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(You can watch all public CDC meetings here and WSCC here.)  CDC did not know they were using East Beach car park in Selsey for publicly advertised meetings, until they received a complaint. We have been working to resolve this since December so they can continue to meet there, and succeeded in getting the affected parishes, which include Selsey Town Council, consulted by Officers as well as early sight of the proposals (which reflected concerns raised with us by local traders and residents.) I was also recently able to clarify some of the finer points with the Director of Growth & Place and Donna and I have been in regular contact with Adrian Moss, the Leader of the Council. Steve put forward the views of Selsey Town Council and those of you who have been in touch with us, at the meeting. In the end the policy amended by an addendum included much of what we lobbied for (particularly vehicle meets), was adopted. 

On Sunday the ‘Chichester Antiques, Vintage & Decorative Arts’ street market returns after five years in North Street and East Street from 10am until 4pm. This is one of three visits that the market will be making to the city this year.

This coming Tuesday is Selsey's Annual Town Meeting in the Selsey Centre at 7:15pm. There will be a presentation from, amongst others, the Trustees of the Selsey Pavilion who have published their latest newsletter. 

A reminder that nature enthusiasts are being invited to help capture the stunning landscapes and diverse wildlife at the RSPB Medmerry Nature Reserve: - 

• A special sculpture workshop on Saturday 27 April from 10am to 1pm at the RSPB Pagham visitor centre.

• A free ‘naturewalk’ workshop run by award-winning photographer Jakub Bors on Sunday 12 May between 2pm-5pm.

The day before the naturewalk, families are invited to join an exclusive VIP (Very Important Palaeontologist) Day to celebrate the launch of an exciting new dinosaur exhibition at The Novium Museum in Chichester!  ‘Dinosaurs: Hungry Hatchlings’, which opens on Saturday 11 May, showcases how even the largest dinosaurs started life as eggs and tiny hatchlings. Families will then be taken across to The Guildhall in Priory Park for a very special immersive ‘How to Train Your Dinosaur’ show, featuring realistic baby and adult dinosaurs! The event runs from 9.30am to 12.15pm, starting at The Novium Museum. Tickets start from £18 per child (family discounts available.) ‘How to Train Your Dinosaur’ shows will run at 11.30am and 2pm on Saturday 11 May at The Guildhall in Priory Park. Tickets for the show start from £7 per person.

A little while back we shared with you the news that the Ministry of Defence have been testing a new laser weapon system, Dragonfire. Apparently now it could be used against Russian drones on the Ukraine front line and it will be fitted to Royal Navy ships from 2027.

Another item we have been sharing with you is sewage, and Southern Water releasing it. They are now warnings to avoid contact with the water in the River Lavant near West Dean because they have released treated sewage. 

Potholes can seem the bane of any commuters life, particularly if like me you have a lengthy journey, or live in comparatively nearby Pulborough. WSCC have pointed out that since October we have had more rain than we would normally have in a year, with February seeing the highest level of rain since records began and a month's worth of rain falling in the first week of March. This is a big factor in potholes and they had over 7,400 reports in March of which 4,500 were identified as needing repair and so far they have fixed over 4,094 of them. The link to report them is always at the end of our blog. 

Stress seems to be the modern malaise, so I was pleased to read that simple things like walking can help. The improving weather of course means hay-fever is coming; there is a simple way to help reduce its impact, staying hydrated, as you can read here. The improving weather also means the 2024 tourist season is upon us. The Peninsula is very busy in the Summer as the gridlocked roads testify, but may not be the busiest tourist part of the UK - have a read and see what you think. 

An exciting new project called ‘Greenprint’ is underway in parts of our County to explore innovative uses for our highway grass cuttings this growing season. The project is part of ‘ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK’, which is a three-year, UK-wide, £30million programme funded by the Department for Transport (DfT). Live Labs 2 includes seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes, led by local authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners. Each project is testing new solutions to decarbonise construction and maintenance across the whole life cycle of the local highway network.

WSCC worked in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council and, jointly, they secured a total of £3.7million to run the pioneering Greenprint project. Starting this month, and building on last year’s planning and testing activities, West Sussex highway teams will be trialling new ‘cut and collect’ verge maintenance routines in Horsham, Aldwick, Bersted and Pagham. They currently cut these verges five times a year but leave the cuttings on the ground. This allows the nutrients to go back into the soil, encouraging grass growth. By removing the cuttings this season, they expect to reduce the soil’s fertility, slowing grass growth and enabling a wider variety of plant life and pollinators to thrive. Slowing the grass’s growth also reduces the need for future cuts, which...