Our new Eco-loos in Easebourne Park are now complete and open for use!
In off-peak times only 1 loo will be opened daily, from 7am until 7pm. We will open up the 2nd loo in school holidays and over the summer months.
These are waterless Eco-loos and as such have no flush. The left hand cubical will also shortly include a baby changing table.
We hope you agree these are a great addition to our award-winning park!
This years Annual Village Meeting, hosted by the Parish Council, will take place at Easebourne Primary School on Wednesday 24th May from 7pm until 8pm.
The Parish Council will display a summary of the activities of the Council over the past year and to share their plans for the coming 12 months.
Please join us if you’d like to meet your Councillors and have any questions about the work of the Parish Council.
We are also currently looking for new volunteers to join the Council, so it’s the perfect opportunity to chat about what’s involved.
The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), with the support of Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council, has stepped in to break the deadlock in progress around getting the listed buildings safely and legally secured. While the South Downs National Park Authority are leading on this aspect of the recovery, they continue to work closely with the other members of the multi-agency recovery group and other agencies will continue to lead on other aspects of the recovery.
We understand that the top priority for the community and businesses is to get the road through Midhurst open again and the frustration that this has not yet happened. We want to assure everyone that there is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to secure the buildings to enable this to happen. The Angel Hotel and other buildings damaged are listed buildings and are protected by law. The solution to making the buildings safe and to secure them is for them to be shored up. The SDNPA, with the support of Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council, has therefore stepped in to ensure this happens without further unnecessary delay.
We can report that we have appointed a structural engineer who is currently finalising a plan for shoring up the damaged buildings. This week we are liaising with and visiting on site with potential specialist contractors who could then carry out this very specialised work. Our aim is to appoint a contractor to begin work as soon as possible. Please be assured that progress is being made. Unfortunately, we cannot give a date on when work will commence until we have a contractor in place, but we will provide regular updates on this work as soon as it becomes available.
Once the buildings have been safely secured, West Sussex County Council, as the highways authority responsible for the road, will be able to reopen the road through Midhurst.
The multi-agency recovery group was quickly set up in response to the fire as this is a complex legal, financial and practical issue with multiple agencies holding legal responsibility for different aspects of the response and recovery. To help, the group has prepared detailed FAQs which will be updated as new information becomes available.
As public sector bodies it is deeply regrettable that we have to step in and address what is a landowner responsibility. Such decisions are very rare for good reason and have to be carefully considered. While public money will be spent to shore up the building and therefore break the detrimental impasse, we will use all legal means to reclaim these costs. The priority now must be the shoring up of the buildings which will, in turn, enable the road to be opened to get Midhurst moving again.
Latest press release issued by CDC this afternoon:
This became apparent after the multi-agency recovery group were informed that once liability for the damage has been decided, it would take a minimum of 60-90 days to assess and finalise the claim to pay for the works. This is despite the owner’s Structural Engineers, who assessed the building, estimating that the works could be completed, and the road could be reopened to vehicles, within six weeks.
Although an exact timeline cannot be given at the current time, a clearer indication will be possible as preparatory works progress. The agencies are moving as quickly as possible to get specialist contractors in place given that the owners are unable to.
It’s been a busy week in Easebourne Park, with the new Roundhouse Roof almost complete and the main structure of the Eco Loos also now in place. What a difference a week can make!
The roof will be completed on Monday 24th and whilst there is a little bit of work to do in order to fit out the inside of the Loo building we also hope that will be completed very early in May.
Watch this space for the final update!
If you’ve visited the Park in the last week you will have seen some activity as you enter from the main car park near the portaloo, with work having now started on the construction of our Eco friendly loos. In addition, work on the brand new cedar shingle roof for the Roundhouse begins today.
The loo tanks are now in and the concrete base ready for the arrival of the building, which is due tomorrow, 18th April. We’ll update this post as the work continues, but all should be completed by the end of April.
The loos will then be open daily and maintained by Wettons.
Work continues to help Midhurst recover from major fire
A multi-agency recovery group has today (Thursday 6 April) issued a further update following the major hotel fire at The Angel Inn hotel and neighbouring buildings on the A286 North Street in Midhurst.
The group, which includes Chichester District Council, West Sussex County Council, West Sussex Fire and Rescue; Midhurst Town Council and the South Downs National Park Authority, are committed to doing everything they can to reopen the road to vehicles as soon as possible and support those businesses affected by the incident.
The South Downs National Park Authority, as the local planning authority for Midhurst, has asked the owners and their structural engineers to shore up the buildings as quickly as possible. Currently, it is estimated that the work may take six weeks from 3 April, but it is hoped that it can be completed quicker than this. Once the buildings have been made secure, it will be possible to open the road to vehicles.
West Sussex County Council Highways team have organised a diversion with related signage at key locations. To ease congestion, temporary one-way restrictions have been put in place on the lanes surrounding Midhurst and other options are currently being considered. The diversion and one-way restrictions are also being monitored and adjusted where needed. Drivers are urged to follow official diversion signage, with more information available on https://one.network. The county council is also aware that local roads are seeing significantly higher volumes of traffic than usual due to the diversion. They are increasing their targeted inspections and repairs and are also regularly reviewing works in the wider area to reduce disruption as much as possible. The team has also been responding to reports of potholes in the area and are encouraging people to report these at: www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-pothole-online/ or by calling 01243 642105.
Chichester District Council has been working closely with local businesses through a recovery group, which involves weekly meetings, updates, and plans on how funding should be spent to support the town in its recovery. Chichester District Council has promised to set aside £300,000 to help the town get back on its feet and encourage residents and visitors to support local businesses in Midhurst. A member of the council’s Economic Development team has also been seconded to support businesses in the town for the next two months. The district council is also continuing to offer free parking in its Midhurst car parks until the end of 16 April 2023.
All waste and recycling collections are operating as usual after the council put in plans in place to overcome access issues. The only exception this week, is that changes have had to be made to the collection date for five roads in Midhurst, because the crews are unable to use their access route through Midhurst Rother College on Friday, due to the bank holiday. Instead, the collection date for Lamberts Lane, Orchard Way, Park Crescent, Wyndham Place and Gilbert Hannam Close was moved to Thursday (6 April) morning. Due to unavoidable changes such as this, the council is encouraging residents to download the Chichester District Council app, which provides personalised notifications on waste and recycling collections. Residents are also urged to follow the council’s social media pages and website (www.chichester.gov.uk/latestnews) where updates are also shared.
Chichester District Council has also arranged two drop-in information sessions for residents and businesses at the South Downs National Park Authority offices. The first one took place on Thursday 6 April and a further one will be held on Wednesday 12 April between 2-4pm. Chichester District Council staff from the Supporting You, Economic Development and Social Prescribing services will be on hand to provide information and help, along with representatives from West Sussex County Council’s Highways team and the South Downs National Park Authority.
All of the agencies involved are committed to doing everything they can to get the road reopened to vehicles as soon as possible and helping Midhurst to recover from this dreadful incident. The agencies would like to thank residents and businesses for their feedback, which is discussed at a multi-agency group every week to be considered and responded to. The partners will continue to keep both residents and businesses closely updated on the situation.
We’re thrilled that The Goatbox, a brand new local business has agreed to come along to Easebourne Park over the Easter school holidays to provide barista coffees, teas, bake and cold drinks to our visitors.
Tom and Alice will be open from around 9.30 until 3 everyday, possibly longer over the Easter weekend and weather permitting! The forecast is looking good for most of the holidays, and with the addition of the loo in the Park, it really does become an all day destination!
Just in case you’re planning to visit from outside of the Midhurst and Easebourne area, please note that you cannot drive through Midhurst at present and many rural lanes are now operating as 1-way to ease the flow of traffic, so worth checking the route before you head off! No problem coming from Petworth or Haslemere. From Chichester you can go via Ambersham/Selham, or north towards Milland and then through Fernhurst.
Here is the press release issued by CDC today:
Multi-agency recovery group issues update following major fire in Midhurst
A multi-agency recovery group has today (Monday 3 April 2023) issued an update following the major hotel fire at The Angel Inn hotel and neighbouring buildings on the A286 North Street in Midhurst.
The group, which includes Chichester District Council, West Sussex County Council, West Sussex Fire and Rescue; Midhurst Town Council and the South Downs National Park Authority, are committed to doing everything they can to reopen the road to vehicles as soon as possible and support those businesses and residents affected by the incident. They have stressed that the vast majority of businesses on North Street are ‘open for business’ and can all be accessed on foot from nearby car parks.
South Downs National Park Authority and Historic England, who need to approve work on listed buildings, have been urgently assessing the report from the building owner’s Structural Engineer to develop a clear plan of action.
Although there has been major damage to the buildings, at this stage it is believed it may be possible to save some parts of the buildings, which are listed and have historical significance. There is a legal requirement to save what we can of these buildings.
South Downs National Park Authority has asked the owners to temporarily shore up the buildings and has given permission to remove the chimneys from the Angel Inn, which are at risk of collapse. This is supported by Historic England.
The Structural Engineers working on behalf of the owners of the buildings affected has advised that this work is likely to take around six weeks from now. However, South Downs National Park Authority is urging the owners and insurers to move this forward as quickly as possible, with the hope that it could be completed sooner. It is thought that the timeline will become clearer over the next week and further updates will be provided.
Once the building has been made secure, it will be possible to open the road to vehicles.
Chichester District Council has arranged two drop-in information sessions for residents and businesses in Midhurst. These will take place on Thursday 6 April (10am–12pm) and Wednesday 12 April (2pm–4pm) and will be held at the South Downs National Park Authority offices. Chichester District Council staff from the Supporting You, Economic Development and Social Prescribing services will be on hand to provide information and help.
Chichester District Council has also set up a recovery group with local businesses, which involves meetings, updates, and funding for marketing and promotional purposes to support the town. They are also offering free parking in Chichester District Council car parks in Midhurst until the end of 16 April 2023 and are currently working on other forms of support.
Parking restrictions on-street still apply. People are also being urged not to park in front of the section of North Street that is currently closed, because this is needed for emergency vehicle access.
All of the agencies involved are committed to doing everything they can to get the road reopened to vehicles as soon as possible and helping Midhurst to recover from this dreadful incident. The partners will continue to keep both residents and businesses closely updated on the situation.
As you may already know, our village magazine has a new Editor and Designer, but they are in need of someone to manage the advertising. We’re told this is not an onerous task. It involves contacting the regular advertisers each year to renew their adverts and handle any new ones that might come in with each issue.
At most, it’s a couple of hours work in an eight-week cycle.
If anyone can help please could you email: easebourneeditor@btinternet.com
