1889 could not be rebuilt after the 1987 fire. In its time guests have included Haile Solassie, George V, Edward VII, Winston Churchill, Generals Montgomery and Eisenhower. The hotel was the original birthplace and headquarters of the Royal Automobile Association.
(Argus 13 Mar 01)

Worthing wins Seaside Award
West Sussex beaches are among the best in the country. Worthing got grade 'A' against 29 criteria and will continue to fly the prestigious yellow and blue flag.
(West Sussex Gazette 15 Mar 01)

MORI poll says Satisfaction
89% of local residents say they are satisfied with living in West Sussex. They are satisfied with schools, libraries and adult education in Worthing. But pavements, busy roads and youth services need improvement. Residents say a clean environment is important to them

Angela Rippon makes tidy challenge
Angela Rippon made a personal challenge to residents of Worthing to help keep the place litter free. If you see litter, pick it up. If you have litter, bin it. If you have some time ring the hotline 0800-783-7838 for a litter kit and keep a personal bit of Worthing beautiful.
(Worthing Advertiser 14 Mar 01)

Two senior persons in fight at Marks
Its not often we get a standup, knockdown, rollabout fight in Worthing but to have two mature ladies fighting in Montague Street outside Marks and Sparks was unusual to say the least. We do not know who won.

Foot and Mouth closes Sussex
See also http://www.co-ordination.gov.uk/
Tourism bosses fear the foot-and-mouth crisis could devastate holiday trade in West Sussex. Many outdoor visitor attractions are already closed and it could be weeks before they re-open. One of Sussex's biggest outdoor attractions, the Weald and Downland Museum, Singleton, has no idea when it will be able to reopen.
Public footpaths over farmland have been closed and the South Downs Way national trail is out-of-bounds. People in Worthing wanting to walk on the Downs are faced with signs saying No Entry and relatives may be banned from funerals at Worthing Crematorium if the crisis deepens further.
So far there have been no reported outbreaks in Sussex, but farmers were alarmed by an incidence of foot-and-mouth in Kent.
Fred Cubbage, managing director of the South East Tourist Board, said: "My concern is for the viability of those small hotels and B and Bs if this continues, and for the visitor attractions."
(This is Worthing/Argus 13 Mar 01)

More coastal erosion
Department of Environment, from their office in Worthing, are going to spend £1.3million protecting their backyard. Rocks brought by barge from Larvic in Norway, shingle dredged from the sea, protecting the stretch from Brooklands Park to the lake behind the beach at Lancing. Quite a big project, but needs to be done; the A259 gets blocked by shingle every time there is a gale.
Further East at Birling Gap, the sea will be allowed to do its worst, and the hotel and cottages on the cliffs will eventually be washed away.

No Ball Games?
Apparently some neighbours have complained about ball games on some of the green places in Goring. WBC are pondering whether to put up No Ball Game signs.
(Spirit Radio 5 Mar 01)

Marriott Hall Nursery School gets good report
Ofsted reports well of Marriott Hall Nursery School
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/519/519532.htm

George V flats now occupied
The two art-deco blocks of flats at the north end of George V Avenue, Goring, have now been refurbished and 65 people who were in bread-and-breakfast accommodation now have proper homes. The scheme is managed by the Chichester Diocesan Housing Association.
(Worthing Guardian 2 Mar 01)

Half Price on the Buses
We think that everyone should use the buses more. Including me. And pensioners and the disabled will soon be able to travel half price if you pay £9 per year. Just get on the bus and give the driver £9 plus half the normal fare.

Connex moving to Govia
Govia will take over railway train operation in this area from Connex, the date not yet announced. They promise new trains, more and better services, improvements in the infrastructure and raising standards, and incentives in the fares.
The trains will be a different colour, they will have new uniforms, otherwise probably business as usual.
In the meantime Connex report: additional staff at Goring station which will now have a ticket office 06.30 until 19.00; crime is down due to more security staff; more seats at Durrington and West Worthing, and they ask you please to ring British Transport Police 0800-40-50-60 immediately if you see vandals at work.
Details of the service improvements from May 2002 are on http://www.go-ahead.com/rail/SCRbid.html

19 Robberies since Christmas
Lastest: A man and a woman have been arrested.
There have been 19 Robberies in Worthing since Christmas, 18 of the armed. Most recently at Mace at Aldsworth Avenue. Two good security camera sequences were shown on Crimewatch on Wednesday and they have had nine telephone calls as a result of this. There seem to be two suspects:
One is white, in his late teens or early 20s, 5ft 6in to 5ft 10in tall and slim with a prominent nose. He often wears a casual leisure top with a hood and a Burberry type scarf.
The other was white, in his early 20s, about 6ft tall and wore beige trousers, Reebok trainers, a black hooded top and a cream scarf.
Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999.

 
Snow on the Beach
Sunday 25 February 2001.

A triumph of technology:
This photo was taken by Peter Hall at 7am with his digital camera, sent to the websmaster here by Email, and up on the website by 7.30. We were quite proud!

 
New Cardinal appointed
One of 43 churchmen from round the world, the Archbishop of Westminster, who was previously Bishop of Arundel and Brighton has been apponted His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, at ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican. This is the first such UK appointment in 25 years.
(The Argus 22 Feb 01)

RM Commando from Goring
An ex Royal Marine Commando, now a Goring resident, who was one of the first ashore on D-Day 1944 spoke of his experiences on the beaches when his team captured a German cash centre - then gave it all away to the locals because they had completed their assignment and expected to come straight home. But in the end they stayed another 3 months on meagre army pay!
This unexpected contribution came at the end of an excellent slideshow to the Goring Residents Association by Alan Readman, archivist from the County Record Office at Chichester talking about the role of Sussex in the run-up to D-Day. He talked of the thousands of troops billeted locally, the building of the Mulberry Harbour in local ports, and the rehearsals and training on Sussex beaches and the Downs.

Andrew Garrett at GRA
Andrew Garrett, one of the three WBC councillors for Castle ward, gave a very clear presentation of the way that councils work to the Goring Residents Association on Thursday 15 February. Currently there are six committees, and about six full council meetings a year. Any decision takes a long time. In order to speed up decisions and make the whole thing more efficient, government guidelines for the future give three options. The council have decided to recommend a leader elected by the council and a cabinet of between 2 and 6 members.
The other two options call for a Mayor elected by the population with either a chief officer or a cabinet as above.
Andrew is collecting signatures to require a referendum so that the population will decide which option. Andrew has the forms. Contact him on 01903-692941

Clearance work in Eirene Road
The wooden hut Bicycle/Surf Shop in Eirene Road near the Yacht Club has been dismantled and taken away. Nothing is planned for this site - there are some existing houses, and the land is owned by WBC. Balloos now stands four-square in an open space and is not under threat.
The land could be sold for housing. Or some members of the council would like a leisure centre here with emphasis on the sea and surfing. We feel this would be expensive to build even with outside grants, and certainly expensive to run.
Nothing will be done until some work has been done on the sea wall, and compared with other parts of Sussex, this one surely cannot have a very high priority.

Ellen MacArthur and Worthing
Congratulations from us for a great sailing achievement.
It seems to have escaped comment that Sablon where Ellen landed is Worthing's twin town in the the Olonnes area, France. The website is http://www.ot-lessablesdolonne.fr With French and English versions.

The Real Goring Men
12 Goring men and true, all overweight, some balding, are producing a calendar for 2002, following the style of the popular WI one for the current year. Its all in aid of the Chestnut Tree House Appeal. Business sponsors please step forward. - 01903-244379

Sarah Payne Search Volunteers
A large number of local people turned out to help look for Sarah Payne. Now volunteers have been asked to register their interest to help in such emergencies. 80 people have signed up and received a full briefing at Littlehampton. Since then they have seen called out twice to look for missing persons, most recently for a missing elderly lady when 40 volunteers were organised to search the shore line. Regrettably without success this time.

Police Beat Officers for Goring
The Beat Officer for Goring (Beat 10) is PC Tony Barnes, and for Castle (Beat 11) is PC Tony Taylor. Contact for non emergency calls is 0845-60-70-999
If you want more details or to discuss any other police matter, there is a Public Meeting of the Sussex Police Authority, at the Gordon Room, Worthing Town Hall on Wednesday 7 March at 7.30pm

Dolphins seen off the beach
Well not actually at Goring at all last year as it was too rough, but in 1999 there were 15 sightings of Bottlenose Dolphins and 3 of Humpback Whales. Dolphins have been seen already this year off Dorset, so keep your eyes pealed any time from now on until September, usually 50-200 yards out from the beach. More details from Whale Watch 01273-424339 http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk
Not so good is that Monday 11 Feb, 2 200lb dolphins were caught in fishing nets and washed up on the beach at Shoreham. These things happen but it is a shame.

Farmers Market in Worthing
Starting on Easter Saturday 14 Sat from 9-2pm there will be a Farmers Market in Montague Square, Worthing and from then on every other week
This is in addition to the WI Markets which are held in Ferring and in Durrington. Please support all these events

Goring website popularity grows
The number of visitors continues to grow. We are getting a steady 900 visitors a week, and taking account of the many people who come back several times during the month, the number of unique visitors for January was 3024. They looked at 7922 pages

Worthing Webcam enhanced
The webcam view of the beach just near the Yacht Club, link on our Homepage, now has a longer video sequence, and a lot more weather facts and figures. Try it!

560 Seafront Fun-Runners
Over 560 runners and walkers, some experienced, some just here for the fresh air, some with dogs, some with prams. 473 made the 4-mile round-trip. Started at Splash Point in Worthing, west along the front to be checked in at Alinora Crescent in Goring. More than £1500 was collected for the Chestnut Tree House Appeal.

Worthing Sea Front facelift
But it might take 5 years to do a long list of good things to give Worthing seafront a new look. You name it, its in the plan. There will be public consultation later this month.

Maybridge Multi-sport Mess-up
Maybridge Keystone Club has been plagued by vandals and needs something done urgently. £50,000 has been allocated by WBC and a bid for lottery money has been submitted. The total amount to do a good job is about £500,000 for a multi-sport venue. But nothing is likely to happen until 2002/3.
(Worthing Herald 1 Feb 01)

Triple Whammy for Fishers
In 1987, 93 men and 17 boys were employed fishing at Worthing. Now it is less than 10. Bigger boats mean fishing is no longer from the beach and is at Littlehampton, Shoreham, or Newhaven. Now Littlehampton are trying to up-market the quay area and are pushing the boats away. And in all three towns, EU Quotas, high-priced (red) diesel fuel, and stormy weather have made their lot an unhappy one.
What is silly is that if they find fish in their nets which are not allowed by their quotas they have to be thrown back, and by that time most of them are dead anyway.
40 boats work out of Shoreham with the Kingsmere submerged rocks off Goring a popular fishing ground. There is cod, plaice, dover sole, lemon sole, and scallops. Because of the storms there are very few squid and red mullet.
(Argus Worthing Supplement Jan 2001)

New Seminars for Business
A range of important seminars for business have been organised by The Enterprise Centre in Worthing, and Northbrook College.
Details: http://www.enterprise-centre.co.uk/
The Enterprise Centre are the people to contact if you are starting up in business, and much of the advice is available free, paid for by government schemes.

Archaeologist to get Degree
Goring archaeologist Con Ainsworth who is Vice-President of the Worthing Archaeology Society will receive an Honorary Degree from the University of Sussex.
(Worthing Herald 18 Jan 01)

360 hurt on the ice
Icy days 28 and 29 December where a sharp frost followed heavy rain showed many vehicle accidents, but more serious, 360 injuries receiving attention at Worthing A&E which was a record. Over the 11 day Christmas period there were 1600 people coming into A&E and 561 emergency admissions. This is about normal for the period. New Year (when it rained!) saw a smaller number at 120 A&E patients.
(Worthing Herald 11 Jan 01)

Worthing Hospitals OK in new Guide
The Sunday Times supplement on hospitals reveals that Worthing and Southlands Hospital Trust is 8th in the SouthEast list of UK hospitals. A record spoilt by long waiting lists, and poor patient satisfaction.
Royal West Sussex Hospital at Chichester has been ranked fourth in in England in one of the tables. Well done Chichester.
(Sunday Times 14 Jan 01)

http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/hospitalguide/ gives the following information about Worthing and Southlands Hospital Trust:

Analysis Some of the longest waiting times in England: in the bottom 10 of 174 English trusts for inpatients and just outside that for outpatients. This may be partly explained by the high local elderly population. Worthing meets the government requirement to ensure all urgent breast cancer referrals see a specialist within a fortnight and its overall mortality rate is 6% lower than expected. Staffing levels for both doctors and nurses are lower than average and the trust performed poorly in a 1999 survey when a quarter of heart patients said they did not trust all their doctors. Only nine trusts recorded lower levels of confidence.

Straw to go soft on travellers
Police have been told to 'go soft' on travellers and gipsies who set up illegal camps.
(Daily Mail 13 Jan 01)

Beach Hut 194 torched
Fire at 3am (Tuesday 9 Jan) destroyed beach hut 194, badly damaged 195, and scorched 192 and 196. An added problem was caused by two gas cylinders, one of which exploded. The cause of the fire is not known but seems suspicious. We hope we don't get too much of this; we have enough problems with this winter's storm damage.
(SouthernFM 9 Jan 01)

Eclipse of the Moon
8pm Tuesday 9 January saw the total eclipse of the moon, hazily visible in this area. The moon duly went a rich peach colour. The dogs that are loopy were be loopier. Any accidents were blamed on the moon. And the forecast gales were not as bad as expected.
The Worthing Astronomical Society with its observatory in Goring is on: http://www.was.org.uk

John Cooper dies
John Cooper who lived at East Preston died on Christmas Eve. Once motor racing driver, then designer, most notably for the Mini Cooper, which he still sold at his garage in East Preston. His other garage at Ferring is the local Honda agent.

Arise Sir Patrick
Patrick Moore was knighted in the New Year Honours List - a well deserved reward for out favourite Selsey star gazer. He has recently been working on a new planatarium in Winchester to be opened in about a years time.

Other Sussex honours included Paul Schofield (actor - Hurstpierpoint), Ted Dexter (Cricket - Horsham), Spike Milligan (Humour - Rye), James Braithwaite (Sussex Enterprise et al - Rustington), Peter Midgeley (Floods - Rustington), Jamie Lee Judson (Dogs - East Preston).

Local notes
Dog walkers will have noticed that Farmer Langmede has sown winter wheat in most of the fields of the southern part of the Goring Gap. He meant to sow it all during September but it rained, so only part got done, and we fear some of what was sown will have rotted in the floods. Yield will be way down, probably only 2.5 tons per acre instead of the usual 4 tons.

Arun council have trimmed the tamarisk bushes along Patterson's Walk, much overdue, now looks a little bare but tidy.

Young Persons of the Year
Sixteen year olds Karen Barnes and Carley Barrett who attend the Worthing Sixth Form College in Goring, have won the SouthernFM Young Persons of the Year award for raising £22,000 towards a medical centre in Kenya
(Worthing Guardian 15 Dec 00)

Blooming prize for Palatine
A weather vane is the prize for award-winning grounds at Palatine School. The special needs school gained the Young Gardeners Award in the South East in Bloom competition against 100 schools across Sussex, Surrey and Kent.
The grounds include a Millenium garden with circular lawns, rose bower, borders and vegetables. This year will add a pond and conservation area.
Our congratulations to all who contributed.
(Worthing Herald 14 Dec 00)

Lizzie Pidgeon for 2004 Paralympics
More awards for Palatine School. Lizzie Pidgeon (13) has been awarded swimming sponsorship by Worthing Lions for the 2004 Paralympics. The £500 award will help pay for training sessions, and for attending meetings and competitions.
(Worthing Herald 14 Dec 00)

Two new threats to the Goring Gap
Prowtings wish to develop offices and 440 houses on the land north of the railway line between Goring and Ferring up to the A259 , commonly known as the cabbage patch.
Once again the preservation of the Goring Gap is under threat. The public inquiry into the structure plan of Worthing and District has been going on for the last two months. This is not the first time this area has been threatened. Arguments have been put forward previously that this particular area does not contribute to the strategic gap which is supposed to give un-restricted views from the Downs to the sea. They argue that the 1950's Goring Way development between Goring and Ferring already spoils this view.
We residents know however, that while Goring Way is a significant development it is well shielded by trees, and there are several open spaces.
Further development will make a significant increase in traffic, and although promises have been made to improve the road access from all directions, users of the A259 will be only too aware of the huge volume of traffic at peak hours.

Goring Hall Hospital is also seeking to extend, for a new hospital block with 75 bedrooms and additional car parks. While we support the provision of additional health facilities in this area, this will mean further encroachment on our open land.

West Durrington is threatened with 1200 houses and the residents there are also protesting.

The Planning Inspector will report in August 01, and the WBC council can then accept it, or reject any or all of it. Planning permission can then be requested.
(Worthing Herald 14 Dec 00)