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So far Mike Noble has created 104 blog entries.

Coffee and cake in Easebourne Park!

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. 

Coffee and cake in Easebourne Park!2023-06-27T11:04:50+01:00

Midhurst update – 3rd April Press Release

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.

Midhurst update – 3rd April Press Release2023-06-27T11:05:10+01:00

Ever wanted to get into Advertising?

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

Ever wanted to get into Advertising?2023-03-31T17:52:40+01:00

Goat Box Coffee comes to Easebourne Park

Exciting news!

We’ve arranged with local Mobile Coffee bar The Goat Box to visit us in Easebourne Park over the Easter Holidays to provide barista coffees, cakes, bakes and cold drinks to visitors!

Tom will be with us from the 3rd April, most days and all over the long Easter weekend. The following week also on Monday to Wednesday and then again the weekend of the 15th and 16th.

We hope that it will be busy enough so that we can tempt Tom back again for selected dates throughout the summer!

The Goat Box will be serving from mid morning to mid afternoon – subject to change depending a little on weather and visitors of course. Don’t forget there will also be a temporary loo in the Park over the same period as we shortly begin the build of the permanent eco loos and the brand new roof for The Roundhouse.

Lots going on in Easebourne Park in the coming month!

Goat Box Coffee comes to Easebourne Park2023-06-27T11:05:26+01:00

Status update from CDC 29th March

Here is a press release issued by CDC today.

Midhurst is ‘open for business’ following major fire

People are being urged to support Midhurst businesses following the major hotel fire at The Angel Inn and neighbouring buildings on the A286 North Street.

A multi-agency recovery group, involving Chichester District Council, West Sussex County Council, West Sussex Fire and Rescue, Midhurst Town Council and South Downs National Park Authority are working hard to support the town and get North Street in Midhurst reopened as soon as possible.

They have stressed that the majority of businesses on North Street are ‘open for business’ and can all be accessed on foot.

People can also benefit from free car parking in all Chichester District Council owned car parks in Midhurst until the end of 16 April 2023 – all of which are just a short walk away. This includes North Street car park, the Post Office car park and Grange car park. Once parked, customers do not need to take a ticket from the machine or book anything on MiPermit.

Chichester District Council has also been working closely with local businesses and has provided funding to the Midhurst Town Team for marketing and promotional purposes to support all businesses in welcoming visitors to the town.

The A286 North Street remains closed to vehicles to ensure public safety. Specialists from a variety of agencies, including South Downs National Park Authority, Chichester District Council and Historic England are urgently assessing the report from the building owner’s Structural Engineer to develop a clear plan of action. It’s expected that this work will take the rest of the week, but the agencies involved believe that they will be able to give a clearer indication on timescales by the beginning of next week (Monday 3 April.) The situation is incredibly complex and as the hotel is a listed building, legal processes must be followed.

West Sussex County Council has 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. The diversion and one-way restrictions are being monitored and adjusted where needed. Drivers are urged to follow official diversion signage, with more information available on 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.

All waste and recycling collections are now operating as usual after Chichester District Council put plans in place to overcome access issues.

All agencies involved are committed to doing everything they can to get the road reopened as soon as they can and helping Midhurst to recover from this dreadful incident. The partners will continue to keep businesses and residents closely updated on the situation.

 

Status update from CDC 29th March2023-06-27T18:49:59+01:00

Midhurst is OPEN!

We all know that Midhurst is back open and car parks are currently free, but businesses are still reporting significant drops in revenues. Please help us bring some life back into the town by shopping local and supporting our cafes and restaurants during this challenging time for the town.

Midhurst is OPEN!2023-06-27T18:49:24+01:00

Midhurst Update – 27th March

Here is the latest update we’ve seen. Please take note of the highways signage that’s been put in place to try to inform and ease the flow of traffic on the surrounding routes. It’s designed to help everyone.
From WSCC –
“We await the structural engineers report and there is a Recovery Group meeting tomorrow which will consider the next steps.
The one way plug at Hollist Lane is still in place but we are receiving reports of people ignoring it. We have reviewed the signage to ensure there is no confusion regarding the closure and will be removing a couple of signs regarding the suitability of the road for HGVs.
We have considered the installation of a one way plug along Selham Road but have not progressed it today as we believe people are likely to ignore it or will end up using roads further south instead. This decision will be reviewed again tomorrow once we have been able to make an assessment of current condition of lanes people could use south of Selham Road. In the interim, we have implemented a one way plug to prevent people from travelling north from South Ambersham to join the A272. Instead they will be directed to the more suitable junction at Halfway Bridge.
The ‘find and fix’ gang has been in the area today and will be focussing on the routes being used as rat runs throughout the rest of the week. Our Highway Steward has also been in the area today and has put back up the signs that had fallen over in the wind over the weekend, he has also raised works to fill some potholes that have appeared over the weekend and also inspected the damage that has been done to the edge of the carriageway along Selham Road. Works to the edge of the carriageway will be organised as soon as possible.
Finally, we will reviewing if there is further signage that can be placed along the diversion route to discourage people following their satnavs.”
Midhurst Update – 27th March2023-06-27T18:49:36+01:00

Further update from Tom Richardson 24th March @ 5.30pm

From Tom Richardson – County Councillor
“The Midhurst Recovery Group has had its third meeting today. The Structural Engineers report is due next week on Tuesday. The recovery group is meeting again on Tuesday afternoon and will be putting out a much more definitive statement.
The Variable Message Signs (placed yesterday in Petersfield, Chichester, Petworth and a couple of other locations) and the One Way plug have all been reported as being reasonably effective, although we are aware this a recent development so will require a longer period to bed in. This information has not reached Google / Sat Nav companies yet so it is not quite as effective yet as it will be, but reports are that Hollist Lane is significantly improved.
We have received a request for a similar one way restriction to the south of the A272 (Ambersham/West Lavington area). This is significantly more complex due to conflicts in the diversion route at key decision points and multiple access points. Officers will review this but initial thoughts are that this will be too difficult to implement without causing significant confusion.
It has been noted that there has been some abuse of the gates in the Herras fencing on North Street, however it is believed that the value in keeping these open to the emergency services supersedes the benefit in closing them off. This was previously unlocked and this will now be replaced by a key code padlock.
From next week we will be operating a “find and fix” pothole gang. We have instructed them to focus on Topleigh / Polecats (road between A285 & A286 at Graffam), Selham Road – Lodsworth, Selham Road West Lavington, Hollist Lane – Woolbeding / Easebourne and Woolbeding Lane – Woolbeding. This should significantly reduce the number of live potholes and assist in keeping the roads reasonably safe. Larger scale work will be planned once Midhurst reopens to traffic. Some potholes in Redford have been repaired today and others will be repaired next week.”
Further update from Tom Richardson 24th March @ 5.30pm2023-06-27T18:49:43+01:00

Midhurst update 24th March

MIDHURST UPDATE from Tom Richardson, County Councillor – as of Thursday 23rd.
“I have just received the following update from highways:
We have designed the one way plug and diversion route for the junction of Eastshaw Lane and Brambling Lane. The restriction will prevent vehicles entering Eastshaw Lane and then travelling against the dominant west bound flow in Hollist Lane. The restriction will be picked up by google maps / Sat Navs and should discourage the majority of motorists from heading into Woolbeding as Sat Navs can currently instruct that this is a good route. The plug will be implemented by close of play on Friday 24.3.23 and we will monitor the success of this by site visits and feedback from the public and may make further amendments if appropriate. We are also reviewing wider planned works in the area to ensure they don’t cause further disruption.
A number of agencies met on site with the various representatives acting for the owner of Angel Inn today, including a Structural Engineer. We are now waiting for the report to come back from the Structural Engineer so that a decision on the most appropriate course of action can be taken.
We have received confirmation that some shops had been instructed by the landowner’s structural engineer who advised two adjacent businesses to vacate (which we believe to be for 10 days) because of the risk of collapse of a flank wall of the Angel Inn. The 2 businesses affected are the Henry Adams Estate Agents and Serenity Beauty.
We do note that some of the more minor parts of the local road network are not standing up to the increase in traffic as well as we would like. We are increasing our targeted inspections in this area and we are also regularly reviewing works in the area to reduce disruption as much as possible. We will try and be as sympathetic as possible with any essential traffic management to make the roads safe, however the current conditions are very challenging and the roads must be safe for the public. We will look at larger repairs / schemes once the main road is open again.
The Midhurst Recovery Group has its third meeting tomorrow afternoon.”
Midhurst update 24th March2023-06-27T18:50:59+01:00
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