Goring News Archive
July/Sept 2001

Walking for Cancer Care
The Marie Curie Cancer Care sponsored walk from Sea Lane Cafe in Goring to Worthing pier on Sunday attracted 25 walkers. Mayor Valerie Sutton was on hand to see them off. In the stiff breeze a number of the bright blue balloons were seen disappearing out to sea.

For a cleaner beach
The Worthing Adopt a Beach project was at work starting at 3pm Sunday. Volunteer members of the Worthing Environment Forum picked up litter from a 200 metre width stretch of beach near the Sea Lane Cafe, and then brought it to the foreshore for listing and analysis: where it came from, whether it would bio-degrade, whether it could have been prevented. Two and half sacks of stuff was collected, the only excitement was the find of two spent cartridge cases. The list will be sent to a national centre and some conclusions will be forthcoming in due course.

Webcam for a fee
The link on the homepage to the Webcam on the Goring sea front works fine, but you now have to sign on and pay a small fee - five pence per day, or £18.50/year. They have enhanced the service with weather forecasts and tide tables to provide a complete marine weather information service. They have a stand No. A49 at the Southampton Boat Show 14-23 September. They have been getting 30,000 unique visitors a month to the UK-wide site.
Go to the Webcam

Cataract Surgery Information
see the Diary 9 October section of the details.

Vegitated Shingle Project
Attractive plants grow in the shingle on the beach at Goring. They are being damaged by trampling, tipping of garden waste, beach fires and dog fouling. Please don't!
http://www.pebbledash.org.uk

Widewater Lagoon, Lancing
MP Tim Laughton will open a new lagoon observatory next Tuesday 18 September.
(West Sussex Gazette 13 Sept 01)

Bikers rally in Brighton
Between 10,000 and 15,000 riders from all over the world took part in the event in Madeira Drive on Sunday, Brighton to commemorate the Ace Cafe on the North Circular Road in London. If you were travelling on any of the main roads you will have seen them in very great numbers
(Argus 10 Sept)

Surveyors working in the Goring Gap
Surveyors have been retained by WBC to check the levels of the land in the Goring Gap with a view to improving the drainage. The Council states that the threat was chiefly to gardens along Aldsworth Avenue. In view of the clay soil which does not let the water penetrate, and severe flooding from surface water in the whole of this area last winter it will be interesting to see what they will do about it.

No more Chips in the Goring Gap
Arun council have banned street trading in their part of the Goring Gap. This is chiefly aimed at the fish and chip van that has been setting out chairs and tables on the greensward. The complaint was mostly for the fumes and litter.
(Worthing Herald 6 Sept 01)

Graffiti Cleanup success
The one-day cleanup in Durrington and Maybridge attracted 50 volunteers, armed with paint brishes and materials donated by local businesses. Can we keep up the good work please. As they stated at the time, the best defence against graffiti is to get it cleaned up immediately.
(Worthing Herald 6 Sept 01)

LibDems suggest Goring ward changes
The Local Government Commission have suggested that Durrington ward should be divided into two, and a minor extension made to the northeast corner of Castle ward (Maybridge). The LibDems have submitted counter proposals extending Goring ward east to Wallace Avenue, and then dividing the ward into two, south of Goring Road to be Goring-by-Sea and north of the road to the railway line to be called Goring North. The discussion will continue with a decision in July 2002.

Smart new seats now installed
We have new seats along the Ilex, and the seats in the shelter on the sea front at the Plantation have been replaced, and firmly bolted down this time. WBC are doing a good job here.

Help stamp out Fly Tipping
West Sussex Gazette is conducting a battle against Fly Tipping. We support this strongly. We get a lot of this on the roads in the Goring Gap. Other parts of the village have also suffered. If you see anyone dumping their sacks of garden rubbish, old tyres, armchairs or whatever, get the number of their vehicle and tell the police on 0845-60 70 999 though they do not guarantee immediate action. You can ring a Worthing Environmental Services confidential telephone number 01903-210700 and if it is on the highway they will come and clean it up. Abandoned cars are worth reporting to the same number. If there is a substantial amount or it is noxious material ring the Environment Agency immediately on 01903-215835.
And if you feel stongly enough, go and shout at them yourself - as well as recording their registration number.

People do steal from parked cars
The van was only parked in Sea Lane Goring for a few minutes while the owner discussed a small building job in the back garden. Unfortunately the van was not locked. And unfortunately the owners brief case was on the front seat. A thief took it, removed the credit cards and cheque books, and dumped the case round the corner. How come no one saw him take it in broad daylight?
Be warned; the next case pinched could be yours.

Unpublished writers welcome
If you have written something but have difficulty getting it into print, then our sister website http://www.ferringvillage.co.uk has a feature which may be able to help you.

A good day to be English Its September 1st, the official first day of Autumn, the day the English beat Germany at Munich, And by the way, the day all the best people have their new cars with GU51 numberplates. G for Garden of England, U is one of the West Sussex letters, 5 for the second half of the year and 1 for 2001. The last three letters you may be able to choose. By chance the 51 is also a very good football score number!

Bank Holiday Detritus
We are used to having a bit of litter after a sunny summer day, and are always gratified that 98% of visitors clear up after their picnics. But things left over have included beach shoes, trainers, socks, t-shirts, half-drunk cans of beer, and on a good day deck chairs. But a children's play-tent is unusual. We gather that it was blown by the wind along the beach and ended up wedged against a pole in the Goring Gap. If the owner would like it back please contact the Webmaster.

Wildlife thrive in Goring
The contractor lopping the trees in Sea Lane, Goring had to leave one tree un-touched because an owl had nested there. The voles in the River Riffe are protected; they only cut the grass on one bank at a time so the voles have time to move their nests. And last but not least, we estimate that there are now about 50 foxes spread among various gardens in the parish. They have even tried to dig a new hole in the central reservation of Sea Lane. A letter in the Worthing Guardian (14 Sept) suggests that some of the foxes are pitifully thin and are digging for worms and beatles, and there are not many of those because the topsoil is so dry.

 
Bank Holiday Saturday August 25th
The beach was the only place to be this afternoon. With the temperature showing 35C, the boats were out, the beach was crowded and the water was very tempting.

 
Worthing A&E seem to be coping
Amid tales of woe from the Nations hospitals, a brief visit to Worthing Hospital showed that they are coping surprisingly well. Patients are seen by the nurse well within the 45 minute deadline. There was no queue at the time I called. And past patients tell me that they have been well served.

Two vehicles torched
A van parked next to Northbrook College was set on fire at 9.30pm Monday evening, threatening the fabric of the building. And a car was attacked in Palatine Road soon after. Not good.
(Argus 28 August)

Goodbye Connex, Hello Govia
Govia take over the operation of our local railways at 2am Sunday 26 August. They paid £2million for the privilage of getting the franchise two years earlier than the deadline, and plan to spend £300million on new rolling stock. Shall you see an immediate change? No, it is business as usual. But longterm improvements are possible, or even probable.
http://www.southcentraltrains.co.uk
(Argus 25 August 01)

Cops on bike patrol
For years the police have been seen in shiny yellow/green patrol cars. We have all wanted to see actual human policemen on the beat. Now West Sussex has four bobbies on bicycles as an experiment. These are high-tech bikes with CCTV, flashing blue lights and sirens. First indications are that they will work well. Please let us know if you see one in Goring.
(Argus 25 August 01)

Paul Holden is Mr Worthing
Paul Holden who lives in Goring has been named Mr Worthing for his work in putting together the Argus Worthing Supplement published about the 18th or each month since January 2000. Our congratulations to Paul; an excellent paper.
Also named is Sue Murray, Chairman oif the Worthing Hospitality Association http://www.w-h-a.org.uk who has also championed the revamp of the Worthing seafront.

Worthing radio station in Feb 2002
A decision will be made in November on the name of the new operator for a Worthing Radio Station, with a planned start date in Feb 2002. Bidders include: Southdown Radio, YWFM, Worth FM, Worthing Radio, Worth FM, Splash FM

Another Worthing Store Fire
First there was a small fire at Marks. Now a small fire at Safeways in Worthing at 8pm on Tuesday evening. In neither case was anyone hurt.
(Argus 22 Aug 01)

Beware of Bogus Callers
Salesmen calling unexpectedly and who are unable to provide identification should not be allowed in. In particular you should never give them details of bank or credit card accounts.
And in most cases, whatever they are selling is less expensive and better from local trademen or local shops. In a recent case even the sharpening of garden shears was cheaper and probably better done at a local shop.
While on the subject - you should treat offers of free holidays with suspicion. And never ring back when offered free gifts when the telephone number is a premium rate call.
If you have a complaint on these things, contact the Trading Standards office on 01903-839749
(Worthing Herald 16 Aug 01)

Worthings Troubled Doctors
Health Minister Hazel Blears came to Worthing to see for herself the problems that local doctors are having keeping up with the increasing case load, threats of violence and mountainous paperwork. She was shown round by East Worthing MP Peter Bottomley.
(Worthing Herald 16 Aug 01)

Home Front in Stanley Road Home
This is the second makeover in the area. TV Home Front were filmed doing up a house in Stanley Road, near the station in Worthing for a program to go out in the Autumn. Despite the polished presentation on TV, you will not be surprised to learn that they took longer than 30 minutes, or even two days. They were hammering and banging for a good two weeks. (Worthing Herald 16 Aug 01)

Angmering Bypass by end 02
The new Angmering Bypass will run from the large roundabout on the A259 just east of Roundstone Garden Centre, and west of the Pick-Your-Own centre, north to meet the A280 Water Lane.
Delays because of Foot and Mouth precautions have meant that ground and archaeological surveys on the route are still not finished. Subject to the weather, actual work could start in November this year, with completion by end 2002. This will be welcome here as well as in Angmering, as it could take a lot of traffic away from Titnore Lane. But we do hope that the single carriageway on the A259 past the Roundstone Garden Centre will be sorted out.
The cost of bypass is borne by WSCC with a substantial contribution from the developers of the 500 houses being built at Roundstone lane. We note that remains of a Roman farmstead have been uncovered during the house building development. If such remains are uncovered in the route of the bypass, will this cause a further delay?
(West Sussex Gazette 16 Aug 01)

Harvesting in the Gap
A combine has started work in the Goring Gap. Yield is expected to be low because of the late planting. The target is six tons per acre, they will be lucky if they get four. The target total of 600 tons from this area, worth about £60,000 would contribute a small part of the 4 million tons consumed by the UK each year - 160 pounds weight for every man woman and child, in the form of bread, cakes and puddings.

Development Brief for Durrington
We are against the building of houses at West Durrington, as this can easily encroach on the Goring Gap, and the infrastructure, particularly the road system, is insufficient to maintain more properties or businesses. But for better or worse, WBC have now published a development brief for the builders: 109 hectares for 800 houses, 3.7 hectares for business There will be some shops, education and community care, not necessarily in Durrington.
(Worthing Herald 9 Aug 01)

BBC Southern Counties Radio at Southampton and at Brighton ran features on the West Durrington proposals soon after 7am on Monday 13 Aug. WBC was represented by Clare Mangan, Planning Policy Manager, and the Goring Gap Preservation Trust was be represented by Richard Waller. There was opportunity for the public to ask questions.

Free access to the Internet
Each of the public libraries in West Sussex will soon have terminals giving free access to the Internet. Worthing central library is first and will be on line from about 9 September.
(Argus 10 Aug 01)

Andrew Garrett gets award for Kool Kidz Centre
Borough Councillor Andrew Garrett received a Civic Champions Award for his work in Maybridge. He is one of only four CCA winners in the South East. In the Maybridge Youth and Community Project (MYCP) he lead the team opeing the new Kool Kidz Centre in Anson Road. Excellent work.
(Worthing Herald 9 Aug 01)

Sad Loss to the Residents' Association
We regret to announce the sad death on 4th August from a heart attack, of recently elected Goring Residents' Association President Mrs Ruth Spark. Ruth was previously Secretary of the Association for some 40 years.

Con Ainsworth dies aged 84
Sadly, Con Ainsworth, vice president of the Worthing Society died this week. He lived in Goring, and for 40 years was at the forefront of archaeology in Sussex and taught at University of Sussex.
(Argus 10 Aug 01)

Viewers versus the Players
Four years ago the council planted to fill the gap in the tamarisk bushes along the seafront greensward. The bushes protect the walkers and the players of cricket and football from the prevailing South West wind. The residents in Marine Drive would have liked to continue to see the sea. The war continues. A clump of tamarisk has now been cut down. They will grow again but meanwhile we have a gap. We are not looking at anyone but they do happen to be opposite No 24.

Travellers back, this time at Northbrook
They wanted to camp in the Goring Gap again, but the Neighbourhood Watch alerted the police in time to stop them tampering with the lock. So they went into the carpark at Northbrook College. On Monday we had seven, now there are 20 caravans. Northbrook are not pleased about this; as this is private land they are the ones that have to get a court order, and pay the bailiffs to move them on. They normally stay about 10 days.
(Argus 7 Aug 01)

Teville Gate progress at last
The government has decided not to interfere with the plans for Teville Gate. So with the normal development delays we should eventually get an eight-screen cinema, four restaurants and some leisure units. The Worthing Society have some reservations about the scheme, and would like to hear what will happen to the rest of the area round Worthing Station.
The scheme for flats on the Warnes Hotel site at Steyne Gardens however is on hold because the goverment have called it in, and may force a public inquiry. (Argus 7 Aug 01)

Thumbprints required
Shoppers in Worthing may be asked to thumbprint the back of cheques and credit card slips from today in a bid to crack down on fraud. The scheme is designed to scare off would-be fraudsters or to trace and prosecute them. Worthing Police have supplied 70 kits to Shopwatch members wanting to take part in the scheme. Sussex Police have tested the system in Chichester and Brighton and it has already resulted in a significant decrease in fraud. It is said that the ink used will not stain your thumb.
(Argus 6 Aug 01)

Keep Goring Tidy
Goring Residents Association sent an Email to WBS Environmental Service to thank to them for keeping the greensward at Goring tidy during the rush of tourists in the warm weather we have been having. Compared with the shambles in our neighbours up and down the coast, we feel they did very well.

Exit Panda, enter Puffin
Some of the pedestrian crossings in Worthing, including the one in the Mulberry at Goring are being upgraded to Puffin. These include a sensor to check that someone is actually waiting to cross before stopping all the traffic. A neat idea.