Goring News Oct-Dec 2003

News of local groups and societies
Goring Residents' Association

Roast Turkey for Christmas Lunch
On the Goring Minipoll most people will be having Roast Turkey. There were two vegetarians, and only one invited to lunch away. We should have asked about Roast Beef which is usually the second favourite.

Fire Brigade train for seaside rescue
The Sussex Fire Brigade rescue vehicle was on the sea wall at the Sea Lane Cafe on Wednesday. The crew were practicing techniques for freeing children and animals trapped between the rocks of the breakwaters. This has happened a couple of times, and the trick is often to lift the two ton rocks with an inflatable airbag.

NCP may take over Sea Lane Carpark
The management of the Sea Lane Cafe have been advised by WBC that Sea Lane carpark is likely to be taken over by National Carparks. NCP are planned to take over the carparks in the centre of Worthing, and it is possible that the parking fees there will be increased.
But Sea Lane carpark has always been free, and if there is to be a charge, then many people will decide to park on the roads instead. The Sea Lane roundabout is quite busy, and any additional parking on the roads in this area will be a major problem.
We could assume that they will also take over the carpark by Worthing Yacht Club.
The residents are very disturbed about this. If NCP decide to make a charge, then we will raise a petition against paying.

No new runway for Gatwick, yet
What are the most miserable parts of any journey by air. Surely the peak hour shambles at the airports. Over half the population will make at least one air journey this year. Whatever the airports can do to make life more pleasant must be good. Yet the government are still faffing about and not making firm decisions on runways for Heathrow and Gatwick, which are the airports of choice for this area. And for businss flights Shoreham or Redhill would be good. There will be always be protesters about any development, and we agree that steps should be taken to minimise their pain. But to postpone decisions is bad.

Christmas Rubbish Collection
As is usual, the days for your rubbish and recycle collection will slip two days because of the Christmas holiday, and two more days for the New Year (not as on the WBC leaflet).
We hear that Goring has been particularly good on recycling with over 70% of the households participating and the total recycled material is up 50%.

More

Beach huts looking better
Each month we check the beach huts. The Beach Office is normally well aware of the defaulters and tries to contact the owners. As of today they are all looking pretty good, only 237 and 238 are still overdue for a coat of paint.
But a number have roofing felt torn away by the wind. You might like to check yours before the winter really sets in.
WBC have also organised a contractor to fix the bumps on the concrete footpath. The cynics are telling me that this is to get it on shape before it is made a cycle track, but I never listen to cynics.

Post Early for Christmas
Last day for posting second clsss is Thursday 18 Dec, and for first class Saturday 20 Dec. In the Goring Minipoll 38% of you would have posted by the 15th and sure enough all the local postboxes were overflowing on this date. 15% by the beginning of December, and going the other way 15% on Christmas Eve. The other statistic is that most households send and receive 70 cards. How many do you send?

No more midnight shopping
24 hour trading comes to an end at Tesco in Durrington. From January 5th 2004, the store will revert to 7 day week extended day opening until midnight on weekdays and 10pm on Saturday. Which is about the same as Sainsbury's. There are some smaller shops which are open all night.

10k Fun Run in rain and gale
There must have been a hundred runners from Splash Point to Sea Lane Cafe and back in the gale on Saturday. Last year there were 130, but it took a very dedicated band to run 10 kilometres, or even 5 kilometres for the short run in such weather. A great effort. I hope they raised a lot of money.

Fire damaged building to be restored
Way back in July there was a fire at the house on the corner of Anscombe Road and West Drive. The house has been protected with scaffolding and canvas since then. Owner Gavin Baylis is living in one of the houses on the front at East Preston while the rebuilding work is done. He now has finished assessing tenders and work will start early in the new year.
Gavin runs the Internet webcam showing an updated view of the beach each day. This now shows the beach at East Preston. We look forward to seeing the beach at Worthing when at last he is able to return.

The Webcam

West Durrington revised brief in January

WBC have received the suggestions we made about the development at West Durrington but seem to have decided to go ahead anyway with only minopr mods. A final version of the brief will be published in January. We shall read it with care.

MORE

Another Burglar gets five years
Russell West from Nelson Road, Goring was sentenced to five years in prison for burgling two houses. Worthing CID said "This man will now be out of action for some considerable time and unable to break into people's homes in the town. His sentence sends a positive message to other burglars that these crimes will not be tolerated".
(Worthing Herald 4 Dec 03)

 
Local Radio Stations survey result
The Minipoll on on your preference for radio stations on the Goring homepage gave the following results:
SplashFM 29%
SouthernFM 29%
BBC Southern Counties 21%
BBC Radio 2 7%
Other 14%

The minipoll on when to put up Christmas Decorations showed an overwheming preference for 1st December. The Worthing Christmas Shopping season duly started about then with the excellent fireworks on 27 November.

Green Sacks now only 50p
Worthing Borough Council is to reduce the price of Green Sacks from 65p to 50p from January 1st as a way of saying thank you to all the extra people who have started using the service during 2003.

Free Christmas Tree recycling
For the first time this year, Worthing Borough Council are to collect Christmas Trees from your household. The old system of a shredding service at Lyon’s Farm will no longer operate. Simply put your Christmas Tree out on the same day as your refuse and recycling and it will be picked up by the green waste collection team. Please do not wrap the tree or leave any decorations on it as it will not be collected. All trees will be taken to a new composting site in Worthing where they will be recycled into agricultural soil conditioner. There is no charge for this service.
Trees will also be accepted at the Civic Amenity Site in Dominion Way . Please take these to the green waste section to ensure that they are recycled.

Midnight Racetrack round Goring
2.30am is the usual time. Boy racers reach high speeds and make skid marks on the corners around Sea Lane and Alinora Crescent. There was damage to some walls in Alinora Crescent. If anyone knows who they are, please could you tell them to stop.

Help stop Graffiti
If you can identify anyone with spray paint causing graffiti please tell Krista.Beighton@theArgus.co.uk or ring 01273-544517

High wind rips off roof
The felt roof of Mulberry Court was ripped off in the high wind last week and damaged a parked car. Residents in two flats used buckets to catch the drips, and turned off the electricity just in case.

Council Tax to rise again
How much the council tax will rise is not yet clear, but the central government contribution to the funds has been one of the lowest in the country. This is going to cost us at least 10% more.

Some small attention to A27
There are to be some better traffic lights and a couple of crossings on the A27 at the critical North Worthing junctions. But we still have to wait and see if the politicians can persuade the government to provide a better way of sorting out this atrocious bottleneck. And there is not much progress at Arundel either.

Our MP flashed for speeding
Four flashes and you are out of your car for six months. The Worthing Herald has lent our MP Peter Bottomly an electric Powabyke while he is off the road. And he was only just over the speed limit too. Our sympathies go to him
http://www.powabyke.com/

Attempt to steal a boat
On Thursday, some wretched people tried to steal a blue fibreglass fishing boat from the fisherman's stations on the sea wall in the Goring Gap. Unfortunately it got badly damaged while it was being lifted over the barrier posts edging the road, and now it is a useless hulk dumped on the farmer's field. The owner was upset, not least because he had only just repainted it. He has now removed the wreck.

In-filling at 4 Seafield Avenue approved
A six bedroom chalet bungalow will be built in someone's backgarden at 4 Seafield Avenue. This is a low density housing area, and on land that always gets flooded. There is not even proper access. The neighbours are not at all keen on this.

Smugglers in Sea Lane Ferring
The Argus Sentinel reports on a Mr Winton from Sea Lane, Ferring who died aged 81 back in 1941 whose dad was a smaggler. Apparently all the locals were in it, farming by day, smuggling by night.

Local vinyard sold
The vinyard on the southern slopes of Highdown has been sold. Nothing seems to be known of the new owner, or indeed of the old one; they did not advertise Vin Worthing anywhere.
(Argus 17 Nov 03)

Goring's thatched cottage rethatched
Next to Steeles Garage in Goring Way, one of Goring's very few thatched cottages has recently been rethatched. Unusually the thatcher was a lady, Charlotte Edwards. It now looks very smart.

What is your house worth now?
At West Preston, backing right onto the Greensward, a house was recently sold for about £1.35 million.

Local pubs full, streets empty
From early breakfast to 11.30am the local pubs were full of Rugby fans, while all the rest of the population seemed to be at home watching TV. 20-17. What a game. The best advert for active sport we have had for years.

Phoenix Surgery stays in Beach House
Phoenix Surgery will stay at Beach House in Sea Lane at least for the next four years. The proposed building of appartments behind the house is on hold.

Cafes Closing over Christmas
Sea Lane Cafe is closed 22-29 December.
Baloos is open until New Years Eve then closed 1-18 Jan
Blue Bird at Ferring is closed 8-20 Dec for Refurb, then closed Christmas Day and New Years Day.

Work starts on Goring Sea Defences
The work at the moment involves moving shingle at low tide along the beach from the Yacht Club boat ramp which always gets buried in shingle, along to Sea Lane Ferring where there has been considerable erosion. Some large rocks were placed at the breakwaters at the beginning of the work but these have now been buried.

Still more speed cameras
They keep installing new cameras, not least on the A24. And there are mobile cameras as well. They are all signed and painted bright yellow. The public like them if people are speeding down their neighbourhood roads, but motorists are not so enthusiastic. Check the positions of cameras on www.sussexsafetycameras.gov.uk

More vandals in Goring
The Argus reports that dozens of beach huts along the front have been damaged again. We have recommended that owners do not use plastic cladding, and once again these huts have been targetted. Some huts are still not numbered so contacting the owners will be difficult. We have a man here who will inspect your hut on a regular basis on your behalf if it is not convenient for you to visit.
And a white Mercedes Sprinter van was badly damaged by fire in Barrington Close.

Chestnut Tree House now opened
HRH Princess Alexandra formally opened the new children's hospice at Chestnut Tree House, near Arundel run by St Barnabas Hospice. Fund raising has been going on for a long time to raise the £5million needed even though the land was donated. But do not give up donating now. There are substantial running costs each year.

Welcome rain but local flooding
The rain over the weekend was very welcome, and there is a hope that a drought warning will not now be broadcast. There was local flooding at unusual places, like the middle of Ferring, and in Sea Lane Ferring, where drains were blocked by leaves. There were splendid waves at sea with the strong SW wind which brought out the surfers and the windsurfers.
In the Goring Gap, where the farmer has sown, suddenly it is all green.

In-filling at 4 Seafield Avenue
A six bedroom chalet bungalow will be built in someone's backgarden at 4 Seafield Avenue. This is a low density housing area, and on land that always gets flooded. There is not even proper access. The neighbours are not at all keen on this.

Alinora Stores new name
Now the post office counter has ceased, the shop continues in good health as Alinora Stores. Next door is S R Minton the butcher, so we continue to have a full range of convenience shopping here.
We now hear that South Ferring Post Office counter may close as well.

Four Fires in Worthing
On Saturday a bungalow at 182 Goring Way was extensively damaged by fire which started in the front sitting room while the owners were out shopping. The cause of the fire may have been a cigarette.
A fire at Burgess Plant Yard, on the A27 at Castle Goring at 2am on Thursday morning caused the A27 to be closed for several hours because acetelyne cylinders were in danger of exploding.
A shelter at Marine Gardens was destroyed by vandals setting it on fire.
One the same night a fish fryer in central Worthing caught fire.
Not bad for one day in Worthing.

Junk Mail and sales telephone calls
You can register with one or more of the Preference Services on line and most of the junk mail and calls will eventually dry up. You can do this by phone or on line
Mail: www.mpsonline.org.uk - 020 7291 3319
Telephone: www.tpsonline.org.uk/ - 020 7291 3326
Fax: www.fpsonline.org.uk/ - 020 7291 3326

Bonfire Night is coming up fast
www.bonefire.org/guy/
Guy Fawkes made his protest as a Catholic against the oppressive ruling Protestant faith on 5th November 1605. Nowadays we have fireworks parties from the middle of October through to the middle of November, and dogs don't like any of it. Lewes fireworks are the big one round here, and it is so popular they do not advertise it. If you are running a firework party you probably want to have insurance. The rates have, to turn a phrase, sky-rocketed. And as you would expect, the fire brigade have a webpage on this: www.wsfb.co.uk/fireworks.htm

A27 may get Road Charging
Because the A27 is one of the busiest roads, the Government may decide to charge users. This will be part of a major exercise to install transponders in every car and charge the owners as soon as they pass along key routes.
On a road with major congestion at East Worthing, Arundel, and Chichester, and apparently no immediate hope of relief, we think this is rather unfair.

Newpaper, TV, Radio and Cable Channels
We now have four pages to help you find the the frequency, and the websites, of local newspaper, TV, radio and NTL cable channels.
Newspapers
Television and Radio
Local Radio and TV Stations
NTL Cable key channels

Fire at Grand Avenue
There was a fire at Dolphin Lodge, the large block of flats at the sea end of Grand Avenue, this morning. It affected the south end of the building, and we believe it was centred on the 3rd floor. There were three appliances present.

Goring objects to development at West Durrington
The Goring Residents' Association monthly meeting on Thursday 16 October agreed that the West Durrington development was a bad idea. The only people to profit are the landowner, the builders, and the politicians in Whitehall who have set arbitary targets. As we see it, 2000 people with 1500 cars will be dumped in a mixture of executive homes and social housing in the north end of the Goring Gap, and encroaching on the park at Castle Goring. As a result, a pack of 50 objection letters was delivered to Worthing Borough Council on Friday morning.

The objection letter

£2000 Community Award for Ferring Funtime Playgroup
Ferring Funtime Community Playgroup was one of 73 local children's charities and schools in the UK to share £185,000 from the Tesco Charity Trust. We congratulate them all.

More details

Sunday walkers for Charity
Gluttons for punishment, walkers from Littlehampton will be seen along the seafront walking to Worthing Pier. And back. About 6 hours brisk exercise. All organised by Littlehampton Rotary.

Tree threat at Mulberry Gardens
Between the flats in Mulberry Gardens, and the car park and builders yards behind the shops, is a row of 52 attractive trees. Thanks to the good offices of Councillor Peter Welch there is now a Protection Order on these which is very good news. But they do now need some maintenance, and the residents are forming a committee to manage this.

Lorries on the Pavements
Substantial damage was done to the paving slabs in Patricia Avenue when a heavy lorry parked with two wheels on the footpath. This story can be told about roads all over the parish. It is bad to park your car with two wheels up on the path, but with a lorry there will be a lot of broken slabs. If you see anyone doing this, please get his number so the council can sue him.

Last year in Goring, John Hayward, the pharmacy in Aldsworth Avenue got our local award. And hairdressers SOTAS (State of the Art Styling) in the Mulberry was named Sussex Retailer of the Year. But who will win it this year?

Palatine School wins Worthing in Bloom
Congratulations to Palatine School for winning the school class in Worthing in Bloom this year. The presentation took place on Thursday 25th September in the Richmond Rooms, Stoke Abbott Road, Worthing.

Small fire at Bluebird Cafe
A small fire at 3pm on Sunday in the kitchen at Bluebird Cafe, Ferring Strand closed the cafe for one of their busiest afternoons. Two fire engines attended. All is now back to normal.

The Foxes are still with us
Last year we had a lot of trouble in Goring with foxes. Some people love them, some people hate them. Now the residents in Alinora Drive area are up in arms. The foxes around there seem to have taken over, the cats won't go out in the garden, the hedgehogs have disappeared, any idea of keeping rabbits is right out. They leave a mess which has to be cleared up.

Parents of small children are frightened of letting them play in the garden unsupervised, even though there has been no reported incident of foxes worrying children.

Because of the dry weather the foxes have been digging any soft earth trying to find grubs, in the process destroying newly planted flowers. A few householders put out food for the birds, which the foxes of course eat. One lady down Sea Place regularly put food out on the greensward, until another resident picked it all up, took it back to her house, and told her firmly to put the food out in her own garden if she liked foxes so much.

You can buy chemicals at any garden centre to discourage foxes from coming into your back yard, but each dose only lasts a few days and it is expensive.

The foxes regularly scavenge the litter bins along the greensward, tearing open carrier bags. WBC have a plan to install larger capacity litter bins at strategic places so that this problem can be avoided.
National Fox Welfare Society http://www.nfws.org.uk
Fox Project and Deterrence http://www.innotts.co.uk/~robmel/foxproject/

The Beach Hut Story
The story in this column about beach huts has now been updated, and this time is probably true:
1. A site became vacant and was let to the person at the top of the waiting list who paid the site rent £229/year. He put up a new hut, and immediately sold it for £7250 making a quick profit of about £5000.
2. A man sold his beach hut for a lot of money (£6500?), and then sold it again to a second buyer. And then vanished. The two new owners were confused.
3. Hut 72A had been neglected for years. It has now been replaced and will be offered for sale at the now expected high price..

The new rules require permission from the Beach Office before you sell, and permission from the Beach Office again before the new owner takes possession.